In 1499 Erasmus himself, the greatest of the humanists, visited his friend, Lord Mountjoy, near Greenwich, and made young Henry's acquaintance.

"I was staying," he writes,[49] "at Lord Mountjoy's country house when Thomas More came to see me, and took me out with him for a walk as far as the next village, where all the King's children, except Prince Arthur, who was then the eldest son, were being educated.

When we came into the hall, the attendants not only of the palace, but also of Mountjoy's household, were all assembled.

In the midst stood Prince Henry, now nine years old, and having already something of royalty in his demeanour in which there was a certain dignity combined with singular courtesy.

On his right was Margaret, about eleven years of age, afterwards married to James, King of Scots; and on his left played Mary, a child of four.