Mary Rose crew was a multinational one – some even came from Africa

KING Henry VIII’S favourite ship, the Mary Rose, was made up of a multinational crew, research suggests.

Research by Portsmouth and Cardiff universities in 2019 looked at the bone structure and DNA of ten skeletons found on board before concluding four of the skeletons were of southern European heritage, with one seemingly from Morocco or Algeria.

Researchers say the remaining five crew members studied were likely to have been brought up in western Britain, with further analysis suggesting one of these men was of African ancestry.

The Mary Rose was a successful warship and served Henry VIII for 34 years.

She sank during the Battle of the Solent in 1545, a naval battle with the French, with the loss of between 400 and 600 lives

Scientists at Cardiff University are working with the Mary Rose Trust and the British Geological Survey to reveal the ancestry, childhood origins and diets of some of the crew who perished on the ship.

First author Jessica Scorrer said: “Our findings point to the important contributions that individuals of diverse backgrounds and origins made to the English navy during this period.

“This adds to the ever-growing body of evidence for diversity in geographic origins, ancestry and lived experiences in Tudor England.”

In 1982, 437 years after she sank, the remains of the Mary Rose and 19,000 artefacts were recovered, and many are conserved and displayed in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.