“Henry, Prince of Wales on the Hunting Field”, 1603, by Robert Peake the Elder (The MET)
Henry Stuart, Prince of Wales was once the great hope of early 17th-century Britain. The eldest son of James I was the epitome of heroic Renaissance princely virtue: He was educated to rule, and interested in everything from art to the sciences to the exploration of new continents.
Henry’s court was filled with leading artists, musicians, writers, and composers such as Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones. He founded a royal art collection of European breadth, amassed a collection of priceless books, and led grand renovations of royal palaces.
He embraced science, funded telescopes and automata, and was patron of the North West Passage Company. He modernized Britain’s naval and military capacity and advocated for the colonization of North America. He was also preparing himself be the next leader of Protestant Christendom in the struggle to resist a resurgent militant Catholicism.
But Henry Stuart would never ascend the throne—he died in 1612 at the age of 18—and a man who was once a celebrity across Europe became all but forgotten. His biographer Sarah Fraser discusses Henry’s achievements and ambitions, traces the period of political and religious turmoil that followed his death, and examines who and what was behind the suppression of his memory.
Fraser is a writer and regular contributor on British television and radio. Her book, The Prince Who Would Be King: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart (William Collin), is available for sale and signing.
