Though eldest son, Cavendish was disinherited by his mother after a complete breakdown in their relationship due to his friendship with Mary, Queen of Scots, and support for his niece, Arbella Stuart.

Both couples were matched as part of the prenuptial agreement and condition upon which Henry's mother, Lady Bess, would agree to marry George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury, Grace's widowed father.

[3] As a young man, perhaps under the guidance of his stepfather Sir William St Loe (Captain of the Guard for Queen Elizabeth the 1st), Cavendish had trained to proficiency in arms and later "won repute as a soldier".

[3] In about 1585, Cavendish and his wife were living at Tutbury Castle when the Tudor courtier Amias Paulet made arrangements for Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots to be sent there.

Cavendish, knowing the formidable cost to his father in laws estate during his tenure as keeper of Mary, Queen of Scots between 1568 and 1585, was reluctant to make way for the royal prisoner and her considerable entourage without reimbursement.

Paulet reported to the Queen that "This is his final answer....‘and in my simple opinion is not much different from reason’, but added that "It may be, although he doth not say it, that he will be content with the loan of £1,500".

As this trip occurred between the early active years of his political career as a Member of Parliament, and immediately following his campaign in the Netherlands, it is worth considering if he may have been tasked also with government interests or official business.

This trip took place just as Queen Elizabeth desperately sought to strengthen foreign policy and trade ventures across the Ottoman Empire and beyond.

Also, highly influential and someone Henry may have met, Safiye Sultan, queen mother of the royal harem and her kiva, the Jewish Esperanza Malchi.

The wealthy of England could not get enough of their "oriental" rugs, fabrics, baubles (jewellery), sweet wines, sugar and spice while the Sultans were keenly interested in British arms.

Henry's servant-companion Mr. Fox, kept an account of this journey now published as Mr. Harrie Cavendish, his Journey To and From Constantinople, 1589 Fox, His Servant [4] See Marlow and Shakespeare's plays for context of Anglo-Ottoman relations during the late 1500s-early 1600s: Tamburlaine, The Spanish Tragedy, The Jew of Malta, The Merchant of Venice and Othello Henry's trade ventures proved successful to forward the Earl of Shrewsbury's extensive mineral trade interests.

Henry is said to have had an eye for high quality design and returned with many Chinese silks, Persian or Anatolian carpets, and Gujarati embroidered bed-covers, as well as extensive networks across the Far East and Europe to arrange further import.

By 1601, it is said that his mother had amassed a collection of imported goods that included 46 Turkish carpets and a commissioned set of three large, Belgian embroidered wall hangings depicting the cardinal virtues: Hope, Faith, Love for her homes at Chatsworth and Hardwick Hall.

The Elizabethan era of Islamic trade would end, however, soon after Henry's trip to Constantinople with the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603 and the ascension of James 1 who had no interest in pursuing further alliance of this nature.

It appears that soon after their arrival two servants, who had been with the family for a long time and for whom Henry had a strong affection, fought an unexpected dual wherein one of them was killed.

On thursday at nyght last at supper ij of my men fell owt abowte some tryflynge woordes and to all theyr felloes iudgementes that harde theyr iangelynge, wear made good ffrendes agayne, and went and Laye togeether that nyghte, for they had byn bedfelloes of longe before, and loved one thother very well as every boddye tooke yt in the howse.

Reputedly unhappy in his marriage, and unable or unwilling to produce a legitimate living heir with his wife, Cavendish pursued extra-marital liaisons.

Sadly, as his immoral behaviour was no different to many other a promiscuous peer of this era, the possibility of politically motivated libel or biased historic narrative must be considered.

There are several possible reasons for her decision: 1) Henry had failed to produce a legitimate dynastic heir with Grace Talbot, to inherit (from her father) the Earl of Shrewsbury's property.

A rescue attempt occurred in 1602 just as Arabella had despaired of ever making an approved match and began to plot her own marriage to Edward Seymour.

Shortly after Queen Elizabeth died, Arbella had secretly married William Seymour (1610), Edwards brother, hoping for a life of peace with him overseas away from British politics.

Mary Talbot was also incarcerated in the Tower for 6 years (1611–1618) for her participation in what was deemed a Catholic plot and only released after paying an enormous ransom.

One unexplored possibility is that he and his sister, may have cared more for principle than pragmatism, and were simply intent to support the freedom of their loved ones to pursue a life of their own choosing....

The Cavendish Memorial, a magnificent early-17th-century church monument to Henry and his brother William, may have been designed by their mother prior to her death.

[3] Henry is symbolically depicted by his armour, which hangs on the wall and a magnificent carved marble statue of Mars- God of War, by Maxamillion Colt.

But it is the startlingly realistic bare bones of his effigy that says the most about the man, indicating his disavowal of his mother's values and resistance to participate in her dynastic agenda.

The Latin inscription for the two brothers on the church monument provides fascinating insight into their lives indicating, both, a stark contrast and strong fraternal bond: SACRED to the Memory of Henry, eldest son of William Cavendish, Knight of Chatsworth, in the County of Derby, and of the much celebrated Elizabeth Hardwick of Hardwick, in the same County, who afterwards married her fourth husband, George Earl of Shrewsbury.

He was a strenuous and brave man, and particularly distinguished himself among the English Volunteer Commanders in the campaign in the Netherlands, in the year 1578, in which he displayed perseverance, skill, diligence, activity, and fortitude.

When however his military engagements gave place to the enjoyment of ease, he indulged in the liberal and sumptuous use of his fortune in such a manner as to retain the character of splendour and festivity and to avoid the reproach of luxurious indolence.

His Arms and Armour being deposited in this county, and fixed in the wall, his Body lies here awaiting instead of the Clarion of Fame the Trumpet of the Resurrection.