Royal Haddocks

            The little girl discovered years later that the castle referred to in Grandma Louise’s letter would link the Haddocks of Jones County, Georgia to all the most powerful royal families of Europe!  For Joseph Caswell Haddock’s Great⁹-Grandparents were the Queen of England, Katherine (sometimes spelled with a “C”) de Valois, and the royal Welshman, Sir Owen Tudor. 

In the film version of William Shakespeare’s play, Henry V, Queen Katherine is played by the famous actress, Emma Thompson.  The play ends in May 1420, with Katherine’s marriage to King Henry V, King of England.  After the defeat of Katherine’s father, King Charles VI of France by Henry V, the marriage was considered to be advantageous for both countries. 

            Upon Henry’s death in 1422, Catherine continued to live in the royal palace with her infant son, the heir to both the English and French thrones.  Eventually, the widowed queen married a Welsh royal, Owen Tudor.  However, as the infant son of Henry V grew, his enemies grew in number and in power. 

            The baby was crowned Henry VI, King of England at a mere eight months old on 31 August 1422.  When his Grandfather, Charles VI, died later that October, the infant also became the King of France.  Reagents and advisors ruled his kingdom until 1437,

            When the teenage Henry VI did begin his true reign, he wisely surrounded himself with people he trusted, including his half-brothers, Edmund and Jasper Tudor.  Edmond became the Earl of Richmond and Jasper, the Earl of Bedford.  

             Henry Tudor was born in 1457, the grandson of Queen Katherine and the only son of Edmund Tudor. Since Edmund died two months before his baby was born, Jasper became his formal guardian.  Eventually, Jasper chose to flee to France with his young nephew for the child’s safety. 

            Since Joseph Caswell Haddock’s Great⁸-Grandfather Jasper was an experienced military commander, he taught the young boy everything he knew.  Then in 1485, the uncle and nephew returned to England to claim the throne of England. 

            As the military mastermind behind the decisive Battle of Bosworth Field, Jasper and his colleagues were able to defeat King Richard III who had long threatened the life of the heir.  On the battlefield that very day, Henry Tudor was crowned Henry VII, the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. 

            One of the most intriguing periods of English history thus began, and the royal Haddocks were right in the middle of it…not as observers, but as members of the ruling family!