Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset Name: Edward Seymour Born: 1500 Died: 22nd January, 1552 Brief: Seymour was the brother of Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour, and so Edward IV’s uncle. Seymour took the title of Lord Protector of England when Edward was too young to rule the country. As a result, he had seized power and rules as an autocrat between 1547 and 1549.
At the time of Henry’s death, Edward was only nine years old. The death of Henry VIII was far from unexpected which meant that many court members had time to vie for power upon his death.
After much dispute between Protestant radicals and conservative leaders, the Protestants took power over – supposedly through changing Henry VIII’s will with regard to who should succeed him, Seymour was a member of this Protestant group, and as a result of this takeover became a very important figure, taking up the title of Duke of Somerset and becoming Lord Protector of England.
Seymour had a rival for power in his brother, Thomas Seymour who went on to marry Henry VIII’s widow, Catherine Parr. This marriage increased Thomas’ power within the court, much to his brother’s displeasure.
Eventually, Somerset’s behaviour began to grate on other members of the Privy Council – they believed Seymour to be above his station, and he restricted access to King Edward. Doubts began to arise about his competence, and a string of rebellions and a failed war with Scotland confirmed suspicions.
An alliance between conservatives and a smaller Protestant group eventually brought down Somerset. Among these Protestants was John Dudley, the future Duke of Northumberland, who played up his Protestantism to steal Edward’s favour from Somerset, treating him like an adult as Somerset had previously failed to do.
Dudley eventually brought Somerset before Parliament and in 1550, Dudley took over