Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset

For other people named Anne Seymour, see Anne Seymour (disambiguation).
Anne Stanhope
Duchess of Somerset
Countess of Hertford
Viscountess Beauchamp
Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset in a 19th century engraving
Spouse(s) Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Francis Newdigate
Issue
Edward Seymour
Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford
Anne Dudley, Countess of Warwick
Lady Jane Seymour
Mary Seymour
Elizabeth Seymour
Lord Henry Seymour
Father Sir Edward Stanhope
Mother Elizabeth Bourchier
Born c. 1510
Died 16 April 1587
Burial Westminster Abbey, London, England

Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (née Stanhope) (c. 1510[1] – 16 April 1587) was the second wife of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, who held the office of Lord Protector during the first part of the reign of his nephew King Edward VI, through whom Anne was briefly the most powerful woman in England. She claimed (without success or entitlement) precedence over the Dowager Queen Catherine Parr.

Contents

Family

Anne was born at Sudbury in Suffolk in about 1510, the daughter of Sir Edward Stanhope, of Sudbury (1462 – 6 June 1511) and Elizabeth Bourchier. She had two half-brothers from her father's first marriage to Avelina Clifford. They were Richard Stanhope, and Sir Michael Stanhope.

Her paternal grandparents were Sir Thomas Stanhope and Mary Jerningham, and her maternal grandparents were Fulke Bourchier, 2nd Baron Fitzwaryn and Elizabeth Dynham. Through her mother, Anne was a descendant of Thomas of Woodstock, the youngest son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault.[2]

Anne's snobbery and pride were considered to be intolerable, yet she was highly intelligent and determined.[3] Antonio de Guaras, a Spanish merchant living in London, would later say of her, that she was "more presumptuous than Lucifer".[4]

First Marriage

At some undetermined date between 9 March 1534 and 1535, Anne married Sir Edward Seymour, the eldest brother of Jane Seymour, becoming his second wife. Jane Seymour, Sir Edward's sister, became the third wife of King Henry VIII of England in 1536. Shortly after the king's marriage to Jane, Edward was elevated to Viscount Beauchamp; less than a year and a half later, in October 1537, he was again elevated, from viscount to earl, becoming the first Earl of Hertford (first creation). In 1547, Edward was further elevated to a dukedom, and Anne was thus styled as the Duchess of Somerset.

Edward's first marriage, about 1527, to Catherine Fillol, was annulled; the reason is alleged to have been the discovery of a relationship between Catherine and Edward's father; however, this is disputed by the Dictionary of National Biography. His second marriage was before 9 March 1534 to Anne Stanhope.

Issue

Anne had ten children from her marriage to Edward.

Queen Jane Seymour stood godmother to Anne's first child, Edward, who was born in February 1537. The ceremony was held at Chester Place; besides the queen, Thomas Cromwell and Princess Mary also acted as godparents.[5] This first Edward died at the age of two. A second son was born May 1539 and given the same name. This (second) Edward would be raised to the second creation of the title of Earl of Hertford by Elizabeth I, and subsequently marry a close claimant to the English throne, Lady Catherine Grey, by whom he had two sons.

There were some rumours at the court of King Henry VIII about Anne. She was rumoured to sleep with many men, including Sir Francis Bryan and Thomas Seymour (her brother-in-law). She was also rumoured to have an illegitimate child, whose named Thomas, with Thomas Seymour.

Life in the royal court

Anne was present at the wedding ceremony of Henry VIII and Catherine Parr on 12 July 1543.[6] After Henry VIII's death, Edward Seymour acted as King in all but name. With this power, Anne considered herself the first lady of the realm, claiming precedence over Catherine, Henry VIII's widow, following the latter's marriage to Anne's brother-in-law, Thomas Seymour.

Anne considered that the Dowager Queen forfeited her rights of precedence when she married the younger brother of Anne's husband.[7] Anne refused to bear Catherine's train, and even physically tried to push her out of her place at the head of their entrances and exits at court.[8] Anne was quoted as having said of Catherine, "If master admiral (Thomas Seymour) teach his wife no better manners, I am she that will".[9] Catherine, in her turn, privately referred to Anne as "that Hell".[10] Catherine Parr won the battle by invoking the Third Succession Act which clearly stated that Catherine had precedence over all ladies in the realm; in point of fact, as regards precedence, Anne came after Queen Catherine, Lady Mary, Lady Elizabeth and Anne of Cleves. The Duchess, who was described as a "violent woman", wielded considerable power for a short time, which later would reflect negatively on her husband's reputation.

As Lord Protector Edward Seymour wielded almost royal authority. However, he lost his position of power following a show-down between the Privy Council and himself in October 1549. He and his wife were imprisoned in the Tower of London. The Duchess was released after a short time,[11] Somerset himself in January 1550.[12] According to the Imperial ambassador Jehan de Scheyfye, Anne Seymour had made daily visits to the house of the de facto new ruler, John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, who soon allowed Somerset to rejoin the Privy Council. The Duchess of Somerset and the Countess of Warwick then arranged a marriage between their respective eldest son and daughter, Anne Seymour and John Dudley.[13] Somerset fell again into disgrace in October 1551, when he was arrested on charges of conspiring against Warwick, who had recently been created Duke of Northumberland. Somerset was convicted of felony on 1 December 1551 and beheaded on 22 January 1552 on Tower Hill. The Duchess of Somerset had been arrested with her husband and continued in the Tower until 30 May 1553.[14] After Mary I's accession in July and the attainder of the Duke of Northumberland she was allowed to choose from the Dudley family's confiscated household stuffs.[15]

Second Marriage

Anne Seymour married, as her second husband, a lesser noble Francis Newdigate, of Hanworth, Middlesex, who had been Steward to her late husband. Francis was the son of John Newdigate, of Harefield, Middlesex, and wife.[16] Little is known of their life together. Her second husband died on 26 January 1581.

Death

She lived out the rest of her life at Shelford. She died on 16 April 1587 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, London.[1] where her tomb with its painted effigy can be viewed. Her memorial is in St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Shelford.

Ancestry

In fiction

References

  1. ^ Retha M. Warnicke, Seymour, Anne. In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Vol. 49. Oxford Publishing 2004
  2. ^ Anthony Martienssen, Queen Katherine Parr, p.125
  3. ^ Martienssen, p.125
  4. ^ Antonia Fraser, The Wives of Henry VIII, p. 235
  5. ^ Fraser. p. 275
  6. ^ Martienssen, pp.153-54
  7. ^ Martienssen, p. 231
  8. ^ Martienssen, p.231
  9. ^ Fraser, p.402
  10. ^ Fraser, p. 403
  11. ^ Loades p. 150
  12. ^ Beer, p. 95
  13. ^ Beer, pp. 95–96
  14. ^ Loades, pp. 188–190
  15. ^ Beer, p. 196
  16. ^ The Complete Peerage vol.XIIpI, p.64, note g.
  17. ^ a b L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 65.
  18. ^ a b c Burke. Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of the peerage, baronetage and knightage, Burke's Peerage Limited, 1914. Page 1082.
  19. ^ Anne Seymour nee Stanhope, Lady Hertford