Which work, since it is so pious, and by the pious exertion and great diligence of a most illustrious queen [Catherine] has been composed in English, and on that account may be more desirable to all and held in greater value by your majesty, it was thought by me a most suitable thing that this work, which is more worthy because it was indeed a composition by a queen as a subject for her king, be translated into other languages by me, your daughter … May He who is King of kings, in whose hand are the hearts of kings, so govern your soul and protect your life that in true piety and religion we may live long under your majesty’s dominion.26
Elizabeth’s feelings for her stepmother were perhaps less reverent, but still very fond. In 1546, Mary and Elizabeth were invited to Court to live with the Queen as ladies-in-waiting and act as her companions. Settled and secure, Elizabeth developed a real affection for Catherine Parr and many of the Queen’s ladies would play a significant part in Elizabeth’s life. They included Anne Parr (Catherine’s sister), wife of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke; Maud Parr (Catherine’s cousin), widow of Sir Ralph Lane; Elizabeth Borough (Catherine’s stepdaughter), wife of Sir Robert Tyrwhitt; Joan Champernowne (Kat’s sister), wife of Sir Anthony Denny; Katherine Willoughby d’Eresby, widow of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk; Margaret Stanley, wife of Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex; Anne Shapcote, wife of Sir William Fitzwilliam (his aunt was married to Sir Anthony Cooke, whose daughters married William Cecil, Sir Nicholas Bacon and Sir Thomas Hoby); Jane Guildford, wife of Sir John Dudley, Viscount Lisle (later 1st Duke of Northumberland), and Anne Stanhope, wife of Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (later 1st Duke of Somerset).
The Act of Succession that Henry VIII had recently passed stated that in the case of his death the throne would pass to his son Edward and his heirs, but, if Edward died without children, Princess Mary would succeed to the throne. If she, too, died without heirs, the throne would pass to Princess Elizabeth, and after her to Frances Brandon (Lady Grey, Duchess of Suffolk) and then to Eleanor Brandon, the surviving children of Henry VIII’s younger sister, Mary Tudor, and her husband, Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. He excluded his elder sister, Margaret Tudor’s heirs (she had died in 1541), who were the royal family of Scotland. Margaret had married James IV (King of Scotland 1488–1513); Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus; and then Henry Stewart, and was survived by a daughter, Lady Margaret Douglas, and a granddaughter, the infant Mary, Queen of Scots.
By November 1546, the King’s health was seriously failing, although it was treason to say so. Although historians do not know the exact cause of Henry’s health problems, he was obese and it is possible he had diabetes. In his last weeks, Elizabeth was devastated by the knowledge of her father’s forthcoming death, but comforted herself with her close relationship to her little brother, Edward, the future king, but their households were separated, with Edward moving to Hertford Castle and Elizabeth to Enfield Palace. Edward wrote to her in 1546: ‘The change of place, in fact, did not vex me so much, dearest sister, as your going from me … this is some comfort to my grief, that I hope to visit you shortly …’27
After Henry VIII, died on 28 January 1547, Edward Seymour arranged for 9-year-old Edward to join his half-sister, 13-year-old Elizabeth, at Enfield. Once together, they were told of their father’s death and were able to cry in each other’s arms and comfort each other.28
Apart from their place in the succession, Henry VIII left each of his daughters the sum of £3,000 per year. If either Mary or Elizabeth married, they would receive a one-off payment of £10,000 and the annuity would cease. This was not considered particularly generous at the time. Both princesses had to have the Privy Council’s consent to marry, and Henry VIII’s will specifically said that if Elizabeth failed to get this consent, she was to be struck out of the succession altogether.
2
The Seymour Affair, 1547–49
Following the death of Henry VIII, Elizabeth’s life initially changed remarkably little. Her younger brother was now King Edward VI and Elizabeth wrote to him with all the humility and reverence she had previously used when addressing their father. She maintained her household and ladies-in-waiting, including Blanche Herbert, Kat Champernowne and Blanche Parry. Now aged 14, Elizabeth was an attractive girl of a suitable age for marriage. According to the terms of Henry VIII’s will, she could only marry if she had the approval of the King and his Council. Catherine Parr, now Queen Dowager, asked the Council if Elizabeth could join her in her home in Chelsea.
As his son was only nine years old, Henry VIII had nominated a Council of Regency, made up of 16 nobles and churchmen, to assist Edward VI in governing his new realm. It was composed of the most important men of the time: Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury; Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford and later 1st Duke of Somerset; John Russell, Baron Russell and later 1st Earl of Bedford; John Dudley, Viscount Lisle, later 2nd Earl of Warwick and 1st Duke of Northumberland; Sir Anthony Denny; Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke; Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton; Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of Durham; Sir Anthony Browne; Sir Edward Wotton; Dr Nicholas Wotton, Dean of Canterbury and York; William Paulet, Baron St John of Basing, later Earl of Wiltshire and 1st Marquis of Winchester; Sir William Paget, Baron Paget; Sir Edward North; Sir Edward Montague, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Sir Thomas Bromley, Chief Justice of the King’s Bench. Even though Catherine Parr, now the Dowager Queen, had hoped to be Edward’s guardian, with a minimum of opposition, Edward Seymour (Jane and Thomas Seymour’s brother) was proclaimed Protector of the Realm and Governor of the King. Catherine made a request to the Council concerning Elizabeth’s future domicile and the princess moved with her servants to Chelsea in London.
Before Catherine had even a chance to settle down in her new home, a suitor had appeared on the horizon – Thomas Seymour, an old friend who had pursued her before the King had himself expressed his interest in her. To ensure that Thomas did not interfere in his new marriage, Henry VIII had arranged for him to be sent on a diplomatic mission to Vienna, after which Thomas was appointed Ambassador to Flanders.
Now that Catherine was a widow, Thomas Seymour renewed his suit with perhaps undue haste. The widow of the King could not, under normal circumstances, remarry for several months after her husband’s death simply because she might be pregnant with the future heir to the throne. However, Catherine welcomed Thomas’s suit. She wrote to him in February 1547, just a few weeks after Henry’s death:
I would not have you think that this mine honest good will toward you to proceed from any sudden motion of passion; for, as truly as God is God, my mind was fully bent, the other time I was at liberty, to marry you before any man I know. Howbeit, God withstood my will therein most vehemently for a time, and … made that possible which seemed to me most impossible; that was, made me renounce utterly mine own will and to follow His will most willingly … I can say nothing but as my lady of Suffolk saith, ‘God is a marvellous man.’1
Thomas’s desire to resume his relationship with Catherine was due, in part, to his previous affection for her, but it was also driven by ambition. His brother, Edward, was now arguably the most influential person in the land, and sadly for Thomas, his brother possessed all the qualities of leadership that he himself lacked. Henry VIII had recognized this and made Edward one of his close advisers, sending him abroad on key diplomatic missions. Edward VI’s Council similarly recognized Edward’s powers as a reliable, intelligent, capable soldier and administrator.
When the Council awarded titles to its various Councillors, Edward became the 1st Duke of Somerset. Thomas also received the title of 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley and was appointed Lord High Admiral, but he was far from satisfied. Edward was still more important, and Thomas was furious that his brother had risen so far so fast. Thomas was not only ambitious: he genuinely believed that he was equal, if not superior, to his brother.
Thomas’s subsequent behaviour both involving Catherine, and later, Elizabeth
sought to level the playing field. Marriage to the Dowager Queen was just one step further towards reaching a particular goal. Until Edward VI married, which was some years off yet, Catherine was the First Lady in England and the beloved stepmother of the King. She was arguably the most important woman in the country and could be expected to use her influence to support her husband in gaining the King’s favour, if he so required.
While he was wooing Catherine, Thomas was also in communication with some of the Councillors to see if they might match him with either of Edward VI’s half-sisters, Mary or Elizabeth. He received a strong negative response, as sometime in April or May of 1547 he secretly married Catherine.
Edward VI noted Edward Seymour’s reaction to the marriage in his journal: ‘The Lord Seymour of Sudeley married the Queen, whose name was Catherine, with which marriage the Lord Protector was much offended.’2 While Catherine had approached her stepson and asked for his approval for the union, which he gladly gave, neither Thomas nor Catherine had approached the Council, perhaps suspecting that the Lord Protector might prevent the marriage, not just on the grounds of timing, but also because it would give too much influence to Thomas. When Edward VI took the throne, Thomas had tried to persuade the young King to sign a Bill to allow him to share the role of Protector, which Edward had refused.
By June, the marriage was common knowledge at Court and Thomas was living openly at Chelsea with Catherine and her household, which now included Elizabeth, but soon grew to encompass 11-year-old Lady Jane Grey. As part of Thomas’s plans to increase his power, he plotted to arrange a marriage between Edward VI and Jane, the granddaughter of Mary Tudor, Henry VIII’s sister, and Edward’s own cousin. Evidence for what happened next at Chelsea, and at Catherine and Thomas’s houses at Hanworth and Seymour Place in London, came from statements given by witnesses in the 1548–49 enquiry into the treasonable actions of Thomas Seymour. The most prominent and damaging statements came from Kat Ashley and Sir Thomas Parry, Elizabeth’s Cofferer (treasurer).
From the start Thomas’s behaviour towards Elizabeth overstepped the mark of what was deemed appropriate for a stepfather and stepdaughter. Kat Ashley reported that he would ‘come many mornings into the Lady Elizabeth’s chamber, before she were ready, and sometimes before she did rise. And if she were up, he would bid her good morrow, and ask how she did, and strike her upon the back or on the buttocks familiarly, and so go forth through his lodgings; and sometime go through to the maidens and play with them, and so go forth.’3
If Elizabeth was in bed, he would ‘make as though he would come at her. And she would go further into the bed, so that he could not come at her.’4 One morning he tried to kiss her while she was in bed, but Kat Ashley ‘bade him go away for shame’. At Hanworth he tried the same trick, but Elizabeth now tended to be up when he arrived. On a few occasions, Catherine accompanied Thomas to Elizabeth’s bedchamber where they were observed tickling Elizabeth.5 It was as if Thomas brought his wife with him to demonstrate the innocence of his actions.
One day, Kat found Elizabeth with her gown slashed to ribbons. In her subsequent testimony at Thomas’s enquiry, she said that as ‘my lady’s grace walking with the Queen in the garden, my Lord Admiral did cut her gown in a hundred pieces, and I chid with her grace when she came up, that she was so trimmed. And she said the Queen held her while my lord did so dress it. “Well,” said I, “I would my lord would show more reverence to you, although he be homely with the Queen.”’6
Kat spoke to Thomas; he told her that it was all good fun. Similarly, when Kat mentioned the matter to Catherine, she made light of it.7 Not only did Thomas continue with his attentions to Elizabeth, he became even more bold. He would come up every morning in his nightgown, ‘barelegged in his slippers’,8 but Elizabeth had learned how to manage the situation; she was always up ‘and at her book’ by the hour he appeared, so he had to wish her good morrow from the doorway.
While they were at Hanworth, one day Catherine came to Kat with a strange tale. She reported that Thomas had told her that he had seen Elizabeth hugging a man. Kat immediately asked Elizabeth about this; she burst into tears and swore it was a lie. She was never alone, after all, and Kat only had to ask her ladies-in-waiting for verification. The only gentleman among Elizabeth’s servants was William Grindal, her elderly tutor, an unlikely candidate for a passionate embrace. And why Catherine mentioned this at all remains a mystery. Possibly she knew or believed that Elizabeth was smitten with a young man, but did not know who it was and hoped to put a stop to any serious flirtation before it got out of hand and someone reported it to the Council. Possibly Thomas thought that someone had seen him embracing the young girl and he was acting to cover his tracks.9
While Thomas’s actions with a younger child might have been seen as simple playfulness, Elizabeth was nearly 15, old enough to be a married mother by the standards of the day. Touching her in her nightdress, trying to get into her bed and kissing her were all wholly inappropriate actions, and while Catherine might have initially viewed them as innocent, evidence indicates she changed her mind. All the principal players in the events that unfolded seem to acknowledge that all was not well in the Seymour household.
Matters became more complicated when the 35-year-old Catherine announced that she was pregnant. Although Catherine was delighted with the news, she was undeniably concerned by the nature of the relationship between her husband and her ward, and this must have exacerbated the physical and psychological problems that came with a middle-aged woman’s first pregnancy.
The pregnancy also put paid to any plans that Thomas had for Catherine to help him gain influence over the Council or the King, although she had shown a marked disinclination to become involved in his schemes. In any event, Catherine’s own position and influence as Dowager Queen was also now in question. Anne Seymour, the Lord Protector’s wife, resented Catherine’s position as Dowager Queen, even though Anne was the wife of arguably the most powerful man in England. The resulting dispute between them led to some extremely petty behaviour, such as Edward’s refusal, backed by Anne, to return some of Catherine’s jewels – including her wedding ring – which he claimed belonged to the Crown. Catherine was no longer in a position of sufficient power to lobby for her husband, even if she wanted to.
In 1547, Elizabeth took a short break from the difficult situation at Chelsea, spending Christmas at Court with Edward and their half-sister, Mary. There, she behaved like a loyal and devoted subject, as well as a beloved sister of the King and the current heir to the throne. The Italian calligrapher and writer Petruccio Ubaldini, who was a visitor to the Court at the time, observed that he had seen, ‘the princess Elizabeth drop on one knee five times before her brother, before she took her place.’10 The half-siblings would have enjoyed a varied and exciting programme of religious ceremonies and entertainments over Christmas and New Year, all suitable for a young King who was still a child.
In January 1548, Elizabeth returned to Chelsea. In that same month, her tutor, William Grindal, died. Thomas and Catherine already had a suitable candidate to replace William, but Elizabeth had her own opinion on the subject. She chose Roger Ascham, who came recommended by Sir John Cheke, Edward VI’s tutor.
As Catherine’s pregnancy advanced, she spent more time resting. She no longer accompanied her husband when he visited Elizabeth, yet, one day in May or June 1548, Catherine made a discovery, according to Thomas Parry’s evidence in the Seymour enquiry. Parry testified that Thomas loved Elizabeth and had done so for a long time and that Catherine was jealous of that fact. On this particular occasion, Catherine ‘came suddenly upon them, where they were all alone, he having her [Elizabeth] in his arms, wherefore the Queen fell out, both with the Lord Admiral and with her Grace also ... and as I remember, this was the cause why she was sent from the Queen, or else that her grace parted from the Queen.’11
Catherine was apparently devastated by this betrayal and is alleged to have ordered Elizabeth to be removed from her household.1
2 Certainly, in May 1548, Elizabeth and her servants were sent away from Chelsea; they went to stay with Sir Anthony Denny and his wife, Lady Joan, at Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. Shortly after her arrival at the Dennys’ home, Elizabeth wrote a letter to Catherine:
Although I could not be plentiful in giving thanks for the manifold kindness received at your highness’ hand at my departure, yet I am something to be borne withal, for truly I was replete with sorrow to depart from your highness, especially leaving you undoubtful of health. And albeit I answered little, I weighed it more deeper when you said you would warn me of all evils that you should hear of me; for if your grace had not a good opinion of me, you would not have offered friendship to me that way that all men judge the contrary. But what may I more say than thank God for providing such friends to me, desiring God to enrich me with their long life, and me grace to be in heart no less thankful to receive it than I now am glad in writing to show it. And although I have plenty of matter, here I will stay for I know you are not quiet to read.
From Cheston [Cheshunt] this present Saturday, Your highness’ humble daughter, Elizabeth.13
This letter is perhaps remarkable in that it contains no explanation, apology or justification for whatever had happened before Elizabeth’s departure from Catherine’s household. If Catherine had sent Elizabeth away in anger, there is no reference to it in the letter – rather Elizabeth thanks her stepmother for her kindness and concern and also for her promise to let Elizabeth know if anyone is slandering her.
In sending Elizabeth away, Catherine could possibly have been punishing her ward for her bad behaviour, but equally, she could have been protecting the young girl. This letter seems to support the second explanation. Similarly, if Elizabeth were being punished, Catherine’s decision to send her to the Dennys was an odd one. Sir Anthony Denny had been a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber and a friend to Henry VIII, and his wife, Joan, was a close friend of Catherine’s and the sister of Elizabeth’s beloved Governess, Kat Ashley. They were excellent guardians rather than strict jailers. Was Catherine protecting Elizabeth from Thomas’s attentions? Or is there yet another explanation? Could Elizabeth have been sent away because she was already pregnant with Thomas’s child?
Elizabeth Page 4
