Edward Seymour

Lord Hertford

**Edward Seymour** is depicted as the oldest child of the Seymour family, and first son of Sir John and Lady Margaret Seymour. He had a younger brother, Thomas Seymour, to whom he is very close, as well as two younger sisters, Jane Seymour and Dorothy Seymour, both of whom still live at the family seat of Wulfhall in Wiltshire.

## Early Life

Edward was raised as his father's heir at the family home of Wulfhall in Wiltshire, by his mother and father and alongside his younger brother and three younger sisters (his middle sister, Elizabeth, has already been married off and does not appear in the series). He had ambition from an early age, and gained favor with Henry Tudor as guardian for the Earl of Richmond's (the king's illegitimate son) household, especially after the Boleyn family's fall from grace.

## First Marriage

Edward married firstly Catherine Fillol, daughter of a knight who married Edward by the mid-1520's and had two sons, yet the marriage suffered when Sir John Seymour had an affair with her. Edward successfully petitions for an annulment of the marriage, and he and his father are seen talking about it in Jane Seymour (episode) at his introduction, where Edward forgives his father and promises to put his first failed marriage behind them.

## Second Marriage

Edward announces his engagement to Anne Stanhope, daughter of another knight. Edward tells his sister, Jane, that she and Anne were at court together, and Jane is enthusiastic about this, remembering Anne as a lovely woman. Jane is later summoned to court, and feels insecure about being away from home, but Edward lets her know that he is at court as well, having just married Anne, in the spring of 1535, and he is pleased when the two of them greet one another so enthusiastically.

Edward and Anne would go on to have ten children together, the first of which was born on the same day as their nephew, Edward, Prince of Wales, for whom Edward's sister, Jane, stood as godmother.

## Sister's Rise to Power & Death

He is well-liked the king and encouraged the king's courtship of his sister whilst the king was still married to Anne Boleyn. It was the love the king bore for Jane, and Anne's failure to give Henry a son, which drove the king to have Anne executed, thus prompting a union with Jane.

Edward was high in favor during his sister's one-year marriage to the king, and was created Earl of Hertford at some point after the birth of his nephew. He is not shown to be grieving for his father's death, and his younger brother, Thomas, delivers the news to Jane himself, just after Jane and the king are married. His wife, Anne, is not seen again either, and after Jane's death, which he seems saddened by, he swears loyalty to his nephew, and is involved with raising him.

## The Convincement of Katherine Parr

Edward is shown to be distrustful of Thomas Cromwell, and seems to condemn him for forcing the king's marriage to Anne of Cleves.

Edward is not seen much after his sister's death, but returns in a whirlwind after Katherine Parr arrives at court. Edward knows that the twice-widowed thirty-year-old woman has feelings for his younger brother, Thomas, but then convinces Katherine that the king will propose to her once she has an audience with him. Edward convinces Thomas and Katherine to put aside their feelings for one another, and Katherine agrees to marry the aging king as his sixth wife.

## Uncle to the King/Lord Protector

Edward is next seen when the king is in the throes of death, in January of 1547, when his brother, Thomas, returns from court after a mission in France, to assist him in getting over his feelings for Katherine. Edward informs Thomas that the king is dying and that he is having audiences with various members of the court close to him. Edward joyfully remarks to Thomas that Henry has ordered that he is to be buried beside Jane, their sister, who died nearly a decade before. Thomas asks if Edward has been named regent, and Edward replies that he has not yet been named so.

After the king dies, his son Edward is named his heir, and Edward, who had been dispatched to go and fetch him, arrives just before the announcement with the nine-year-old boy. The court acknowledges the king's wishes to make Edward the next king, while Edward Seymour is named Lord Protector of England.