Mystery of a Queen

There have been some suggestions as to why this may be. One idea is that the wristguard was passed from father to son. Traditionally, professions were passed from father to son and there is a possibility that, especially as the Mary Rose had a 34-year naval career, this is what happened. The father would have been working during the time Katherine of Aragon was on the throne adding weight to this theory. Everyday individuals did not have a lot of money in Tudor times, unless you were a noble, so passing clothing down to younger siblings or children was normal within families. Although this may not be the case as the emblems on the wristguard are of the Royal household and is more likely to have been earned rather than just passed down.

The pomegranate, a symbol associated with Granada and Katherine’s personal emblem, has also throughout history been widely associated with fertility. Could it be that Henry VIII, who famously desperately wanted a son, reintroduced the symbol to try and bring better luck to his marriages in producing a male heir? Although this doesn’t explain the inclusion of the turrets of Castile, an emblem associated with Spain. Perhaps this is to do with Henry’s reconciliation with his daughter Mary, facilitated by his sixth wife, Katherine Parr, in reference to her Spanish heritage. Could Henry have included it also to appease Spain in an alliance against the French?

Another clue that may help determine the origin of the symbol is that the archers, the wristguards belong to, might have been royal archers. These men were part of the King’s personal guard. During his reign King Henry raised a special troop of fifty trusted nobles, retained at his expense and his personal guard, known as ‘Spears of Honour’ or ‘Gentlemen Pensioners’. Each of these fifty men had to outfit and supply two good archers to fulfil any command of the King.

In 1544 Sir George Carew, the captain of the Mary Rose, was made a Lieutenant of the Gentlemen Pensioners, could the wristguards have belonged to his chosen two archers? But if this was the case, again why the symbol of Katherine of Aragon when the King was on his sixth wife by this point.