On This Day (10 January) in 1564, Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk, died in Norwich, aged around 23 years old, three weeks after giving birth to her fourth child.
Margaret was the sole surviving daughter and heir of Thomas Audley, Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor, and Elizabeth Grey, the older sister of Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, and later the 1st Duke of Suffolk. As a first cousin of Lady Jane Grey, and a wealthy heiress in her own right, Margaret was one of the young people in the summer of 1553 to enter into marriages and betrothals, orchestrated by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, then Lord President of the Regency Council, in an attept to secure political and strategic allegiances (de Lisle, 2008). The 13 year old Margaret married the Duke's teenage son, Henry 'Harry' Dudley, who was shortly after imprisoned in the Tower of London, along with his older brothers, on charges of High Treason (due to his role in the Dudley's family attempted coup to place Jane Grey on the English throne), Following his release, Harry and his surviving brothers, Ambrose and Robert, found themselves fighting for Philip II of Spain in France, with Harry dying at the Siege of Saint-Quentin in August 1557, leaving Margaret a young widow (Paul, 2022).
In early 1558, Margaret became engaged to Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk; Norfolk was also recently widowed, his wife, Mary FitzAlan, dying from puerperal fever eight weeks after giving birth to their only son Philip the previous year. As Mary was a first cousin of Margaret (being the daughter of Katherine Grey, the sister of Elizabeth Grey), papal dispensation was required before the marriage proceeded. Lawyers on behalf of the Duke were sent to Rome and spent months petitioning on his behalf, leading to significant delays; however, with the death of Mary I in November 1558, and the abandonment of Catholicism in England (despite Howard himself remaining Catholic), the couple made the decision to proceed with their marriage without the dispensation. The couple married around the beginning of December 1558, with their marriage statutorily ratified by Parliament the following March. However, the couple had already been accepted into court and society, with both playing high-profile roles in Elizabeth I's coronation in January 1559 (Williams, 1964; Hutchinson, 2009).
Margaret and Norfolk had four children, born between 1559 and 1563 - Elizabeth (known as 'Bess', who died in infancy), Thomas, Margaret (known as 'Meg') and William. Each child was born at Walden Abbey, Hertfordshire - the former monastery inherited from her father, which came into his possession on the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Her widowed mother, Elizabeth Grey, Lady Audley, continued to live at Walden Abbey, and Margaret made the decision to stay often with her mother, within a days travel of Kenninghall Palace, the principal country house of the Dukes of Norfolk (Williams, 1964). Walden Abbey was later inherited by Margaret's eldest son Thomas, 1st Earl of Suffolk, who subsequently rebuilt in the early 17th century, and renamed the new house as 'Audley End' (English Heritage, 2024).
Margaret gave birth to her fourth child, a son William, at Walden Abbey on 19 December 1563. Following the birth, it was reported that she was eager to be reunited with her husband, who was continuing to reside at their principal London home, 'Cree Church Place', the house built by Thomas Audley on the site of the former priory of Holy Trinity, Aldgate, one of the properties Margaret had brought as a marriage portion, known as 'Duke's Place' (Williams, 1964; Map of Early Modern London, 2024).
Margaret subsequently left Hertfordshire around Christmas 1563, headed for London. However, this move appeared to be too soon, as weak from childbirth, the Duchess caught a respiratory infection, falling ill, which caused her to break her journey in Norwich. In the mid-16th century, Norwich was the second largest city, outside London, and where the Duke, in 1561, in addition to multiple houses he was in possession of, commissioned the building of a 'ducal palace' in the parish of St John Maddermarket (Hutchinson, 2009), Unfortunately, despite the rest, Margaret did not recover, and she passed away from her illness, reportedly at Norwich's 'Duke's Palace'. Alternate dates have been provided: Hutchinson (2009) quotes Arundel Castle Archives, stating that Margaret died on Sunday 09 January 1564, at around 7 o'clock in the evening, whilst Bishop John Pankhurst writes in February 1564 that she passed away on 10 January (Robinson, 1842).
Margaret's funeral was held on 24 January 1564 at St John the Baptist Church, Norwich (also known as 'St John's Maddermarket'). The protestant service, reflective of her own religious views and education, was conducted by John Pankhurst, Bishop of Norwich, with her mother-in-law, Frances de Vere, Countess of Surrey, acting as her Chief Mourner. Following the service, Margaret was subsequently buried in the north side of the chancel, with Thomas Sampson, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, overseeing the burial (Robinson, 1842; de Lisle, 2008).
In February 1564, John Pankhurst wrote to Josiah Simler, a Swiss theologian, regarding Margaret. He confirmed that she had "died in childbed on 10th January", and that he had "preached her funeral sermon". Pankhurst described a simple funeral service -"there were no ceremonies at the funeral service, wax candles or torches. Except the sun nothing shone, which sadly annoyed the papists. Nothing of the kind has ever been seen in England, especially at the funeral of a peer or peeress" (Robinson, 1842, p.137).
As tradition, Howard did not attend Margaret's funeral. However, in his bereavement, he took a leave of absence from court, and with his five children, retired to the country, likely spending his time between Kenninghall and Walden Abbey, before his third marriage to Elizabeth Leyburne, and subsequent return to court. Williams (1964, p.88) described his years with Margaret as being "exceptionally happy", and surmises that her death likely impacted Howard more so than the death of his first wife Mary, as well as his father, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey's excution in 1547.
A tomb, commissioned by Norfolk, was later erected at St Michael the Archangel Church, Framlingham, Suffolk; Norfolk's grandfather, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk had commissioned the rebuilding of the chancel in the 1540s to provide a burial place for members of his family (Hutchinson, 2009). Subsequently many members of the Howard family were buried here, including her mother-in-law, the Dowager Countess of Surrey, and her first daughter, Bess (St Michael's Framlingham, 2024).
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