Court of Edward VI

Edward VI's reign wasn't as long as his father's but there were some interesting characters in his Regency Council, including the following. 

Edward Seymour

Duke of Somerset, Earl of Hertford and Viscount Beauchamp, Edward Seymour was an English nobleman and politician who served as Lord Protector of England from 1547-1549 during his nephew, King Edward VI’s minority. He was the eldest brother of the king’s mother, Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII.

Seymour grew in favour with Henry VIII following the marriage between the king and his sister, gaining several titles. On the death of Henry VIII, he was one of 16 people who were to act as Edward’s council until he reached the age of 18. That council chose to invest almost regal power in Edward Seymour allowing him the right to appoint members to the privy council and rule in an almost autocratic way. He was known for his skill in soldiering, having seen a number of victories in battle, though this wasn’t something he could put to use during 1548 when England saw a period of social unrest. Many people saw the riots as being a colossal failure of government and the blame was laid at Edward Seymour's feet. He was removed from power in 1549 following a coup.

After learning that his position was under threat, Seymour fled, forcibly taking the young king with him to Windsor Castle. The council had by this time already met and published details of his mismanagement of government. He was removed from his position and replaced with John Dudley, the Earl of Warwick. The council had him arrested and returned the king to Richmond, Seymour was imprisoned in the Tower of London. In 1550, he was released, however by 1551, he was back in the Tower on charges of treason and was executed in 1552.

Throughout his life, he had a fractious relationship with his younger brother Thomas, more on him below, and both of them would eventually fall from favour.

Thomas Seymour

Thomas Seymour, along with his brother, Edward, vied for control of his nephew, the young king Edward VI. Following the marriage of his sister Jane to King Henry VIII, Thomas was elevated to a gentleman of the privy chamber.

As part of his role at court, he became part of the English embassy in France and was one of the party sent to meet Anne of Cleeves as she travelled to England for her wedding to Henry VIII. Like his brother, he was a successful military man, serving as Master General of the Ordnance and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, both senior positions. He returned to court following the death of Henry and joined the regency council to help his young nephew rule. It was this that caused their relationship to sour, as Edward received more power and influence than he did and Edward’s attempts to buy his loyalty with titles and lands did little to win him around. Thomas would spend much of his time trying to replace his brother as Lord Protector.
Just months after the death of Henry VIII, Thomas married his widow Catherine Parr. The pair had been involved romantically prior to her marriage to the king. However, the fact that they married in secret and so soon after the death of the king caused a minor scandal. Throughout his nephew’s minority, Thomas would feed the young king pocket money and would attempt to win his favour over that of his brother. Part of his plan to increase his influence was also to form a relationship with the king’s siblings, notably Elizabeth, who, along with her cousin Lady Jane Grey, were wards of Catherine Parr’s.

Following their marriage, Seymour moved into Parr’s home and would show affection to Elizabeth, according to reports, he would tickle her and slap her bottom, as well as coming into her private rooms in his night clothes. Though it is uncertain how Elizabeth responded to these flirtations, she was sent away from the home during Catherine Parr’s pregnancy and as she was only around 13 or 14 at the time, it is widely accepted that she was being groomed.

The couple moved to Sudeley Castle following Thomas being made Baron of Sudeley. Catherine gave birth to a daughter, named Mary, but died of complications following childbirth, upon her death, she bequeathed her considerable wealth to her husband making him the wealthiest man in England. He almost immediately turned his attention to Elizabeth who avoided him.

Thomas was known to persistently pressure his nephew into dismissing his brother, Edward and formed an opposition to his power.

By 1548, the council became aware of Thomas’ bid for power, he was caught breaking into the king’s apartments with a loaded pistol, possibly to kidnap him, leading him to shoot one of the king’s dogs, which had alerted to his presence. The next day, he was arrested and sent to the Tower of London, where he was found guilty of 33 charges of treason.

After his execution, his property was seized by the crown.

John Dudley

The Duke of Northumberland was an English general, admiral and politician who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553. He was part of Henry VIII’s inner circle during the last years of his reign and distinguished himself by putting down rebellions in Scotland and Norfolk. He served as part of the Regency council of Edward VI and would emerge as Lord Protector following Edward Seymour’s downfall.

He was instrumental in putting Lady Jane Grey on the throne after Edward’s death, being present when Edward changed his will to allow his cousin Lady Jane Grey, who was married to Dudley’s son, to inherit the crown. General consensus is that he orchestrated this so that his family could be closer to the throne, however it ended with him, as well as his son and daughter in law being executed for treason.

Following the death of Edward VI and putting Lady Jane Grey forward for ascension, he made his way to East Anglia to capture Edward’s half sister Mary, however, the Privy Council had already declared their allegiance to Mary and proclaimed her queen. 

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