Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford

Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1565

Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford ( May 22, 1539 - April 6, 1621 ) was an English nobleman .

Edward was the eldest son of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset , from his second marriage to Anne Stanhope , and thus a nephew of Queen Jane Seymour . After his father's first marriage had been divorced in 1535, his titles of nobility as Viscount Beauchamp (1536), Earl of Hertford (1537) and Duke of Somerset (1547) were bestowed with the special addition that these were given priority to his second descendants Marriage and not to his two sons from his first marriage. Edward was thereby title heir ( Heir apparent ) of his father. However, his father was ostracized and executed for high treason in 1552 , with which his titles were forfeited.

Edward Seymour was raised to Earl of Hertford and Baron Beauchamp on January 13, 1559 .

In November 1560 Earl married without permission of Queen Elizabeth I, the maid of honor Lady Catherine Gray , daughter of Henry Gray, 1st Duke of Suffolk . The marriage was annulled on May 12, 1561 and both imprisoned in the Tower of London . In addition, Edward had to pay a fine for “seducing a maiden of royal blood”. The marriage had two sons:

• Edward Seymour, Lord Beauchamp (1561-1612);
• Thomas Seymour (1563-1619).

Having survived his sons, his grandson William Seymour inherited his title of nobility when he died in 1621 . He was buried in Salisbury Cathedral , Wiltshire .

Web links

• Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford on thepeerage.com , accessed September 10, 2016.

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Earl of Hertford 1559-1621	William Seymour