Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset
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Anne Stanhope (died 16 April 1587), was the daughter of Sir Edward Stanhope (1462- 6 June 1511) and Elizabeth Bourchier. As the wife of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset who held the office of Lord Protector duing the first part of the reign of his nephew King Edward VI, Anne was briefly the most powerful woman in England. She even claimed precedence over the Dowager Queen Katherine Parr.
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[edit] Family
Anne was born at Sudbury in Suffolk on an unknown date, the daughter of Sir Edward Stanhope of Sudbury 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. Her maternal grandparents were Fulke Bourchier, 2nd Baron Fitzwaryn and Elizabeth Dynham. Through her mother, Anne was a direct descendant of Thomas of Woodstock, the youngest son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault.[1]
Anne's snobbery and pride were intolerable, yet she was highly intelligent and determined.[2] Antonio de Guaras, a Spanish merchant living in London, would later say of her, that she was "more presumptuous than Lucifer".[3]
[edit] First marriage
In 1535 Anne married as his second wife, Sir Edward Seymour, the eldest brother of Jane Seymour, who in 1536 would become the third wife of King Henry VIII of England. Shortly after the king's marriage to Jane, Edward was made Viscount Beauchamp; less than a year and a half later in October 1537, he was created Earl of Hertford, making Anne the Countess of Hertford. She was styled as the Duchess of Somerset when her husband was created the first duke in 1547.
Edward's first marriage to Catherine Fillol had been annulled when it was discovered that she was having an affair with Edward's father.
Anne was a great friend of Princess Mary and her sister-in-law Jane Seymour. Queen Jane 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.[4] The baby died at the age of two. Another son, bearing his name, was born in May 1539, and he lived until 1621. This Edward would bear the title of 1st Earl of Hertford, and subsequently marry a close claimant to the English throne, Lady Catherine Grey, by whom he had two sons.
It was well-known throughout England that Anne ruled her husband.[5]
Anne had seven children from her marriage to Edward.
[edit] Children
- Edward Seymour (1537- 1539)
- Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (22 May 1539- 1621), married firstly in November 1560, Lady Catherine Grey, by whom he had two sons; he married secondly in 1582, Frances Howard; and thirdly in 1601, Frances Prannell.
- Anne Seymour (1540- 1588), married firstly John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick; she married secondly Sir Edward Unton MP, by whom she had issue.
- Lady Jane Seymour (1541- 1561)
- Mary Seymour (born 1552)
- Elizabeth Seymour (1552- 3 June 1602), married Sir Richard Knightley
- Lord Henry Seymour (born 1552)
[edit] Life in the royal court
Anne was present at the wedding ceremony of Henry VIII and Katherine 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 Katharine Parr, 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 so far beneath her station.[7]Anne refused to bear Katherine'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 Katherine, "If master admiral (Thomas Seymour) teach his wife no better manners, I am she that will".[9]Katherine, in her turn, privately referred to Anne as "that Hell".[10] Katherine Parr won the battle by invoking the Act of Succession which clearly stated that Katherine had precedence over all ladies in the realm; in point of fact, as regards precedence, Anne came after the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth, and Anne of Cleves. Anne, nevertheless wielded considerable power for a short time, which later would reflect negatively on her husband's reputation. Her husband managed to free himself from the restrictions of the council and wielded almost Royal authority in effecting major Protestant reforms in the church and in relaxing such measures as the heresy and treason laws.
Her husband lost his position as Protector following the Coup of 1549, which was engineered by John Dudley, Earl of Warwick. Despite initially being allowed to rejoin the Privy Council, he was convicted in 1552 on a charge of high treason. At his trial, 1 December, he was found guilty of treason, but was executed by beheading, 22 January 1551/2, on Tower Hill, and buried there in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula.
Anne has been described as being a "violent woman", and was held responsible for the fate of Edward Seymour, through having urged him to adopt a ruinous policy. She was disliked throughout the Royal Court, and married a lesser noble, Francis Newdigate of Hansworth, who had been steward to her late husband.
Her second husband died 26 January 1581. She lived out the rest of her life at Shelford. She died on 16 April 1587 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.[1] where her tomb with its painted effigy can be viewed. Her memorial is in St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Shelford.
[edit] References
- ^ Anthony Martienssen, Queen Katherine Parr, p.125
- ^ Martienssen, p.125
- ^ Antonia Fraser, The Wives of Henry VIII, p. 235
- ^ Fraser. p. 275
- ^ Fraser, p.235
- ^ Martienssen, pp.153-54
- ^ Martienssen, p. 231
- ^ Martienssen, p.231
- ^ Fraser, p.402
- ^ Fraser, p. 403
- Anthony Martienssen, Queen Katherine Parr, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, St. Louis, San Francisco, Dusseldorf, Mexico, 1973 ISBN 0-07-040610-3
- Antoni Fraser, The Wives of Henry VIII, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1992, ISBN 0-394-58538-0
- www.thePeerage.com/p.10304.htm#103033
