Frances Howard

Frances Howard (painting by William Larkin )

Frances Howard (married: Frances Devereux, countess of Essex ; Frances Carr, countess of Somerset ) (born May 31, 1590 , † August 23, 1632 in Chiswick ) was an English noblewoman. The process of annulment of her marriage to Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex with the aim of marrying Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset , sparked a public scandal. After it became clear that she was responsible for a murder in connection with the marriage plan with the Earl of Somerset, this sparked one of the greatest scandals of the Stuart period in England. Because James I pardoned her, she escaped execution.

Marriage to the Earl of Essex

She was the daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk and his second wife Katherine Knyvett.

She was married in 1606 to Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex . The marriage had a political background. Although the Howard family continued to show Catholic inclinations, they were again to be found in the king's surroundings. The Howards had rivaled the groom's father Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex . Marriage was supposed to remove the conflict. In some representations it is stated that James I was significantly involved in the marriage project. In the presence of the king, the wedding was celebrated lavishly in the Palace of Whitehall .

Due to the young age of the two spouses, the consummation of the marriage was postponed by three years. Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, set out on his cavalier tour of Europe. His wife spent her time with her mother or at the royal court.

Annulment of the marriage

After returning from his gentlemanly journey, Essex was unable to consummate the marriage for psychological or physical reasons. Frances Howard was dating Robert Carr, who was a favorite of the king, around 1611/1612. Her family may have supported this move to strengthen her influence over the king.

Also with the support of James I, the Howards have applied for the marriage to be annulled. A special commission of the Anglican Church was entrusted with the decision . She concluded that while Essex had no problem with other women, in the case of Frances Howard he was unable to consummate the marriage. While this diagnosis did little damage to Essex's reputation, it raised the question of what caused it. It was debated whether witchcraft could be a cause, but the opinion was soon dismissed. Some of the commissioners, including George Abbot , Archbishop of Canterbury, were unable to make a decision. It was only after the king intervened in September 1613 that there was a majority in favor of annulment of the marriage by Robert Devereux because of impotence.

The annulment of the marriage became a public scandal. The blame was put on Frances Howard. She would have betrayed Essex and denied it. There was only one trick she could have faked an examination of her virginity. Corresponding mocking verses were circulating.

Murder plot

Three months later, Frances Howard married Robert Carr. He was made Earl of Somerset, the wedding was celebrated in a magnificent ceremony at the royal court.

About two years later in 1615, Sir Gervase Elwes, in charge of the prison in the Tower of London , claimed that Thomas Overbury, incarcerated there, had been poisoned. This announcement came at a time when Carr had lost the king's favor. Overbury had died ten days after the annulment of the marriage between Frances Howard and Essex was announced. Until Elwes testified, it was assumed that the cause of death was natural.

The immediate perpetrator was the prison guard in charge. This accused Frances Howard as the instigator. Overbury was a confidante of Carr and even encouraged Carr's initial approach to Frances Howard. However, he refused a further relationship between the two. Carr and Frances Howard saw Overbury as a threat to their marriage plans and related political goals. Carr then arranged for the imprisonment of Overbury. Frances, along with some accomplices, arranged for his poisoning in prison. Her guilt was found during the trial of her accomplices. The discovery of their perpetrators triggered a major public scandal. She was reviled in public as a witch or whore.

Since October 1615 she was imprisoned herself. She and her husband were charged. Before the trial began, she confessed and pleaded guilty. The king was able to save her from execution with reference to her confession of guilt and her repentance. Her husband pleaded innocent and found guilty by the court. But he was not executed either. The accomplices had been executed.

The couple remained locked in the Tower until 1622. After their release, they lived in seclusion. They were not allowed to return to court.

literature

• Alastair Bellany: Howard, Frances, countess of Somerset (1590-1632). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 Online version , accessed August 8, 2013