Elizabeth Seymour ( – 19 March 1568) was a younger daughter of
Sir John Seymour of
Wulfhall,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
and
Margery Wentworth. Elizabeth and her sister
Jane served in the household of
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...
, the second wife of
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
. The
Seymours rose to prominence after the king's attention turned to Jane. In May 1536, Anne Boleyn was accused of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
and
adultery
Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...
, and subsequently executed. On 30 May 1536, eleven days after Anne's execution, Henry VIII and Jane were married. Elizabeth was not included in her sister's household during her brief reign, although she would serve two of Henry VIII's later wives,
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...
and
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542) was Queen of England from July 1540 until November 1541 as the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a first cousin to Anne Boleyn (the second ...
. Jane died 24 October 1537, twelve days after giving birth to a healthy son,
Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
.
Elizabeth lived under four
Tudor monarchs (
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...
is not included) and was married three times. By July 1530 she had married
Sir Anthony Ughtred,
Governor of Jersey, who died in 1534. She then married
Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell, the son of
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
, chief minister to Henry VIII in 1537; Gregory died in 1551. She married her third and last husband,
Sir John Paulet, later Lord St. John, the son of
William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester
William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester (c. 1483/1485 – 10 March 1572), styled Lord St John between 1539 and 1550 and Earl of Wiltshire between 1550 and 1551, was an English Lord High Treasurer, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and statesma ...
in 1554.
Seymour family
The
Seymour family
The House of Seymour or St. Maur, is the name of an old English family in which several titles of nobility have from time to time been created, and of which the Duke of Somerset is the head.
Origins
The family was settled in Monmouthshire in th ...
took its name from
St. Maur-sur-Loire in
Touraine
Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...
. William de St. Maur in 1240 held the manors of
Penhow
Penhow () is a small village, historic parish and Community (Wales), community just inside the eastern edge of the boundary of the city of Newport, Wales, Newport, South Wales, within the historic counties of Wales, historic county of Monmouthsh ...
and Woundy (now called
Undy in
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...
). William's great-grandson, Sir Roger de St. Maur, had two sons: John, whose granddaughter conveyed these manors by marriage into the family of Bowlay of
Penhow
Penhow () is a small village, historic parish and Community (Wales), community just inside the eastern edge of the boundary of the city of Newport, Wales, Newport, South Wales, within the historic counties of Wales, historic county of Monmouthsh ...
, who bore the Seymour arms; and Sir Roger ( – Bef. 1366), who married Cicely, eldest sister and heir of
John de Beauchamp, 3rd Baron Beauchamp. Cicely brought to the Seymours the manor of Hache, Somerset, and her grandson, Roger Seymour, by his marriage with Maud, daughter and heir of Sir
William Esturmy, acquired Wolf Hall in Wiltshire. Elizabeth's father, Sir John Seymour, was a great-great-grandson of this Roger Seymour.
Sir John Seymour was born in 1474. He succeeded his father in 1492, was knighted by
Henry VII for his services against the
Cornish rebels at
Blackheath in 1497, and was
sheriff of Wiltshire
This is a list of the sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) high sheriffs of Wiltshire.
Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle.
On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Gove ...
in 1508. He was present at the sieges of
Thérouanne
Thérouanne (; ; Dutch ''Terwaan'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France west of Aire-sur-la-Lys and south of Saint-Omer, on the river Lys.
Population
History
At the time of the Gauls, ''T ...
and
Tournay in 1513, at the two interviews between Henry VIII and
Francis I in 1520 and 1532, and died on 21 December 1536.
He married Margery, the daughter of Sir
Henry Wentworth of
Nettlestead, Suffolk, and his wife Anne Say. Anne was the daughter of Sir
John Say and his wife,
Elizabeth, daughter of Lawrence Cheney (or Cheyne) ( – 1461) and Elizabeth Cokayne. Margery Wentworth's grandfather, Sir
Philip Wentworth, had married Mary, daughter of
John Clifford, 7th Baron de Clifford, whose mother Elizabeth was daughter of
Henry Percy (Hotspur)
Sir Henry Percy (20 May 1364 – 21 July 1403), nicknamed Hotspur or Harry Hotspur, was an English knight who fought in several campaigns against the Scots in the northern border and against the French during the Hundred Years' War. Th ...
and great-great-granddaughter of
Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
.
Sir John Seymour (1474 – 21 December 1536), of
Wulfhall,
Savernake,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
, and Margery Wentworth ( – ) were married 22 October 1494. The couple had ten children:
* John Seymour (died 15 July 1510)
*
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp (150022 January 1552) was an English nobleman and politician who served as Lord Protector of England from 1547 to 1549 during the minority of his nephew King E ...
,
Lord Protector
Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') is 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 sometime ...
of
Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
(/1506 – 22 January 1552) married firstly Catherine, daughter of Sir William Fillol, and secondly Anne, daughter of Sir Edward Stanhope.
*
Sir Henry Seymour (1503 – 1578) married Barbara, daughter of Morgan Wolfe
*
Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley ( – 20 March 1549) married
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...
, widow of Henry VIII
* John Seymour (died young)
* Anthony Seymour (died )
*
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...
,
queen Consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...
of
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
( – 24 October 1537)
* Margery Seymour (died )
* Elizabeth Seymour ( – 19 Mar 1568)
* Dorothy Seymour ( – 4 January 1574) married firstly,
Sir Clement Smith ( – 26 August 1552) of
Little Baddow, Essex and secondly, Thomas Leventhorpe of Shingle Hall,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
.
File:Edward Seymour1.jpg, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
File:Thomas Seymour, Baron Seymour from NPG.jpg, Thomas Seymour, Baron Seymour
File:Janeseymour11.jpg, Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...
, portrait miniature c. 1536–37, Lucas Horenbout
Lucas Horenbout, often called Hornebolte in England ( 1490/1495 – 1544), was a Flemish artist who moved to England in the mid-1520s and worked there as "King's Painter" and court miniaturist to King Henry VIII from 1525 until his death. ...
Of the ten children born at Wulfhall, six survived:– three sons: Edward, Henry and Thomas, and three daughters: Jane, Elizabeth and Dorothy. Edward, Thomas, Jane and Elizabeth were
courtier
A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...
s. Edward and Thomas were both executed during the reign of Edward VI. Henry Seymour, who did not share his brothers' ambition, escaped their fate.
Early life
Elizabeth Seymour was born about 1518, probably at Wulfhall. Her letters to Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII show that she was both intelligent and astute. She was also skilled in needlework. She played a brief but prominent role in the 1530s and 1540s, during the rise to power of her father-in-law, Thomas Cromwell, and her brother, Edward. Elizabeth and her sister, Jane, served in the household of Henry VIII's second wife,
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...
, their second cousin. She married three times and by her first two marriages had seven children. She is best known as the wife of Gregory Cromwell.
First marriage
By July 1530 Elizabeth had married, as his second wife,
Sir Anthony Ughtred, of Kexby, Yorkshire.
The couple had two children:
*
Sir Henry Ughtred, ( – 1599), born at Mont Orgueil, Jersey, married
Elizabeth, daughter to
John Paulet, Lord St. John and his first wife Elizabeth Willoughby and the widow of
Sir William Courtenay. After his wife's death in 1576 he appears to have taken a second wife.
* Margery Ughtred, () married William Hungate of
Burnby, Yorkshire. They had two sons, William and Leonard.
In January 1531, Henry VIII granted the couple the manors of Lepington and
Kexby (Yorkshire), previously held by Cardinal
Thomas Wolsey
Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal (catholic), cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and ...
. She was well-placed at court, in the service of Anne Boleyn, to support her husband's interests. In August 1532, when the pro-Boleyn Sir Anthony Ughtred was appointed captain and
Governor of Jersey, it was almost certainly due to the influence of Anne Boleyn. He served in person, and remained in the post until his death.
On Saturday, 31 May 1533, Lady Ughtred was one of the ladies and gentlewomen attendant on horseback who accompanied Queen Anne Boleyn in a procession from the Tower of London to
Westminster Hall
Westminster Hall is a medieval great hall which is part of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was erected in 1097 for William II (William Rufus), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The building has had various functio ...
.
Sir Anthony Ughtred died 6 October 1534 in
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
, and was buried in the chapel of St George, in the castle of
Mont Orgueil
Mont Orgueil (; French for 'Mount Pride') is a castle in Jersey that overlooks the harbour of Gorey; a port on the east coast of the Island. It is known as Gorey Castle by English-speakers, and the "Old Castle" () by Jèrriais-speakers. The cas ...
. After her husband's death, the young widow returned to England, to serve her mistress and cousin, the queen. Her daughter, Margery was probably born in
Kexby, Yorkshire in the same year. Her one-year-old son, Henry, remained on the island for a time, in the care of Helier de Carteret,
Bailiff of Jersey
The Bailiff of Jersey () has several roles:
* Chief judge
* President of the States of Jersey, States Assembly, carrying out functions of a presiding officer
* Civic head of the Bailiwick of Jersey
* Guardian of the constitution
* President of t ...
.
The Queen's sister

When Anne Boleyn failed to produce a male heir after almost three years of marriage, the able and ambitious Edward Seymour and his family, gained wealth and power as Jane supplanted Anne in the king's affections. In March 1536, Edward was made a gentleman of the privy chamber, and a few days later, he and his wife
Anne
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...
together with his sister Jane, were lodged at the
palace at Greenwich in apartments which the king could reach through a private passage.
In May 1536, accused of treason, incest and plotting the king's death, Anne was imprisoned in the Tower, awaiting her trial. Jane Seymour resided with members of her family, first at the home of Sir
Nicholas Carew in Surrey and then moved closer to the king, to a house at Chelsea, formerly owned by
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...
. While the king's second wife prepared for her execution, Jane was planning her wedding, "splendidly served by the King's cook and other officers" and "most richly dressed". On 30 May 1536, eleven days after Anne Boleyn's execution, Henry VIII and Jane were married. On 5 June, a week after his sister's marriage to the king, Edward Seymour was created
Viscount Beauchamp. Two days later he received a grant of numerous manors in Wiltshire, including Ambresbury,
Easton Priory, Chippenham, and Maiden Bradley. On 7 July he was made governor and captain of Jersey, and in August, chancellor of North Wales. He had livery of his father's lands in the following year, was on 30 January granted the manor of Muchelney, Somerset, and on 22 May sworn of the
privy council. In the same month he was on the commission appointed to try Lords
Darcy and
Hussey for their role in the
pilgrimage of grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was an English Catholic popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536 before spreading to other parts of Northern England, including Cumberland, Northumberland, Durham and north Lancashire. The protests occurre ...
. On 15 October he carried Princess Elizabeth at Edward VI's christening, and 18 October was created
Earl of Hertford
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...
. Thomas Seymour was also made a gentleman of the privy chamber in 1536, and knighted 18 October of the same year. He was made captain of the ''Sweepstake'' in 1537.
When Henry VIII sought to
divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, Jane, who had previously served in Catherine's household, had remained loyal to her and her daughter, Mary. Elizabeth and her first husband, Sir Anthony Ughtred had supported Anne Boleyn and benefited from her rise. It is not surprising therefore, that she was not included in the new queen's household. There is no evidence that Elizabeth benefited directly from her sister's royal status, before the news of a royal pregnancy became public knowledge in 1537. The impending birth of an heir to the throne would dramatically increase her value as a potential bride.
On 18 March 1537, then a young widow of reduced means, residing in
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, Elizabeth had written to Thomas Cromwell, then
Baron Cromwell
Baron Cromwell is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, which was by Hereditary peer#Writs of summons, writ, was for John de Cromwell in 1308. On his death, the barony became extinct. The second ...
, who had previously offered to help her, if she was ever in need. She had hoped to "be holpen to obtain of the king's grace to be farmer of one of these abbeys if they fortune to go down ..." Cromwell, probably encouraged by Edward Seymour, proposed instead that she marry his only son and heir, Gregory. By June, it appears that Cromwell's offer had been accepted. Arthur Darcy, the son of
Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy
Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy of Darcy or of Temple Hurst ( 1467 – 30 June 1537) was an English nobleman, the only son, and heir, of Sir William Darcy (1443 – 30 May 1488) and his wife, Euphemia Langton, the daughter of Sir John Langton. Darc ...
, assured her that "I would have been glad to have had you likewise, but sure it is, as I said, that some southern lord shall make you forget the North."
Second marriage
On 3 August 1537,
Elizabeth married Gregory Cromwell at Mortlake. Edward Seymour, then Viscount Beauchamp wrote to Cromwell on 2 September 1537, to know how he has fared since the writer's departure. Wishes Cromwell were with him, when he should have had the best sport with bow, hounds, and hawks and sends commendations to his brother-in-law and sister, adding: "and I pray God to send me by them shortly a nephew."
The couple had five children:
*
Henry Cromwell, 2nd Baron Cromwell
Henry Cromwell, 2nd Baron Cromwell (before 1 March 1538 – 20 November 1592), the son of Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell and Elizabeth Seymour, Lady Cromwell, Elizabeth Seymour, was an English peer during the reign of Elizabeth I. He was t ...
, (before 1 March 1538 – 16 December 1592), married
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religion
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
, (died 1592), the daughter of John Paulet, Lord St. John and his first wife Elizabeth Willoughby.
* Edward Cromwell, (1539 – ?) died young
*
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
, ( – died between February 1610 and April 1611), married 18 August 1580, Katherine (died before 1 August 1616), daughter of Thomas Gardner of Coxford.
* Katherine Cromwell, ( – ?), probably named after Queen
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542) was Queen of England from July 1540 until November 1541 as the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a first cousin to Anne Boleyn (the second ...
, married
John Strode of Parnham, Dorset
* Frances Cromwell, ( – 7 February 1562), married
Richard Strode of
Newnham, Devon.
On 12 November, three months after their wedding, Elizabeth and Gregory took part in the queen's funeral procession. Jane's death on 24 October, after being delivered of the king's longed-for son, naturally came as a blow to the Seymour family. It proved to be a setback to Edward Seymour's influence. He was described in the following year as "young and wise," but "of small power". The death of the queen would have disastrous consequences for Thomas Cromwell.
The couple's first child, Henry was born in 1538, shortly before their arrival at
Lewes Priory
Lewes Priory is a part-demolished medieval Cluniac priory in Lewes, East Sussex in the United Kingdom. The ruins have been designated a Grade I listed building.
History
The Priory of St Pancras was the first Cluniac house in England and had ...
in Sussex, recently acquired by Thomas Cromwell, where they resided until early 1539. Another son, Edward, followed in 1539, who may have been born, at Leeds Castle in
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
.
[Thomas Cromwell was the constable of Leeds Castle from January 1539 to 1540 ]
Gregory Cromwell appears to have been devoted to his wife and children. In December 1539, while in Calais waiting to welcome Henry VIII's new bride, Anne of Cleves, he wrote to his wife at
Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England, southeast of Maidstone. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds and is a historic Grade I listed estate.
A castle has existed on the site s ...
,
addressing her as his "loving bedfellow", describing the arrival of Anne of Cleves, and requesting news "as well of yourself as also my little boys, of whose increase and towardness be you assured I am not a little desirous to be advertised".
In January 1540, Elizabeth was appointed to the household of the new Queen, Anne of Cleves.
Thomas Cromwell was created Earl of Essex on 17 April, and his son, Gregory assumed the courtesy title of Lord Cromwell In May, Lady Cromwell watched her husband compete in the May Day jousts at the
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
and afterwards feasted with the queen and her ladies. Anne of Cleves would not remain as queen for long, however, as the mercurial Henry VIII wanted a divorce.
Thomas Cromwell was at the height of his ascendancy, however his political enemies were gaining ground and his time in power would soon come to an end. He was arrested at a council meeting at 3.00 p.m. on the afternoon of 10 June 1540, accused of treason and heresy, taken to the
Tower
A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
and his possessions seized. He was condemned without a trial and his sentence was later confirmed by an act of attainder. There are no surviving records of Gregory and Elizabeth's whereabouts at this time.
Thomas Cromwell wrote a desperate letter from the tower to the king to plead his innocence and appealed to him to be merciful to his son and the rest of his family.
Elizabeth also wrote to Henry VIII, to assure him of her loyalty and that of her husband:
This undated letter is placed at the end of July 1540 in
Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII
''Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII'' (full title: ''Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII: preserved in the Public Record Office, the British Museum, and elsewhere in England''; often abbreviated in citat ...
. It was probably written while Thomas Cromwell was imprisoned in the Tower, as Elizabeth refers to her father-in-law, and not her ''late'' father-in-law. Moreover, it was customary at that time to write "may his soul God pardon" or something similar when referring to someone who had recently died, which she did not do. The letter was almost certainly written on the advice of her brother, Edward.
Thomas Cromwell was beheaded on
Tower Hill
Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...
on 28 July 1540, the same day as the king's marriage to Catherine Howard. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the
Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula in the Tower. It is unknown if Gregory and his family were present at his execution or burial.
Gregory and Elizabeth were not implicated, although it would be almost six months before their desperate situation was to be resolved. They had been dependants of Thomas Cromwell, with no home and little income of their own, and would have had to rely on the generosity of family and friends. The king was inclined to be generous and Elizabeth was included in the future queen Catherine Howard's household as one of her attendant ladies.
On 18 December 1540, less than five months after his father's execution, Gregory Cromwell was created Baron Cromwell by letters patent, and summoned to
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
as a peer of the realm. This title was a new creation, rather than a restoration of his father's forfeited barony. The following February he received a royal grant of lands that had been owned by his late father.
At the coronation of King Edward VI, on 20 February 1547, Elizabeth's husband and her brother, Henry were invested as
Knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
s of the
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
. Her brother, Thomas was found guilty of treason and executed 20 March 1549.
Elizabeth became a widow again upon the death of Gregory Cromwell from
sweating sickness
Sweating sickness, also known as the sweats, English sweating sickness, English sweat or ''sudor anglicus'' in Latin, was a mysterious and contagious disease that struck England and later continental Europe in a series of epidemics beginning i ...
in 1551. He died at
Launde Abbey
Launde Abbey is located in Leicestershire, England, 14 miles east of the city of Leicester and 6 miles south west of Oakham in Rutland. The house was built on the site of the Augustinian Launde Priory. The Grade II* listed building is predomina ...
4 July 1551 and was buried three days later in the chapel at Launde. In London,
Henry Machyn
Henry Machyn (1496/1498 – 1563) was an English clothier and diarist in 16th century London.
Machyn's ''Chronicle'', which was written between 1550 and 1563, is primarily concerned with public events: changes on the throne, state visits, ...
recorded the events in his diary:
Gregory lies buried under a magnificent monument in the chapel at Launde. The initials "E C" can be seen in the intricate entablature beneath the pediment.
Edward, Duke of Somerset, who had always been a constant source of support to his sister Elizabeth, went to the block 22 January 1552 and his wife remained in the Tower. Since he had been found guilty of the lesser charge of felony, and not for treason, his lands and dignities were not thereby affected; however an act of Parliament was passed on 12 April 1552 declaring them forfeited and confirming his attainder. In May, his four younger daughters were placed in Elizabeth's care. She was granted 100 marks for the provision and education of each of her nieces per year, as well as the lease of her minor son's house of Launde Abbey, by way of an inducement. However, by October, the arrangement was placing the widow under a considerable strain. On 25 October 1552, she wrote to her friend,
Sir William Cecil
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from ...
, of the
Privy Council, requesting to be relieved of her troublesome nieces, who did not take her advice "in such good part as my good meaning was, nor according to my expectation in them". Her husband's family were all dead, her own surviving family did not live nearby, and she no longer had the support of her husband or her brother, Edward. She reminded Cecil that she had no near relations who could give her advice. Her pleas fell on deaf ears and her nieces would remain with her until their mother, Anne, Duchess of Somerset, was released from the Tower by Mary I in August 1553.
Third marriage
Between 10 March and 24 April 1554, Elizabeth married, as his second wife,
Sir John Paulet, later Lord St. John, who outlived her. There were no children by this marriage. Elizabeth's two eldest sons married John Paulet's daughters. Henry Ughtred married the widowed
Elizabeth after 1557 and Henry Cromwell married
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religion
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
sometime before 1560. Details of her later life remain obscure, however she and her husband appear in the records from time to time in matters relating to her son, Henry Cromwell's minority and suits for the continuation of royal grants at the commencement of each new reign.
Death
Elizabeth died 19 March 1568, and was buried on 5 April in St. Mary's Church,
Basing,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
. John Paulet, Lord St. John married, before 30 September 1568, Winifred, widow of Sir
Richard Sackville, and daughter of John Brydges, a former
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...
. He succeeded his father as
Marquess of Winchester
Marquess of Winchester is a title in the Peerage of England that was created in 1551 for the prominent statesman William Paulet, 1st Earl of Wiltshire. It is the oldest of six surviving English marquessates; therefore its holder is considered th ...
in 1572.
Portraits
In 1909 British art historian,
Sir Lionel Cust, then Director of the National Portrait Gallery in London, identified a portrait by
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; ; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He ...
that had belonged to the
Cromwell family
The Cromwell family is an English aristocracy, aristocratic family.
Aristocratic members of the family descend from Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, and Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector. The line of Oliver Cromwell descends from Richard Wi ...
for centuries as a likeness of Queen Catherine Howard. Inscribed ''ETATIS SVÆ 21'', indicating that the sitter was depicted at the age of twenty-one, the portrait has long been associated with Henry VIII's young queen, but the lady is now thought to be a member of the Cromwell family.
[ "The painting belonged to the Cromwells for centuries, so she was probably a member of that prominent family. It has been suggested that she may be Elizabeth Seymour, daughter-in-law of Henry's powerful government minister Thomas Cromwell and sister of Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour."]
The portrait shown on this page, dated circa 1535–1540, is exhibited at the
Toledo Museum of Art
The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it covers 280,000 square feet and is currently in th ...
as ''
Portrait of a Lady, probably a Member of the Cromwell Family
''Portrait of a Lady, probably a Member of the Cromwell Family'' is an Oil paint, oil on Panel painting, panel portrait completed in around 1535–1540 by Hans Holbein the Younger now at the Toledo Museum of Art. The painting shows an elegantly ...
''.
A sixteenth-century version of the portrait, at
Hever Castle
Hever Castle ( ) is located in the village of Hever, Kent, near Edenbridge, south-east of London, England. It began as a country house, built in the 13th century. From 1462 to 1539, it was the seat of the Boleyn (originally 'Bullen') family. ...
in
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, is exhibited as
''Portrait of a Lady, thought to be Catherine Howard''. The
National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to:
* National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra
* National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred
*National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C.
*National Portrait Gallery, London
...
exhibits a similar painting,
''Unknown woman, formerly known as Catherine Howard'', dating from the late seventeenth century.
[ "This portrait was previously identified as Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII. The sitter is now thought to be a member of the Cromwell family, perhaps Elizabeth Seymour (c.1518–1568), sister of Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, and wife of Thomas Cromwell's son Gregory."] This would seem to indicate a sitter who was still a connection to be commemorated over a century later.
File:Holbein in giovane, ritratto di una nobildonna, probabilmente della famiglia cromwell, 1535-40 ca.jpg, ''Portrait of a Lady, probably a Member of the Cromwell Family'' c. 1535–1540
(Toledo Museum of Art)
File:Hans Holbein-the-Younger-Portrait-of-a-Lady-thought-to-be-Catherine-Howard.jpg, ''Portrait of a Lady, thought to be Catherine Howard'', 16th century, follower of Hans Holbein the Younger (Hever Castle)
File:Unknown woman, formerly known as Catherine Howard by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg, ''Unknown woman, formerly known as Catherine Howard, late 17th century, after Hans Holbein the Younger'' (National Portrait Gallery)
File:Unknown woman, formerly known as Catherine Howard, engraving.jpg, ''Unknown woman, formerly known as Catherine Howard, 1902, after Hans Holbein the Younger''
File:Hans Holbein the Younger - Medallion with Lot's Wife (British Museum).jpg, Medallion of Lot with his family, guided by an angel, fleeing from Sodom, by Hans Holbein the Younger (British Museum)
Art historian
Sir Roy Strong, following the lead of
Charles Kingsley Adams, noted that both the Toledo portrait and the National Portrait Gallery version appear in the context of a series of portraits of members of the family of the
Protector's uncle,
Sir Oliver Cromwell (–1655), and have provenances linking them with the
Cromwell family
The Cromwell family is an English aristocracy, aristocratic family.
Aristocratic members of the family descend from Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, and Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector. The line of Oliver Cromwell descends from Richard Wi ...
. He argued that the portrait in the Toledo Museum of Art, "should by rights depict a lady of the Cromwell family aged 21 c.1535–40" and suggested that the lady might be Elizabeth Seymour, wife of
Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell, son of
Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex.
[Frances Murfyn (''c''. 1520/1 – ''c''. 1543), the wife of ]Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
's nephew, Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
(''c''. 1510 – 1544) would not have reached the age of 21 before late 1541 to 1542. Frances was the daughter of Thomas Murfyn (''d''. 1523) and his second wife Elizabeth Donne, who were married sometime after 15 October 1519. She was still living in June 1542, but had died before June 1544. He stated that a "dated parallel for costume, notably the distinctive cut of the sleeves, is Holbein's
''Christina of Denmark'' of 1538." John Rowlands agreed that "the portrait could certainly belong to the period ''c''. 1535-40, but the headdress suggests a date towards its end." Herbert Norris claimed that the sitter is wearing a sleeve which follows a style set by Anne of Cleves, which would date the portrait to after 6 January 1540, when Anne's marriage to Henry VIII took place.
[ Anne of Cleves was queen consort from 6 January – 9 July 1540. Until 1752, the year commenced on '']Lady Day
In the Western liturgical year, Lady Day is the common name in some English-speaking and Scandinavian countries of the Feast of the Annunciation, celebrated on 25 March to commemorate the annunciation of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mar ...
'', 25 March.
It has been suggested that the six
fleurs-de-lis
The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the ( stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis ...
on the lady's left sleeve in the Holbein portrait at the head of the page reflect the Seymour heraldry. An
augmentation of honour
In heraldry, an augmentation (often termed augmentation of honour or sometimes augmentation of arms) is a modification or addition to a coat of arms, typically given by a monarch as either a mere mark of favour, or a reward or recognition for som ...
was granted to
Edward Seymour,
Viscount Beauchamp, (later
Earl of Hertford
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...
and
Duke of Somerset
Duke of Somerset, from the county of Somerset, is a title that has been created five times in the peerage of England. It is particularly associated with two families: the Beauforts, who held the title from the creation of 1448, and the Seymours ...
), following Henry VIII's marriage to Jane Seymour:
''Or, on a pile gules between six fleurs-de-lys azure three lions of England''.
File:Marriage augmentation arms of Queen Jane Seymour.svg, Augmentation of honour granted to the Seymours following Henry VIII's marriage to Jane
File:Coat of Arms of Jane Seymour.svg, Coat of arms of Queen Jane Seymour
File:Coat of arms of Edward Seymour Viscount Beauchamp.png, Coat of Arms of Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp, following his sister Jane's marriage to Henry VIII in 1536
File:Coat of arms of Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, KG.png, Coat of arms of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset: Arms of Seymour, quartering the augmentation of honour
Historians
Antonia Fraser
Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, (; born 27 August 1932) is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. She is the widow of the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Harold Pinter (1930–2008), and prior to h ...
,
Diarmaid MacCulloch
Diarmaid Ninian John MacCulloch (; born 31 October 1951) is an English academic and historian, specialising in ecclesiastical history and the history of Christianity. Since 1995, he has been a fellow of St Cross College, Oxford; he was former ...
and Derek Wilson believe that the portrait depicts Elizabeth Seymour. Antonia Fraser has argued that the sitter is Jane Seymour's sister, Elizabeth, the widow of
Sir Anthony Ughtred (d. 1534), on the grounds that the lady bears a resemblance to Jane, especially around the nose and chin, and wears widow's black. The lady's sumptuous black clothing, an indication of wealth and status, did not necessarily signify mourning; her jewellery suggests otherwise. Derek Wilson observed that "In August 1537 Cromwell succeeded in marrying his son, Gregory, to Elizabeth Seymour", the queen's younger sister. He was therefore related by marriage to the king, "an event worth recording for posterity, by a portrait of his daughter-in-law". According to Hans Holbein's most recent biographer,
Franny Moyle
Franny Moyle (born 1964) is a British television producer and author. Her first book ''Desperate Romantics: The Private Lives of the Pre-Raphaelites'' (2009) was adapted into the BBC drama serial '' Desperate Romantics'' by screenwriter Peter Bow ...
, "One of the most striking portraits of a woman Holbein ever delivered was of Cromwell's daughter-in-law, painted probably in 1539 as she turned twenty-one."
Lineage
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External links
Teri Fitzgerald, ''All that Glitters: Hans Holbein's Lady of the Cromwell Family''''Portrait of a Lady, probably a Member of the Cromwell Family''at the
Toledo Museum of Art
The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it covers 280,000 square feet and is currently in th ...
''Unknown Woman, Formerly Known as Catherine Howard''at the
National Portrait Gallery, London
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...
St Mary's Church, BasingPaulet monuments
Letter from Gregory Cromwell to his wifeElizabeth, Lady Ughtred's letters to Thomas CromwellElizabeth, Lady Cromwell's letter to Henry VIII
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cromwell, Elizabeth Seymour, Lady
1510s births
1568 deaths
16th-century English women
16th-century English nobility
Ladies of the Privy Chamber
English baronesses
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth''
* Princess Elizabeth ...
Wives of knights
Cromwell family
Burials at St. Mary's Church, Old Basing
Household of Anne Boleyn