Henry, Duke of Gloucester

Henry, Duke of Gloucester, youngest son of Charles I and his queen Henrietta Maria, was buried in the south aisle of Henry VII's chapel in Westminster Abbey on 21st September 1660. His infant siblings Charles (died 1629), probably Katherine (died 1639), and Anne (died 1640) are buried with him. Also his sister Mary, Princess of Orange who was buried on 20th December 1660. His brother, King Charles II, was buried a little more to the east in the Stuart vault in 1685. His aunt, Elizabeth, queen of Bohemia, is buried in the same vault as Henry. Their names appear on a small modern stone between the monuments of Mary Queen of Scots and the Countess of Lennox.

Henry was born at Oatlands in Surrey in July 1640 (and was known as Henry of Oatlands) and created Earl of Cambridge and Duke of Gloucester in 1644. After his father's execution in 1649 he was confined in Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight and banished from the kingdom by Oliver Cromwell. He lived in Holland and France and returned with Charles II to England in 1660 at the Restoration of the monarchy and was Ranger of Hyde Park. He died unmarried at Whitehall of smallpox.

Further reading

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004

Born

8th July 1640

Died

13th September 1660

Location

Lady Chapel

Memorial Type

Vault

Portrait of Henry, Duke of Gloucester, dressed in robes
Portrait of Henry Duke of Gloucester

After anonymous dated 1660 by George Vertue Wellcome Collection. CC BY