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Henry VIII had a secret daughter who should have taken the throne before Elizabeth I, historian claims
Elizabeth Tailboys would have changed the course of British history had the King acknowledged her as his
Revelation unearthed by a historian who has re-examined royal records into the life of Henry VIII's famous mistress Bessie Blount

By Nadia Gilani

Last updated at 1:25 PM on 8th January 2012

King Henry VIII had a secret daughter who should have taken the throne before Elizabeth I, new research has revealed.

Elizabeth Tailboys was the Tudor monarch's illegitimate lovechild who would have changed the course of British history had the King acknowledged her as his at the time.

By rights she should have taken the throne on the death of Queen Mary in 1558, making her the true Elizabeth I and not Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne Boleyn.

The decision would have had far reaching consequences for British history and the succession of every monarch since.

For example, Britain may be been invaded by the Spanish Armada which was actually seen off by the English fleet inspired by the real Elizabeth I in 1588.



The country could also have become embroiled in religious turmoil as Elizabeth I was credited with religous settlement by founding the Church of England.

And with Elizabeth Tailboys' own children on the throne instead of James I and Charles I, the country may have avoided Civil War, and the rule of Parliamentarians.

The revelation has been unearthed by historian Elizabeth Norton who has re-examined royal records as part of an investigation into the life of Henry VIII's famous mistress Bessie Blount.

Mrs Norton discovered Elizabeth Tailboy's was not the daughter of Bessie's future husband Gilbert Tailboys as previously thought, but the secret lovechild of the King.

Mrs Norton found Elizabeth was born between April and June 1520, a year after her brother Henry, who was acknowledged as the King's.

Both children were conceived during a period when Henry VIII lived a few miles away from Bessie's home and when he was known to visit her regularly.

This was also two years before Bessie married Gilbert Tailboys who later gave Elizabeth his surname.

The date of Elizabeth's birth made her younger than Mary I but older than Elizabeth, both of whom were also declared illegitimate by the King when he deemed his marriages to their mothers invalid.




However, because he acknowledged them as his, they were included in the Tudor succession after Henry failed to produce further sons.

The historian also noted the King paid particular attention to Elizabeth throughout his life, unusually adjudicating on court cases involving her and securing her financial interests.

Mrs Norton, an author and historian who studied at Cambridge and Oxford universities, said: 'If Henry had acknowledged her, it could have changed the whole course of British history.

'Bessie Blount is widely known to have been Henry's mistress, and she was already the mother of his acknowledged son Henry Fitzroy.

'But I believe the evidence and dates make it likely that he was also the father of her second daughter Elizabeth.

'As far as we know, she was conceived about three years before she met her husband Gilbert Tailboys, who would later give her his surname.

'At that time, Henry was staying in the same area as Bessie, within ten miles of her for the whole summer.

'Put simply, we know he was sleeping with her mother.

'In addition to the conception dates, there is also legal evidence that Henry took a personal interest in Bessie and Elizabeth's affairs.

'It would have been very odd for a King to take such an interest in a girl with a relatively minor title otherwise.

'It's highly probably that she was the King's child, but because she was a girl she was of little significance to him - he had no reason to acknowledge her as he did her brother.

'If he had acknowledged her, he would have had to consider her in the succession along with his two other illegitimate daughters, Mary and Elizabeth.

'That would result in further problems for Henry.

'To include two 'illegitimate' daughters in the succession but not a third would suggest that some of his illegitimate daughers were perhaps less illegitimate than others - a political point the King had no wish to make.'

Bessie also had a third child, George Tailboys, born two years after Elizabeth and indisputably fathered by her husband Gilbert.

Mrs Norton has now published the startling research in a new book, Bessie Blount; Mistress to Henry VIII, which is available from Amberley Publishing costing £25.