_From an engraving by Bartolozzi, of the original drawing, attributed to Holbein, in the King’s collection._ FRANCES BRANDON, DUCHESS OF SUFFOLK, AND HER SECOND HUSBAND, ADRIAN STOKES 104 _From an engraving by Vertue, after the original portrait by Lucas de Heere._ MARY TUDOR, QUEEN OF ENGLAND 110 _From a little-known portrait by Antonio Moro, in the Escurial._ PHILIP II, KING OF SPAIN 122 _From a contemporary Spanish print._ QUEEN ELIZABETH 134 _From the original portrait, by F. Zucchero, at Hatfield._ ROBERT DUDLEY, EARL OF LEICESTER 156 _From the original portrait, by Zuccaro, in the National Portrait Gallery._ WILLIAM CECIL, LORD BURLEIGH 214 SIR THOMAS GRESHAM 278 _From a contemporary engraving._ THE ORIGIN OF THE HOUSE OF TUDOR THE amazing marriage of Katherine of Valois, widow of Henry V, with Owen Tudor, possibly accounts for much that was abnormal in the character of their royal descendants of the redoubted House of Tudor. The queen dowager was the daughter of the mad King Charles VI of France and of his licentious consort, Isabeau of Bavaria—bad blood, indeed; and Owen was a mere soldier of fortune. In his grandson Henry VII’s day, a goodly pedigree was discovered for him, which set forth that far from being a “mean born pup,” as was popularly reported, Owen was descended from Kenan, son of Coel, who was king of Britain, and brother of Helen, the mother of Constantine the Great. As to Owen ap Merideth ap Twydder or Tudor, good old Sandford affirms that “the Meanness of his Estate was recompensated by the Delicacy of his Person, so absolute in all the Lineaments of his Body, that the only Contemplation of it might make a Queen forget all other Circumstances”—which it did! Stowe, who lived near enough to those times to receive direct tradition concerning this brave soldier, says, in his _Annals_,[4] that he was “as ignorant as any savage.” Tall beyond the average, the founder of the House of Tudor carried himself with “a perfect grace.” He was well featured, with hair that was curly and “yellow as gold.” At an entertainment given in 1423, and attended, notwithstanding her recent bereavement, by the widowed queen, this Adonis, while in the act of executing an intricate pirouette, fell at the royal lady’s feet. Whether the passion kindled by this ludicrous accident was reciprocated, we are not told; but so ardent was it, on Katherine’s part, at least, that she soon afterwards clandestinely married the handsome Welshman.[5]