Henry, Duke of Cornwall was the name of two sons of King Henry VIII of England and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

The first Henry, Duke of Cornwall (1 January - 11 February 1511) was the second child, oldest son and Heir Apparent of King Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon. He was born on 1 January, 1511, eighteen months after his parents' marriage and coronation. His older sister, born 31 January 1510 was three months premature and had not survived.http://www.thepeerage.com/p10149.htm#i101488

Henry and his queen planned extravagant celebrations rivalling that of his coronation for the birth of his son and heir, who immediately became Duke of Cornwall and was scheduled later in adulthood to become Prince of Wales, King of England and third king of the House of Tudor. Henry carried Catherine's favor in a tournament, riding under the banner of "Sir Loyal Heart;" the relationship between the royal pair, already one of strong affection, had become even more of a love match because of Catherine's success in providing a male heir. Known as "Little Prince Hal" and "the New Year's Boy," the prince was almost instantly beloved by the entire realm. However on 11 February, 1511 the young prince died suddenly. The cause was not recorded.

Contemporary reports state that both parents were distraught at the loss of their second child and expected future king. The deeply religious Catherine spent many hours kneeling on cold stone floors praying, to the worry of courtiers. Henry distracted himself from his grief by unsuccessfully waging war against Louis XII of France with his father-in-law, Ferdinand II of Aragon.

The second Henry, Duke of Cornwall (December 1514) was the third son and fourth child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Little is known about the prince, who died within one month of his birth.

Henry in total had six children by Catherine of Aragon; 2 girls, 3 boys, and 1 whose sex is unrecorded. Only one of their children, Princess Mary (later Queen Mary I) survived infancy.

Henry had four subsequent sons: * Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1519 - 1536), by his mistress, Elizabeth Blount * Henry Tudor 1534, by his second wife, Anne Boleyn * "Edward" (an unnamed boy) 29 January 1536, Anne Boleyn * Edward VI (1537 - 1553), by his third wife, Jane Seymour

In total Henry had ten children by his first three wives-none by the last three- and at least one illegitimate son. At least five of his legitimate children were sons. Only one, the future Edward VI, survived infancy.

Historians have speculated as to the course English history might have taken, had either of the two Henrys, Duke of Cornwall, or any of the other legitimate sons survived. Given that Henry's search for a male heir, after Catherine's failure to give birth to any more live sons, was the cited reason which led him to have their marriage annulled, a living male child may have at least forstalled the marriage to Anne Boleyn and placed England in a different relationship with Roman Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation.

This theme has also been explored in some alternate history science fiction, such as Kingsley Amis' The Alteration (1976), in which another alternate history English Reformation is depicted, even without the succession crisis caused by the absence of a male heir until the birth of Edward VI to Henry and Jane Seymour. However, Amis' book within a book does not specify whether this alternate history Henry IX is one of the Dukes of Cornwall, or else Henry Tudor (II)(died 1534), son of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn who died in 1534 in our world. Given Anne's forthright Protestantism, it is probable that any surviving son might have followed in her footsteps.

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