Marquess of Pembroke was a title in the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

created by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

for his future spouse

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

Background

The then extinct title of

Earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

had been very significant for the

House of Tudor The House of Tudor ( ) was an English and Welsh dynasty that held the throne of Kingdom of England, England from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd, a Welsh noble family, and Catherine of Valois. The Tudor monarchs ruled ...

. It was held by Henry VIII's grand-uncle,

Jasper Tudor Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford (c. November 143121 December 1495) was the uncle of King Henry VII of England and a leading architect of his nephew's successful accession to the throne in 1485. He was a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd. ...

, and it referred to the birthplace of King Henry VII. Henry VIII decided to raise his lover to the dignity of a marquess prior to finally marrying her. He chose to grant her the Marquessate of Pembroke.

Creation

On Sunday, 1 September 1532, Anne Boleyn was granted the Marquessate of Pembroke and land, mostly in Wales, worth over £1,000. The investiture ceremony was performed by Henry VIII himself in

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. The ceremony was an elaborate affair, witnessed by the highest ranking peers and clergy in the kingdom, including Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire and

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1473 – 25 August 1554) was an English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beh ...

, Anne's father and uncle respectively; Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk (Henry's brother-in-law); Edward Lee,

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

; John Stokesley,

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

; and

Stephen Gardiner Stephen Gardiner (27 July 1483 – 12 November 1555) was an English Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I. Early life Gardiner was born in Bury St Ed ...

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

. The French ambassador was also present. The Bishop of Winchester read the patent of creation while Anne knelt before the King who then invested her with the coronet, the robe of estate and the charters of creation and of the lands. The 16th-century spelling of her title was often ''marquesse'' or ''marquess'', sometimes ''lady marquesse''; a feminine, like

duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

, of the relatively rare title ''marquys''.''OED'' "Marquis" sense 3.; compare the quotation under "Marchioness": ''Cum‥Domina Anna, tunc Marchionissa Penbrochiæ, nunc vero Regina.'' See also Complete Peerage Vol. V, App. H

Succession

The marquessate was granted to Anne and her heirs male, but the patent did not include the usual provision that the said heirs male had to be of legitimate birth, thus enabling the title to pass to any illegitimate son Anne might have had. The attending peers did not fail to notice this unusual omission.

End of the Marquessate

It is not clear how the Marquessate of Pembroke ceased to exist. The latest it could have become extinct is upon Anne's death, without male heirs, on 19 May 1536. However, it could have become extinct earlier, either: *by merging with the Crown (i.e. became indistinct from other property of the Crown) on Anne's marriage to the King being declared valid on 28 May 1533 (similar to the way titles held by the heir to the throne merge into the crown upon accession); or *by forfeiture of the title upon Anne's 15 May 1536 conviction for high treason. The effect of the marriage of a peer to a reigning monarch is unclear. Likewise, although forfeiture of titles was a common form of punishment for peers at this time, the historical record is unclear.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pembroke Extinct marquessates in the Peerage of England Noble titles created in 1532