Agnes Tilney, Dowager Duchess of NorfolkThis is a featured page


Agnes Howard nee Tilney, Duchess of Norfolk as played by Barbara Brennan

born c. 1477 - died 1545
Character's backstory:Second wife and widow of Lord Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and both Anne Boleyn's and Katherine Howard's step-grandmother. She was one of the highest ranking women outside the Royal family and also one of the richest. Agnes was at the coronation of Anne Boleyn - she carried her train. She also carried the baby Princess Elizabeth Tudor to her christening. Her main residences were at Horsham in Sussex and Lambeth and she kept a great household. There were many unmarried women of noble birth in her household and they acted as her waiting women, they were also, supposedly, to complete their education- with a music master and clerks and secretaries to teach reading and writing. Katherine Howard found herself in this rather lax household- lax because Agnes was often at court and when not was a rather ineffectual disciplinarian.

Agnes actually caught Katherine and music teacher Mannox in a somewhat compromising situation and "gave Katherine two or three blows"and declared that Katherine and Mannox should never be alone together. Keys to the dormitories were stolen and midnight feasting was being shared in the ladies dormitory with the gentlemen of the household. It was a jealous Mannox who informed Agnes of these shenanigans by letter but it would seem that none of these goings-on were taken very seriously. Once Katherine caught the King's eye, it was Agnes who gave her new, fashionable clothes and advised her how to handle Henry. It was she who convinced Katherine to take Dereham into her household some say to possibly keep him quiet about his affair with her.

Agnes was arrested and taken to the Tower of London, along with many other Howard family members, as well as the queen's household. The Tower of London was said to be full with prisoners, and that some had to be lodged in the royal apartments. On 22nd December she was tried for "misprision of treason", for concealing and abetting Katherine Howard's offences. She was sentenced to imprisonment at the King's pleasure and forfeiture of goods.Eventually, the Dowager Duchess was released in 1543, but her stepson Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk was never returned to favour.

Gentility: Descended from Tailboys and Tilney families, married into the ducal Howard family

Position: Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, member of Katherine of Aragon's household

Personality type:

Signature look:

Endearing trait(s): Continued to care for her large family of children and stepchildren after her husband died during the Battle of Flodden Field. She was also guardian of the younger children of her stepson, Edmund Howard, after he died in debt.

Annoying trait(s): tight-fisted with money and lax with regards to the discipline of the girls in her care.

Scandals: Historically she's been blamed for the corruption and ultimately the execution of Katherine Howard, her step-granddaughter, due to her lack of attentiveness to Katherine's flirtations with men of her household. Despite knowledge of Katherine's scandalous past, Agnes and her stepson, the Duke of Norfolk, lobbied King Henry VIII to take Katherine as his fifth wife. Some historians claim Agnes tried to destroy any evidence of Katherine's past and even promoted a former lover, Francis Dereham, as the queen's secretary in an effort to cover up the scandal.

Agnes Tilney as played by Barbara Brennan




















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CHARACTER CONNECTIONS


Family members:
Husband: Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
Children: Agnes, George, Catherine, Elizabeth Countess of Sussex, Anne, William 1st Baron Effingham, Lord Thomas Viscount Binden, Dorothy Countess of Derby
Stepson: Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
Stepson: Lord Edmund Howard (Father of Katherine Howard)
Stepdaughter: Elizabeth Howard (mother of Anne, Mary, and George Boleyn)
Cousin: Elizabeth Tilney, Duchess of Norfolk (Grandmother of Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard)
Step-granddaughter: Katherine Howard


Romance(s):
Husband: Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (1499 - 1513) (who was previously married to Agnes' cousin Elizabeth Tilney)

Friends:


Enemies:



UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTER QUOTES










DEFINING EPISODES | MEMORABLE SCENES









PHOTOS
Sir Francis Bryan & Agnes Tilney Agnes Tilney as played by Barbara Brennan
Agnes Tilney as played by Barbara Brennan







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Keyword tags: anne boleyn charles brandon gabrielle anwar henry viii jeremy northam jonathan rhys meyers margaret tudor natalie dormer sam neill showtime the tudors the tudors tudors characters
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