Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset
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Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset (1591 – 1632) was an English noblewoman who was a central figure in a famous scandal and murder during the reign of King James I.
She was born Frances Howard, the daughter of Lord Thomas Howard (later 1st Earl of Suffolk), second son of the 4th Duke of Norfolk, and his wife, the former Catherine Knyvet. Her father was a wealthy and powerful noble during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
At the age of 13, by now Lady Frances Howard, she was married to the 14-year-old 3rd Earl of Essex. Several years later, she requested an annulment of the marriage, on the grounds that Essex was impotent with her, but not with other women. She sought the annulment in order to marry her lover, the 1st Earl of Somerset. Because Somerset was a favourite of King James, the necessary annulment went through, enabling her remarriage.
Sir Thomas Overbury, a close friend and advisor of Somerset, had tried to advise him not to marry Howard, but he was a desirable ally for the powerful Howard family. The family managed to get Overbury imprisoned, and Lady Somerset had him poisoned through an agent. The Somersets were convicted of murder, but spared execution. The occultist Simon Forman was also implicated in the Overbury affair — Lady Somerset was one of his clients.
Lord and Lady Somerset had one daughter, Lady Anne Carr, who married the 1st Duke of Bedford.
[edit] References
- Fraser, Antonia. The Weaker Vessel. New York : Knopf, 1984. ISBN 1-84212-635-0
- Schama, Simon. A History of Britain: The Wars of the British, 1603 - 1776. New York : Hyperion, 2001. ISBN 0-563-48718-6
- Somerset, Anne. Unnatural Murder: Poison at the Court of James I. London : Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1997. ISBN 0-7538-0198-1
