Sir Nicholas Vaux

Vaux in History

With the background accredited to Nicolas Vaux's parents, it would be no surprise that he would be a loyal subject to the house of Lancaster, of which King Henry VII was an extended part of. Vaux's father William was killed at the Battle of Tewksbury fighting for the Lancastrians against the Yorkist King Edward IV, and his mother Katherine was, most likely, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Margaret, wife of the Lancastrian King Henry VI. In addition, it is believed that Vaux grew up in the household of Margaret Beaufort, mother of the future Henry VII. When Henry VII came to the throne in 1485, the attainder against William Vaux was reversed, and Nicholas was able to inherit his father's lands. During Henry VII's reign, Vaux proved himself as a soldier, taking part in the the Battle of Stoke (1487) and the suppression of the Cornish revolt (1497) and was awarded with a number of lands and offices for his services. During the reign of Henry VII's successor, Henry VIII, Vaux would further prove himself in the battlefield when he took part in the king's French expeditions of 1513. Vaux was then used in the role of a diplomat when he took part in peace negotiations with the new French King Francis I and was one of the men responsible for the construction of the artificial palace at the Field of the Cloth of Gold ceremonies (1520). By 1522, Vaux's health was rapidly declining, but he held on for another year, long enough to be upgraded to the nobility as Baron Vaux, dying in May 1523.

Vaux in Shakespeare

Appears in: Henry VIII

Nicholas Vaux appears very briefly in Henry VIII where he is seen leading the Duke of Buckingham to his execution.

References

Ford, L. L. ‘Vaux, Nicholas, first Baron Vaux (c.1460–1523)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28162, accessed 29 April 2010]