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Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester

Oatlands Palace, 8 Jul 1640 – Palace of Whitehall, 18 Sep 1660

8 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

  • Born8 Jul 1640, Oatlands Palacenot verified1 source
  • TitleDuke of Gloucester, 1659–1660not verified1 source
  • Died18 Sep 1660, Palace of Whitehallnot verified1 source
  • FatherCharles I of Englandnot verified1 source
  • MotherHenrietta Maria of Francenot verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 8 Jul 1640

    Born in Oatlands Palace

  2. 1659–1660

    Duke of Gloucester

  3. 18 Sep 1660

    Dies in Palace of Whitehall, aged 20

Family

See the tree

Parents

During his lifetime

He lived through 3 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Oatlands Palace.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1640s · Henry is born in Oatlands Palace

In the news1649

Execution of King Charles I

King Charles I was publicly executed for treason, marking the first time a monarch was beheaded by his own people.

Getting around

Carriages stuck in the mud

Carriages sometimes required a team of sturdy laborers on both sides to prop them up so they would not overturn in deep mud.

In the news1642

English Civil Wars begin

Beginning in 1642, the English Civil Wars caused approximately 200,000 deaths and led to heavy weekly taxes to fund the fighting.

Daily life

Few children could afford school

Many children in the 1640s did not go to school, and families often could not afford it; many adults also could not read or write. Where schooling happened, girls often attended only until about age 10, while boys might continue to grammar school if their parents could pay.

What people wore

Ordinary women's linen smocks

Ordinary women wore smocks as an undergarment, which were loose, all-enveloping linen dresses. These could be made of holland linen for best or coarser fabrics for daily work.

Music

The Popularity of the Viol

The viola da gamba, a fretted instrument with six strings played with a bow, became very popular for domestic music-making because of its shimmering sound and relative ease of learning.

At the table

Ordinary diets centered on pottage

For poorer people, pottage (a thick vegetable stew) was a main food, alongside bread and vegetables. This diet left many lacking vitamins and iron, and hard times meant hunger when prices rose.