Lady Frances Brandon

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Portrait by Hans Eworth.
Portrait by Hans Eworth.

Lady Frances Brandon (July 16, 1517 – November 20, 1559) was the second child and eldest daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Mary Tudor, former queen consort of France. She was a younger sister of Henry Brandon, 1st Earl of Lincoln and an older sister of Lady Eleanor Brandon.

Her paternal grandparents were Sir William Brandon and Elizabeth Bruyn. Her maternal grandparents were Henry VII of England and his queen consort Elizabeth of York.

Her maternal uncles included Arthur, Prince of Wales, Henry VIII of England and Edmund Tudor, Duke of Somerset. Her maternal aunts included Margaret Tudor, Elizabeth Tudor and Katherine Tudor. These Royal connections gave her a claim to the throne of England that would be seized upon in 1553 by opponents to the accession of Mary I of England.

Contents

[edit] Early life and first marriage

Frances spent her childhood in the care of her mother. She was also close to her aunt-by-marriage Catherine of Aragon, first queen consort of Henry VIII. She was a childhood friend of her first cousin Mary Tudor (later Mary I of England). Mary was opposed to the annulment of the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine in 1533. She never accepted Anne Boleyn as a legitimate wife or queen. Frances also considered Anne a usurper but was less vocal about it.

Frances received permission from her maternal uncle Henry VIII to marry Henry Grey, Marquess of Dorset in 1533. They were married in Southwark, London.

Her first two pregnancies resulted in the births of a son and daughter who died young. These were followed by three surviving daughters:

Frances is considered to have been a strong and energetic woman and a domineering wife and mother. She was in her own right a political schemer with a taste for wealth and political influence. Her residence in Bradgate was a minor palace in Tudor style. She and her husband Henry inheirited the title and lands of Dukedom of Suffolk on the death of her two brothers.

She had high expectations for her daughters and made certain they received equal education to the daughters of Henry VIII, the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I of England). Her daughters were associated with both princesses on relatively equal terms; indeed, the Greys led a more luxurious life than either Princess.

[edit] Scheming for her daughter

Frances was an unnatural mother. She seemed to completely lack the maternal instinct and treated her daughters abominably. Their gender was a disappointment to her. In addition, their personalities clashed with hers. She was a hard, materialistic woman who did not give in to 'foolish sentiments'. They, in contrast, were easy going, gentle and timid, qualities that irritated and angered their mother. The youngest, Mary, was deformed, being hunch-backed and dwarfed. Frances was alternatively indifferent and abusive towards her daughters. She was active at the court of Henry VIII and was on friendly terms with his sixth wife Catherine Parr. It was through her friendship with the Queen that Frances' husband Henry, Duke of Suffolk secured a wardship for their daughter. There Jane came into contact with Prince Edward (later Edward VI of England), son of Henry VIII and half-brother of Mary and Elizabeth.

Henry VIII died on January 28, 1547, and Edward succeeded to the throne. Jane followed the queen dowager, Catherine Parr, to her new residence. She was soon established as a member of the inner circle of the young king. Edward was unmarried and childless and Frances found herself third in line for the English throne following Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. Her daughters were also in line for the throne: Jane (fourth in line), Catherine (fifth in line) and Mary (sixth in line).

Meanwhile Catherine Parr was married to Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, Lord High Admiral. Jane again followed the queen dowager to her new household. Frances soon started scheming with her husband and Baron Seymour on the prospect of arranging a marriage between the king and Jane Grey. The two adolescents were reportedly already close. The success of this scheme would secure the succession of Edward VI, and the Greys would gain further influence over Edward VI and any issue of the marriage would be their own family member. Baron Seymour would benefit in undermining his older brother, Lord Protector Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset who was seeking a queen consort for Edward VI among the daughters of Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

Catherine Parr gave birth to her daughter Mary Seymour on August 30, 1548. Complications in childbirth resulted in her death on September 7, 1548. Frances did not trust her eldest daughter alone with Baron Seymour and recalled her home. However Frances found her daughter to have grown difficult to handle. Baron Seymour on the other hand pressed the Greys with demands that he still held Jane's wardship and that Jane should be returned to his household. The Greys surrendered to the inevitable and Jane was returned to Seymour's household and was moved in to the late Catherine Parr's apartments.

Seymour still planned to convince Edward VI to marry Jane. But the king had grown distrustful of either of his two uncles. An increasingly desperate Seymour invaded the king's bedchamber and shot the young King's beloved dog when the animal tried to protect its master, in an attempt to abduct him. This ill-thought attempt only resulted in his execution on March 10, 1549.

The Greys convinced the Privy Council of their innocence in Seymour's scheme. Jane was again recalled home. The Greys lost all hope of marrying her to Edward VI. They contemplated marrying her instead to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, son of the Lord Protector and Anne Stanhope. However the Lord Protector fell from power and was replaced by John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. The Greys soon declared their allegiance to the new Lord Protector. They successfully arranged for Jane to be married to his youngest son Lord Guilford Dudley. Jane at first refused the match when she was told by her parents and was brutally beaten into submission by Frances.

[edit] Mother to a Queen regnant

The marriage occurred on May 15, 1553. Northumberland had a greater scheme in mind. Edward VI was dying and was considering the matter of his own succession. The young king was a firm believer in the practices of Anglicanism. His half-sister Mary was an equally firm believer in those of the Roman Catholic Church. Her accession would likely end the Protestant Reformation in her domains. Northumberland arranged for the will of the dying King to exclude both Princesses Mary and Elizabeth under the pretext of both being bastards, on the grounds that Henry VIII had his marriages to their respective mothers Catherine of Aragon annulled and Anne Boleyn executed for high treason (though at the time both daughters remained in the line of succession). Their removal from the succession would make Frances the heiress presumptive of the King. Frances was convinced to agree to renounce her own rights to the throne in favour of Jane. The throne would thus pass to Jane and any male issue from her marriage to Guilford.

Edward VI died on July 6, 1553. Jane was declared queen regnant on July 10. Frances had finally succeeded in becoming the mother of a Queen. The Greys and Dudleys exercised considerable influence over the youthful monarch and planned to rule through her. However, their success was short-lived. Jane was deposed by popular revolt in favour of Princess Mary on July 19, 1553. Mary became Queen Mary I of England.

Northumberland paid for his failed machinations with his life on August 22/August 23. Henry Duke of Suffolk was arrested but released days later. Mary was able to pardon her first cousin's husband. Mary also intended to pardon Jane once her coronation was complete, thus sparing the young girl's life.

However the following year the queen announced her intention to marry Philip II of Spain. Thomas Wyatt the younger declared a revolt against Mary on January 25, 1554.

Suffolk joined the rebellion but was captured by Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon. The revolt had failed by February. Jane Grey was named by Thomas Wyatt. He, along with Jane's father, intended to put her back on the throne. Jane was told to prepare for death that evening, and was thus beheaded on February 12, 1554. Jane's father was convicted of high treason and was executed eleven days later on February 23, 1554.

[edit] Life at court

Mary I, however, again favoured her cousin Frances with her pardon. She was apparently unwilling to execute her childhood friend. Frances and her two surviving daughters settled in court. Mary I made a point of placing them by her side, favoured but kept under the observation of the queen. Frances shocked the court when, less than a month after her daughter was beheaded and only three weeks after her own husband met the same fate, she married again. On March 9, 1554, Frances was married to Adrian Stokes, Master of the Horse (1532 – November 30, 1586).

They were parents to three children, all of whom died young:

Frances' luck seemed to run out with the death of the childless Mary I on November 17, 1558. Princess Elizabeth acceeded to the throne as queen Elizabeth I of England. She had little reason to trust a first cousin who never accepted her as a legitimate child of Henry VIII. She kept Frances and her daughters at court, but not as favourites.

Frances, having grown increasingly corpulent in her twilight years, died on November 20, 1559, never having secured the approval of Elizabeth. She was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Much to Elizabeth's displeasure, and without her consent, Catherine Grey married Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, the old suitor of Catherine's dead sister Jane. Both Catherine and Edward were jailed for this. However, they still managed to produce two healthy boys, the younger of whom is a direct ancestor of the current Queen Elizabeth II.

[edit] Titles

  • The Lady Frances Brandon
  • Lady Frances Grey
  • Frances, Marchioness of Dorset
  • Her Grace, Frances, Duchess of Suffolk
  • Mrs. Adrian Stokes

[edit] Dramatic representation

Her best known dramatic representation is in the film Lady Jane, where she was played by Sara Kestelman.

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