Sir Anthony Browne (d.1548)
Encyclopedia
He was the son of Sir Anthony Browne, Standard Bearer of England and Governor of Queenborough Castle, by his wife Lucy Nevill, daughter of John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu
John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu
John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu KG was a Yorkist leader in the Wars of the Roses, best-known for eliminating Lancastrian resistance in the north of England during the early part of the reign of Edward IV of England....
and widow of Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam. Anthony junior was thereby half-brother of William Fitzwilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton
William Fitzwilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton
William FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton, KG , English courtier, was the third son of Sir Thomas FitzWilliam of Aldwark and Lady Lucy Neville .His father died while FitzWilliam was in his infancy, and his mother remarried Sir Anthony Browne, the elder, so that...
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He married Alice, daughter of Sir John Gage
Sir John Gage
Sir John Gage KG was an English courtier during the Tudor period. He held a number of offices, including Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster , Comptroller of the Household , Constable of the Tower and Lord Chamberlain .-Early life and family:Gage was born in 1479 at Burstow in Surrey...
, and their children included:
- Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount MontaguAnthony Browne, 1st Viscount MontaguAnthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu KG PC was an English peer during the Tudor period.He was the eldest son of Sir Anthony Browne...
; - Mary Browne, who married John Grey of Pirgo and was the mother of Henry Grey, 1st Baron Grey of GrobyHenry Grey, 1st Baron Grey of GrobyHenry Grey, 1st Lord Grey of Groby , courtier, administrator and local politician, was the only surviving son of Lord John Grey of Pirgo, Essex, and Mary, daughter of Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu and Magdalen Dacre....
; - Mabel BrowneMabel BrowneMabel Browne, Countess of Kildare was the wife of Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, Baron of Offaly . She was born into the English Roman Catholic Browne family whose members held prominent positions at the courts of the Tudorsovereigns for three generations...
, who married Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of KildareGerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of KildareGerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare , also known as the "Wizard Earl" , was an Irish peer....
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His recorded royal service began in 1518, when he was appointed surveyor and master of hunting for the Yorkshire castles and Lordships of Hatfield, Thorne, and Conisbrough. He was included him in an embassy to hand over Tournai to Francois I. Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, knighted him on 1 July 1522. In 1525 he was made lieutenant of the Isle of Man. He was ambassador to France in 1527, reporting home in increasingly anti-French terms.
During the uprisings in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in York, Yorkshire during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell...
, Brown was sent against the Catholic protesters, to test his loyalty. Anthony maintained Henry's trust. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1540. When Henry VIII came to Rochester to meet Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...
, he first sent Anthony, his Master of Horse, into her chamber. He later declared that he was never more dismayed in his life, lamenting in his heart to see the Lady so far and unlike that was reported. Henry confided his own disappointment the next day to Anthony as they returned to Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
by barge.
He was returned as knight of the shire for Surrey
Surrey (UK Parliament constituency)
Surrey was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832....
in 1539 and was then re-elected in 1542, 1545, and 1547.
Sometime after 1540, he married Elizabeth Fitzgerald, daughter of the 9th Earl of Kildare, his wife Alice having died.
As a conservative, he had to be careful not to be brought down by factional politics at the court of Henry VIII.
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
He became so trusted by Henry that in the King's latter years, Browne held a dry stamp of the King's signature, to use for minor letters. By 1547, he was Keeper of Oatlands Palace
Oatlands Palace
Oatlands Palace is a former Tudor and Stuart royal palace located between Weybridge and Walton on Thames in Surrey, England. The surrounding modern district of Oatlands takes its name from the palace...
He died on 28 April 1548 at Byfleet, Surrey, and was buried at Battle in a tomb with his first wife. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Anthony.
Mistresses Brown
Browne was said to be a good-looking man and two members of his family were said to have been mistresses of Henry VIII. One, 'Mistress Browne', we do not know the first name of, but it was allegedly his sister. One piece of information, however, points to it being his daughter, Elizabeth BrowneElizabeth Somerset, Countess of Worcester (died 1565)
Elizabeth Somerset, countess of Worcester was a lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn and the main informant against her. She may have been a mistress of King Henry VIII....
, countess of Worcester. The ex-mistress was alleged to have been a prime mover in the downfall of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
. Elizabeth Browne was a lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to Queen Anne Boleyn and the chief witness against her. Another member of his family, Anne Bassett
Anne Bassett
Anne Bassett was an English courtier of the Tudor period, whose charms attracted the attention of King Henry VIII.-Family background:Anne was born in 1521, the fourth child of Sir John Bassett and Honor...
was rumoured to be in the running to become Henry's fifth wife and there were earlier rumours of an affair, shortly before his marriage to Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...
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