by Alison Weir
Very early on in the new reign, it was made clear that the sympathies of the Lord Protector and the Council were with the Protestants, which meant that people like Katherine Parr could now practise the reformed faith openly, without fear of persecution from the government. The King, who had been educated by scholars such as John Cheke and others, who were committed if secret Lutherans, had himself already embraced the Protestant religion, and would in time become one of its most fervent exponents. Moreover, Archbishop Cranmer - who as long ago as the 1530s had been a closet Lutheran - was still Primate of the Church of England. It would only be a matter of time before the heresy laws were repealed; in fact, during Edward's reign, it would be the English Catholics who suffered persecution, the reformist party having finally gained ascendancy.
On the day of the late King's funeral, the Lord Protector conferred patents of nobility upon himself and his fellow councillors. He himself became Duke of Somerset, a title once borne by the King's Beaufort forbears, and lastly by Henry VIII's infant brother Edmund. William Parr was created Marquess of Northampton, and Wriothesley was made Earl of Southampton. Sir Thomas Seymour was back in England and able to appear at court without fear of banishment on yet another diplomatic mission. Perhaps to compensate for his exclusion from the regency Council, his brother had him elevated to the peerage as Baron Seymour of Sudeley Castle in the county of Gloucestershire, and on the next day confirmed him in his post as Lord High Admiral for life, at the same time admitting him to the Order of the Garter.
Lord Sudeley was then about forty years old, good looking, charming, and very popular. Katherine Parr had fallen victim to his looks and dashing personality before her marriage to the King, and she and Seymour had even discussed marriage at that time. During her years as queen Katherine had resolutely put Seymour out of her mind and the Admiral had played his part, though it seems that he quickly forgot about Katherine, being a rather shallow man. His contemporary and Edward VI's biographer, Sir John Hayward, described him as 'fierce in courage, courtly in fashion, in personage stately and in voice magnificent', but, he added, he was 'somewhat empty in matter'.
Lord Sudeley found it galling to be denied what he considered to be his rightful place on the regency Council; after all, he was the King's uncle, and his brother was Lord Protector. He had also served his country both as a diplomat and on the high seas, and he was determined to get on the Council, and perhaps even supplant his brother, of whom he was very jealous. To do that, he needed power and he needed money, and the best way to gain both was by an influential marriage. With this in mind, Seymour went straight to the top. He did not at first renew his suit to Katherine Parr: she was, after all, only the late King's widow, and completely lacking in influence in a court from which she was about to depart. Real power would come with a marriage to one of the King's sisters, who were next in line of succession, a move which might, in time, bring Lord Sudeley a crown.
The Lady Mary was a staunch Catholic, so he passed her over. That left the Lady Elizabeth. She had a proud and disdainful manner which sometimes eclipsed the beauty of her red-gold hair and the flashing eyes she had inherited from her mother, yet she also had her mother's capacity for flirtation and her attraction for men, and even at thirteen, the Admiral thought her eminently desirable. In February, he began to court her, declaring his affection in flattering letters, and begging to know 'whether I am to be the most happy or the most miserable of men'.
Elizabeth did not reply at once, having a shrewd idea of what lay behind the Admiral's letters. All the same, it was flattering for a young girl to be the object of attention from such a handsome and sought-after man. Yet Elizabeth was not any young girl, and she had to have the Council's permission if she wished to marry; it was unlikely to be granted in this case. Consequently, she turned down Seymour's proposal, saying 'neither my age nor my inclination allows me to thinkofmarriage', and that she needed at least two years to get over the loss of her father before contemplating it. She went on:
Permit me, my Lord Admiral, to tell you frankly that, though I decline the happiness of becoming your wife, I shall never cease to interest myself in all that can crown your merit with glory, and shall ever feel the greatest pleasure in being your servant and good friend.
The Admiral was crestfallen at her refusal, which had the effect of making her seem all the more desirable, but he had to recognise the fact that she was not his for the taking. It was at this point that he turned his attentions once more to Katherine Parr.
At the beginning of March the Dowager Queen was about to leave the court for Chelsea when she realised that her former lover was eager to renew their relationship. This knowledge was more than welcome to her, for she was still strongly attracted to Seymour and eager to share what remained of her youth with him. Thus their courtship proceeded, although it had, of necessity, to be conducted in secret in case the Council found out and forbade its continuance. Katherine was officially mourning Henry VIII, and could not with honour contemplate remarriage in the near future, yet so happy was she at this latest turn of events that, just before she left court, she could not resist confiding her feelings for the Admiral to her friend, Lady Paget, who replied, 'All I wish you, Madam, is that he should become your husband.' Katherine answered that she wished 'it had been her fate to have him for a husband, but God hath so placed her that any lowering of her condition would be a reproach to her'. These doubts soon receded, however, under the force of Seymour's charm, and when, that March, he proposed marriage, Katherine gladly accepted, for she was now, for the first time in her life, deeply in love. She stipulated that a suitable period of mourning must elapse before the wedding could take place, but the Admiral overruled her, urging her to marry him in secret at once. And at that, sensible, virtuous, but all-too-human Katherine Parr seized what she saw as her last chance of happiness with a man she loved; she was not, after all, so young that she could afford to waste time, and she could battle no longer with the strong emotions that were overwhelming her. Lord Sudeley was delighted; if he could not aspire to a crown, he would at least be rich, and the husband of the first lady at court accorded precedence over nearly everyone else. He would have money, prestige and a devoted wife. What more could a man want?
There were, however, obstacles: it was unlikely that the Council would approve of his marriage to the Dowager Queen, and more than probable that it would withhold its consent, if only because there might be reason to dispute the paternity of any child born to the Queen so soon after her late husband's death, which would put the succession in jeopardy. Henry VIII had, after all, only been dead for six weeks. The Admiral did not care about technicalities, and he decided to bypass the Council and go straight to the young King for permission to marry. Edward was fond of his colourful Uncle Thomas, and might well agree, and the Admiral considered it unlikely that the Council would gainsay him. In this, he showed considerable lack of judgement.
Edward, unfortunately, was kept well guarded, and not allowed to see anyone unless the Council had first sanctioned it. Sudeley therefore bribed one of the royal servants, John Fowler - a man known to be an admirer of the Queen, and trustworthy - to sound Edward out on 'whom he would have to be my wife'. Fowler saw the King later that night, and said he marvelled that the Lord Admiral was not yet married; was the King content that he should marry? 'Yea, very well,' replied Edward. Then said Fowler, 'Whom would your Grace like him to marry?' The boy considered for a minute. 'My Lady Anne of Cleves!' he piped up, but then he thought again. 'I would he married my sister Mary, to turn her opinions.' (Edward deplored Mary's adherence to Catholicism.) That was not, of course, the answer that Fowler had been hoping for, or the Admiral. But the Admiral was well aware that the Council kept the young King chronically short of money, and so he sent Fowler back the next night, well supplied with gold coins, to ask Edward 'if he should be contented I should marry the Queen'. To the Admiral's delight, Edward did not hesitate to signify his approval and consent: he was fond of his stepmother and hi
s uncle, and did not understand the political motive behind Sudeley's proposal.
It was at this time that the Queen moved to the Old Manor House at Chelsea, which occupied an extensive site at the eastern end of what is now Cheyne Walk. It had been built by Henry VIII in 1536-7 for Jane Seymour, although she never lived there. Of red brick, it bore some resemblance to St James's Palace, which was built around the same time, although it was only two storeys in height and was built around two quadrangles. It was quite a large house, more than adequate for a queen dowager, with its three halls, three parlours, three kitchens, three drawing-rooms, seventeen chambers, four closets, three cellars, a larder, a large staircase, summer rooms (presumably without fireplaces or open on one side), and nine other rooms. It had casement windows and a water supply brought by a conduit from Kensington, and its most attractive feature was its five acres of beautiful gardens intersected by privet hedges and containing a fishpond and a variety of trees: cherry, peach, damson and nut. There were also 200 damask rose bushes.
Katherine was at Chelsea when the Admiral called to inform her of the King's consent to their marriage. Now that she was away from the public arena of the court, it would be easier to make secret preparations for her wedding, which she hoped would take place as soon as possible. Yet, while Katherine was thus happily preoccupied Sudeley's mind was on more contentious issues. He had already proved to himself that it was better to bypass the Council and go direct to the young King to get what he wanted, and he saw no reason why he should not capitalise further on Edward's admiration and affection for him. He even foresaw the day when he might ultimately rule through the King, and planned to achieve this by providing Edward with a consort who had been trained to be sympathetic to the Admiral's interests. It did not matter that the Council was already contemplating a marriage between Edward and Elisabeth of France, daughter of the new French King, Henry II; the Admiral thought he had a better candidate, one to whom Edward was close, and of whom he would thoroughly approve, for, whereas the Princess Elisabeth was a Roman Catholic, this girl was already a committed Protestant. Her name was the Lady Jane Grey, and she was the eldest daughter of the Marquess of Dorset by Henry VIII's niece, Frances Brandon, daughter of Mary Tudor and the Duke of Suffolk. Jane was almost the same age as Edward, having been born in the same month; she had been named after his mother, Jane Seymour. Her parents had arranged for her to receive a very thorough academic education from Protestant tutors, which had already developed her formidable intellect far beyond what was normal for a child of her years. As a result, she was precocious, strong willed and an intellectual snob, as well as being completely dedicated to Protestantism. Notwithstanding this, her parents demanded still more of her, and beat her when she did not come up to their expectations. As a result, her home life was desperately unhappy, and the only solace she knew was in the hours she spent with her tutors.
It was the Admiral's plan to make Jane his ward and have her join the household at Chelsea after his marriage so that the Queen could supervise her education. Sudeley saw no reason why Lord Dorset should refuse such an offer; indeed, any father with ambitions for his child would be glad of it, with its advantage of an education under the auspices of one of the most erudite women of the age, and its prospects of a good marriage for Jane when the time came - a royal one, if the Admiral had his way. Yet when Lord Sudeley's man, William Harrington, broached the matter with Lord Dorset at the latter's house at Bradgate in Leicestershire, the Marquess was unimpressed, even when informed that the Admiral hoped to match his daughter with the King. He wanted to know who would look after the child, since he had not been let into the secret of the Admiral's impending marriage, and could not see how Lord Sudeley was placed to arrange a match between the King and Jane when he was not even on the regency Council. To Dorset, it seemed a futile plan at best, and he privately doubted whether the Admiral's intentions were honourable, so he withheld his permission, and Jane stayed at home.
The Admiral was disappointed, but not unduly so, foreseeing that in time to come fathers would be queuing up to place their daughters in the household of the Queen Dowager, especially when it was known that her husband enjoyed the special favour of the King. He could afford to wait.
The Queen, meanwhile, was wondering how the news of her marriage would be received at court, and by her stepchildren. Edward would be glad for her, she knew, and perhaps Elizabeth, but in all likelihood Mary would disapprove, thinking it accomplished in indecent haste and disrespectful to her father's memory. Mary kept away from the court nowadays; there was no place for her there, and she preferred to live in the country where there was no one to censure her for following what she believed to be the true faith. At this time, she was arranging with the Duchess of Somerset, who had once served KatherineofAragon, to reward those servants of her mother who were still living, thus fulfilling a desire she had cherished for eleven years.
Katherine Parr was still officially in mourning for the late King when she married the Lord Admiral some time before the end of April, probably at Chelsea. Very few knew of it, for it was conducted with such secrecy that it is impossible to determine a date. Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, the Queen's cousin, may have been a witness. The King learned of the marriage in May, for he recorded it then in his journal, but the world at large did not hear of it until it was already several weeks old. Thus Katherine Parr was married for the fourth time, making her England's most married Queen. Yet, unlike her previous marriages, this was her own choice, and for a time at least she knew great happiness, unworried by the prospect of inevitable censure from the outside world. 'If the Duke [of Somerset] and the Duchess do not like the marriage, it will be of no consequence,' she told her husband, knowing that her sister-in-law would be jealous, and that it would anger the proud Duchess to have the wife of her husband's younger brother taking precedence over her, especially when the Duchess's husband was Lord Protector of England. Somerset himself was a mild and rational man and, although he would be much displeased to learn of his brother's marriage, he would in time have come to accept it with good grace had it not been for his wife, who never ceased urging him to punish the couple for their temerity. The Duchess Anne was an intolerable woman whose pride was monstrous, a termagant who exercised much influence over her weaker husband by the lash of her tongue.
Knowing that they would make a bitter enemy of the Duchess did not unduly concern the Admiral and his bride. They had flouted the authorities, defied convention, and even jeopardised the succession, but this meant little in comparison to the joy they found in each other. Initially, this was a passion that had to be indulged in secret (which undoubtedly gave it added spice), at least until Katherine invited the Lord Protector to come to Chelsea on 18 May to break the news to him. Until then, there were secret meetings at Chelsea, and love-letters between husband and wife, who had decided that the safer course was to live apart for the present. Katherine states in one letter that she had promised to restrict herself to writing once a fortnight; however, she could not restrain herself from writing more frequently, although she was happily busy and found that 'weeks be shorter at Chelsea than in other places'. Referring to her feelings for the Admiral, she went on to say:
I would not have you think that this, mine honest goodwill towards you, proceeds 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 through His grace and goodness made that seem possible which seemed to me most impossible: that was, made me renounce utterly mine own will, and follow His most willingly. It were long to write all the process of this matter. If I live, I shall declare it to you myself. I can say nothing, but - as my Lady of Suffolk saith God is a marvellous man. By her that is yours to serve and obey during life, Katherine the Queen, K.P.
On 17 May, Sudeley replied to his wife's letter. He was staying with her sister and Lord Herbert in London and had suffered s
ome anxious moments there, as Lady Herbert seemed to know that he had been visiting Chelsea Old Manor at night. He denied it, yet Lady Herbert pressed the point and made it obvious that she knew very well there was something going on between the Admiral and her sister. Sudeley, blushing with embarrassment, asked her where she had heard such things, and she confessed that Katherine had confided the truth to her. The Admiral related all this in his letter to his wife, thanking her for asking her sister to invite him, 'For, by her company, in default of yours, I shall shorten the weeks in these parts, which heretofore were three days longer than they were under the planets at Chelsea.' He ended by saying he was going to take Lady Herbert's advice about how to obtain the goodwill of the Council and, more importantly, his brother. He begged the Queen to write to him every three days, and to send him one of a series of miniatures she had of herself, and signed himself as 'him whom ye have bound to honour, love and in all lawful things obey'. The letter is deferential, as to the Queen, and very formal, and shows that the Admiral was well aware of the difference between his station and Katherine's.
The Lord Protector did not turn up at Chelsea on 18 May, and sent word he would not be able to come until the end of the month. The Admiral was by now concerned about his brother's reaction to his marriage, and wrote again to Katherine, telling her that, when she saw Somerset, she must press for a public announcement of their union within two months; previously, he had thought it wise to conceal it for as long as two years, with the Protector's consent, but now, after weeks of living apart from his bride, he was reluctant to play the role of secret husband for that length of time. He confessed also to Katherine that he was worried about how to win over his brother's support. To this she replied sensibly that to deny his request to announce the marriage soon would be an act of folly on the part of the Protector, since news of it might well leak out, or the couple's clandestine meetings would be noticed. Either would cause a scandal which would touch the entire Seymour clan and discredit the family, the last thing the Protector would want.