Catherine Fillol (or Filliol; c. 1507 – c. 1535) was the daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Fillol (1453 – 9 July 1527), of Woodlands, Horton,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, and of Fillol's Hall,

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

. She became the first wife of Sir Edward Seymour, who went on to become the first

Duke of Somerset Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

of a new creation,

Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') was a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometimes ...

of England and the uncle of

King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

, after his sister

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married

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. A 17th-century marginal note to copy of ''Vincent's Baronage'' at

College of Heralds The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovere ...

alleged that she had had an affair with her father-in-law, Sir John Seymour. However, there is no contemporary evidence to support this. Catherine Fillol may have gone to a local convent, as this seems to be implied by a remark in her father's will. The will was challenged by Sir Edward Seymour in 1531, on the basis that his father-in-law was not of sound mind. In 1535, Sir Edward Seymour married his second wife, Anne Stanhope, indicating that Catherine Fillol had probably died no later than early 1535. Catherine Fillol had two sons, John Seymour (buried 19 December 1552), who died unmarried and without issue, and Edward Seymour. Edward Seymour had ten more children by his second wife, including his eventual heir

Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Baron Beauchamp, KG (22 May 1539 – 6 April 1621), of Wulfhall and Totnam Lodge in Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset, of Netley Abbey, Hampshire, and of Hertford House, Cann ...

. When he was later created Duke of Somerset, his children by his first marriage were still considered legitimate, but the

patent of nobility Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

provides that the dukedom is to descend first to his heirs by Anne, and only in the event of the failure of that line to his heirs by Catherine.Alexander Burgess, ''Memoir of the life of the Right Reverend George Burgess, D. D.'', p. 243 With the death of Algernon, the seventh duke of Somerset in 1750, the Seymour Baronets of Berry Pomeroy Castle inherited the title of Duke of Somerset. Consequently, the present Duke of Somerset is descended from Catherine Filliol.

References

1507 births Year of death missing 16th-century English women Wives of knights {{England-bio-stub