Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter, 2nd Earl of Devon (c. 1498 – 9 December 1538), KG, PC, feudal baron of Okehampton, feudal baron of Plympton, of Tiverton Castle, Okehampton Castle and Colcombe Castle all in Devon, was a grandson of King Edward IV, nephew of the queen consort, Elizabeth of York and a first cousin of King Henry VIII. Henry Courtenay was a close friend of Henry VIII, having "been brought up of a child with his grace in his chamber".
Origins
He was born in about 1498, the first and only surviving son and heir of William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (1475–1511) by his wife Princess Catherine of York (died 1527), the sixth daughter of King Edward IV by his wife Elizabeth Woodville. His maternal first cousins therefore included King Henry VIII.
Early life
At the time of his birth in 1498, his paternal grandfather Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (died 1509) was still living and Henry's father William Courtenay was his eldest son and heir apparent. In 1504, during the reign of the Tudor King Henry VII, William Courtenay was accused of maintaining correspondence with Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk, the leading Yorkist claimant to the throne, and the king ordered him incarcerated in the Tower of London and he was attainted in February 1504, which disabled him from inheriting his father's earldom.
King Henry VII died on 22 April 1509 closely followed by Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, on 28 May 1509. The king was succeeded by his son King Henry VIII, the nephew of William Courtenay's wife, who released William from the Tower. On 24 June 1509, William took part in the coronation of Henry VIII and carried the Third Sword during the ceremony. William enjoyed some favour with Henry VIII who reversed his attainder on 9 May 1511 and created him Earl of Devon on 10 May 1511, with the usual remainder to heirs male of his body. William died a month later on 9 June 1511, before completing his official investiture as an earl, but was by royal warrant buried with the honours due to an earl. He left Henry Courtenay as his heir.
Earl of Devon
On the death of his father on 9 June 1511, Henry succeeded to his father's earldom of 1511, in accordance with the patent. But in 1512 he also succeeded to his grandfather's earldom of 1485, having obtained from Parliament in December 1512 a (more formal) reversal of his father's 1504 attainder.
His first cousin King Henry VIII was at the time involved in the War of the League of Cambrai against King Louis XII of France. The new earl of Devon experienced his first battles in 1513 as second captain of a man-of-war.
He seems to have gained the further favour of his royal cousin during the 1510s. He became a gentleman of the privy chamber and member of the Privy Council in 1520. In June 1520 he accompanied Henry VIII to Calais for his meeting with King Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold and became one of the debauched and athletic friends of the king's, frequently going on hunting trips with the king and his favourite, Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
In 1521 Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, KG, was executed on charges of treason, and a place having become vacant in the Order, the king appointed Courtenay a Knight of the Garter on 9 June 1521 and granted him part of Stafford's forfeited lands and properties. He was granted the administrations of the vacant dukedoms of Exeter, Somerset, and Cornwall over the following two years. In April 1522 he was made keeper of Burling Park in Kent, during which period he reached his greatest height of power in the king's inner council. It was possibly at that time he met the Boleyn family. He continued in the traditional hereditary offices of the Courtenays, as warden of the Stannaries and as the high steward of the Duchy of Cornwall from May 1523. He was appointed constable of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in 1525.
Marquess of Exeter
On 18 June 1525 Henry VIII created Henry Courtenay, as "Earl of Devon, Dominus of Okehampton and Plympton" (i.e. feudal baron of Okehampton and feudal baron of Plympton), Marquess of Exeter. At that time Francis I of France had lost the Battle of Pavia and was held captive by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Henry VIII sent the new Marquess of Exeter to secure an agreement with French regent Louise of Savoy and to pledge the assistance of the English king in negotiations for the return of Francis.