Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, KG was the brother of the
English queen Jane Seymour who was the third wife of King Henry VIII and mother
of King Edward VI. He was also the fourth husband of Catherine Parr who was
the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII. However, he is probably best known for
his influence in the life of the future Queen Elizabeth I.
Thomas was the son of Sir John Seymour and Margaret Wentworth. He grew up at
Wulfhall, the Seymour family home, in Wiltshire, a county in southwest
England. The Seymours were a family of country gentry, who, like most holders
of manorial rights, traced their ancestry to a Norman origin. To his
contemporaries, he was forceful and reckless, and also, very attractive to
women. Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, a boyhood friend of King Edward, described
Thomas Seymour as "hardy, wise and liberal ... fierce in courage, courtly
in fashion, in personage stately, in voice magnificent, but somewhat empty of
matter." And though ambitious, his brother, Edward Seymour, far surpassed
and out-distanced him in their rivalry over control of their nephew, Edward
Tudor, and for power. He was executed for treason.
Royal connection Because Henry VIII and his second wife,
Anne Boleyn, did not have a son, his interests turned elsewhere, to Jane
Seymour one of Anne's ladies in waiting. Henry married Jane eleven days after
Anne's execution in May 1536, and the Seymour brothers saw their fortunes
rise, as they became part of the royal family. In October of the following
year, Jane gave birth to a son, Edward Tudor, who would become King Edward VI.
Less than two weeks later, Queen Jane died from complications related to
childbirth, leaving her two brothers, Edward and Thomas, as uncles to the baby
Edward, heir to the throne. Therefore, because of this marriage, Thomas
Seymour's sister, Jane Seymour, had been queen; his nephew, Edward Tudor, would
be king; and his older brother, Edward Seymour, would be Lord Protector, ruler
of England, on behalf of the minor King. Thomas's other royal connection was with
Catherine Parr, Henry VIII's sixth wife, whom Thomas would later marry, after
Henry's death. The Parrs were a substantial northern family, both of
Catherine's parents being friends with King Henry and Queen Catherine of
Aragon,. In 1529, when she was 17, Catherine married Sir Edward Burgh, who
died in the spring of 1533, not surviving to inherit the title of Baron
Burgh. In 1534 Catherine married John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer, a man twice
her age. With this marriage, Catherine had a secure home, step-children, and a
husband with influence and a title. As a result of the uprising of the North, in
January 1537, Catherine and her family spent much of their time in London
where, in 1542, she became acquainted with Thomas Seymour. Catherine preferred
the atmosphere of the court which was very different from the rural estates
she had known. She nursed her husband until his death in 1543, which left her
a rich widow. After Lord Latimer's death, she faced the possibility of
having to return north. However, in that same year, Catherine established herself
as part of Princess Mary's household, where she caught the attention of the
King,. Although she had already begun a romantic relationship with Thomas, she
saw it as her duty to accept Henry's proposal over Thomas's. Thus, on 12 July
1543, Catherine Parr became Henry's sixth and final wife.
Foreign affairs Meanwhile, in 1538, Thomas was sent to
the embassy at the French court. He was one of those appointed to meet Anne of
Cleves, King Henry’s fourth wife, at Calais on 13 December 1539. A few weeks
later he was sent to Ferdinand, King of Hungary and brother of Charles V, Holy
Roman Emperor to enlist support for Henry against France and Scotland. He
arrived at Vienna in July, and remained there two years. In May 1543, he was
appointed ambassador to the Netherlands. He was given this posting to remove him
from King Henry's court, for the King’s marriage to Catherine Parr. War
breaking out between England and France, Seymour was made marshal of the English
army in the Netherlands on 26 June, being second in command to Sir John
Wallop. On 24 July 1543, with a strong detachment, he captured and destroyed
the castles of Rinquecen and Arbrittayne near the French city of Boulogne. For a
short time, he held the chief command during Wallop's illness. Due to his
position of privilege as a royal uncle and as a reward for his services, Thomas
was made Master-General of the Ordnance in 1544 and Lord Warden of the Cinque
Ports in 1545, both very senior military positions.
Regency Council and marriage to Catherine Parr
He returned to court just before King Henry VIII died in January 1547, leaving
Catherine one of the wealthiest women in England. According to the King's will, a
regency council was constituted to rule on behalf of the 9-year-old orphaned
King Edward. As the uncles of the king, both Thomas and Edward Seymour were
members of the regency council. As part of an "unfulfilled gifts clause" left
unmentioned in Henry's will, the members of the council granted themselves, on
behalf of the king, lavish gifts and titles. Thomas became 1st Baron Seymour
of Sudeley. Edward became Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, and is
often, therefore, referred to as "Somerset." In addition, Thomas saw his
brother rise, in the contentious and dangerous politics of the English
Reformation, to the position of chief councilor with an approved title of
"Protector" regent, referred to unofficially as Lord Protector of
England, in effect, ruler of the realm as Regent for his nephew, the king.
Thomas, unsurprisingly, began to resent his brother and the relationship between
them began to dissolve. Although Thomas was named Lord High Admiral as a
concession, he was consumed by jealousy of his brother's power and influence and
worked to unseat and replace his brother as Lord Protector.
Thomas Seymour sought to over-turn his brother's position on the regency
council by his personal influence over the young king, and also possibly, by
making a royal marriage. Although his name had been linked to Mary Howard,
Duchess of Richmond, he was still unmarried at the time of the King's
death. He had previously shown some interest in marrying either of Henry’s
daughters, Elizabeth or Mary; however, within weeks of Henry’s death, Thomas
had rekindled the affair with Catherine Parr, and they were secretly married in
April or May of 1547, too soon after the king's death, to suit many. Anne
Stanhope, Somerset's proud wife, disliked Catherine and Thomas and began
to turn many people in court against them. To demonstrate her hatred, Anne
kept the Queen's jewels, which by right were Catherine's. In turn, Catherine was
annoyed at the appointment of Edward Seymour as Protector regent, since as
King Edward's stepmother, she had expected to be appointed regent.
Flirtation with Elizabeth Upon their marriage, Thomas moved into
his wife’s house, at Chelsea Manor in London, where she lived with her
step-daughter, the 14-year-old Elizabeth. Thomas was the uncle of
Elizabeth's half-brother, and the newly wed husband of her step-mother, and
their family roles regarding each other, were, perhaps, unclear. Now, living
under the same roof as Elizabeth, Thomas became more than a little familiar, if
not intimate, with Elizabeth, indulging in daily romps with her, tickling her,
and slapping her on her behind as she lay in her bed, or coming into her room
in his nightclothes. Her governess, Kat Ashley, thought this scandalous, and
reported it to Catherine. Indignant, Thomas retorted, 'By God's precious
soul, I mean no evil, and I will not leave it!' At first, Catherine dismissed
the behavior as just innocent fun, and even joined in the romps on a few
occasions. Was Elizabeth frightened, or merely annoyed? Or was she infatuated
with his boldness? It was said that she bore him affection. And though her
governess, Kat Ashley, "bade him go away in shame," she found him more amusing
than dangerous. When Catherine was pregnant in the spring of 1548, she had
become concerned enough about her husband’s flirtatious relationship with
Elizabeth that she sent Elizabeth away to live with Anthony Denny and his wife,
Joan Champernowne,, in Hertfordshire. In June 1548, Catherine and Thomas Seymour
moved their household from London to Sudeley Castle, the property granted to
Seymour when he became Baron Seymour of Sudeley. In September 1548, Catherine
gave birth to a daughter. In the following days, she became
uncharacteristically hostile and delusional. Thomas lay in bed with her
to quiet her, but she did not get better, and died of complications due to
childbirth, just before Elizabeth’s 15th birthday. Upon her death, Catherine
bequeathed all of her possessions to Thomas, making him one of the richest
men in England. He said he was "amazed" at her death; yet, it opened up new
opportunities to him, as his eye returned to Elizabeth. From fear or
shrewdness, she avoided him, returning, with her governess, Kat Ashley, to her
childhood home, Hatfield House. Relationship with the young king
Despite his great wealth and high position, Thomas could not come to terms
with his brother's appointment as Protector; and in his struggle with
Somerset, he tried to ingratiate himself with the king, who was just a little
boy. He sought the 9-year-old Edward to write a letter on his behalf in support
of his marriage to the dowager queen, Catherine Parr. The letter was obviously
dictated by Thomas for Edward's signature and only enraged Somerset. He
began to visit Edward frequently, secretly giving him an extravagant
allowance of coins, so that Edward might be satisfied in feeling more grown-up
and more king-like, giving gifts to his servants, teachers, and friends. Even
though he lived in sumptuous splendor, and wanting for nothing, no provisions
had been made for Edward's pocket money and he became accustomed to these
regular payments and began to ask Thomas freely for his allowance. Thomas
continued his manipulation of the king. In trying to get a bill through
Parliament making him Edward's personal Governor, Thomas requested Edward's
royal signature on the bill. But Edward was uncertain, and reluctant to go
behind the back of the Protector, Somerset, and of the regency council,
and he would not sign it. Thomas persistently pressured Edward, until
Edward felt threatened. But Thomas did not give up. He tried to persuade Edward
that he did not need a Protector, getting Edward to admit that it might be
better for Somerset to die. It is not known what the king meant by this, but
it was probably uttered innocently. Thomas intended that the king's royal
signature and personal support would destabilize Somerset's position as
Protector, and as a member of the regency council. In his frustration and
inability to gain any significant influence over the king, Thomas began to
think in terms of open rebellion. Although he was a boy, King Edward did
not seem completely naïve regarding any of this. For, it is recorded that Edward
referred to William Parr, his step-mother's brother, as "mine honest
uncle," indicating unspoken scorn for both of his Seymour uncles..
Thomas Seymour's downfall When Lord Somerset, the Protector,
invaded Scotland in the summer of 1547 and was absent from court, his brother,
Thomas, fomented opposition to his authority, voicing open disapproval of
his brother's administrative skills. Because his activities seemed
suspicious, several members of the nobility advised him to be content with
his position, but he would not listen. As Lord High Admiral, he was able to
control the English navy, and he openly asked for support in case of a
rebellion. He entered into relations with pirates on the western coasts, whom
it was his duty as Lord High Admiral to suppress, with a view to securing their
support. Thomas seems also to have hoped to finance a rebellion through crooked
dealings with the vice-treasurer of the Bristol Mint, Sir William Sharington.
By 1548, the regency council was becoming aware of Thomas's bid for
power. Somerset tried to save his brother from ruin, calling a council
meeting so that Thomas might explain himself. However, Thomas did not appear.
On the night of 16 January 1549, for reasons that are not clear, Thomas was
caught trying to break into the King's apartments at Hampton Court Palace. He
entered the privy garden and awoke one of the King's pet spaniels. In response
to the dog's barking, he shot and killed it. The next day, he was arrested and
sent to the Tower of London. The incident, being caught outside the
king's bedroom, at night, with a loaded pistol, was interpreted in the most
menacing light, even casting suspicion on Elizabeth's involvement with Thomas.
On 18 January, the council sent agents to question everyone associated with
Thomas, including Elizabeth. On 22 February, the council officially accused
him of thirty-three charges of treason. He was convicted of treason, and
condemned to death and executed on 20 March 1549.
Afterwards When he was arrested for treason,
Seymour's associates were also cast under suspicion, including 15-year-old
Elizabeth. Distraught over Thomas’s arrest, she did not realize her own
danger until her servants, including her beloved governess, Kat, were also
arrested. Upon realizing that Thomas would probably be executed, she was
noticeably disconsolate, trying to free herself and her servants from suspicion.
The regency council was sure of her complicity with Thomas, and sought to
bully an easy confession from her. She was interrogated relentlessly for weeks.
But the council found itself in a sharply defined game of wits with
Elizabeth, who proved to be a master of logic, defiance, and shrewdness. The
embarrassing details of the flirtatious incidents with Thomas came to light. But
there was no evidence that Elizabeth had conspired with him.
This incident was a sign of Elizabeth's strong and distinctive personality. This
difficult experience seems to have made her, for the first time in her young
life, fully aware of the serious, even deadly, nature of her succession rights
to the throne. When she made her first public appearance at court 18 months
later, just turning 17, she dressed in a simple, somber manner with plain and
unadorned hair. This contrasted sharply with the showy splendor of the other
ladies present, as if she was trying to live down the scandal of her association
with Thomas. After his execution, all of Thomas’
property was seized by the Crown. His only child, Mary Seymour, was left a
penniless orphan. She was placed in the care of the Duchess of Suffolk,
Catherine Brandon. There are no more historical references to her, suggesting
that she may have died, possibly of some childhood illness, probably before she
had even reached her second birthday. Lineage
Notes References
Further reading Fraser, Antonia. The Wives of Henry
VIII. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0394585380. MacLean, John. The life of Sir Thomas
Seymour, Knight, Baron Seymour of Sudeley, Lord High Admiral of England,
and Master of the Ordnance. London: John Camden Hotten.
Starkey, David. Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne. New York: HarperCollins.
ISBN 0060184973. Weir, Alison. The Children of Henry
VIII. New York: Ballantine. ISBN 9780345391186.
External links Seymour, Sir Thomas II, of Bromham,
Wilts., Seymour Place, London and Sudeley Castle, Glos. Biography
Sir Thomas Seymour, Lord Seymour of Sudeley Family tree
Portraits of Thomas Seymour, Baron Sudeley at the National Portrait
Gallery, London Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of
Sudeley at Find a Grave