Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Lord Protector of England from 1547 to 1549 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp KG, PC (1500[1] – 22 January 1552), also known as Edward Semel,[2] was an English nobleman and politician who served as Lord Protector of England from 1547 to 1549 during the minority of his nephew King Edward VI. He was the eldest surviving brother of Queen Jane Seymour, the third wife of King Henry VIII.
The Duke of Somerset | |
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 Portrait of Edward Seymour as 1st Earl of Hertford (cr 1537), wearing the Collar of the Order of the Garter. By unknown artist, Longleat House, Wiltshire. | |
| Lord High Treasurer | |
| In office 10 February 1547 – 10 October 1549 | |
| Monarch | Edward VI |
| Preceded by | Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk |
| Succeeded by | William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester |
| Lord Protector of the Realm | |
| In office 4 February 1547 – 11 October 1549 | |
| Monarch | Edward VI |
| Lord Great Chamberlain | |
| In office c.1543–c.1549 | |
| Monarchs | Henry VIII Edward VI |
| Preceded by | Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex |
| Succeeded by | John Dudley, 1st Earl of Warwick |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1500 |
| Died | 22 January 1552(1552-01-22) (aged 51–52) Tower Hill, London |
| Cause of death | Decapitation |
| Resting place | Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London, London, United Kingdom 51.508611°N 0.076944°W / 51.508611; -0.076944 |
| Nationality | English |
| Spouses | |
| Children | with Catherine:
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| Parents | |
| Residences |
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| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of England |
| Battles/wars |
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Seymour grew rapidly in favour with Henry VIII following Jane's marriage to the king in 1536, and was subsequently made Earl of Hertford. On Henry's death in 1547, he was appointed protector by the Regency Council on the accession of the nine-year-old Edward VI. Rewarded with the title Duke of Somerset, Seymour became the effective ruler of England. Somerset continued Henry's military campaign against the Scots and achieved a sound victory at the Battle of Pinkie, but ultimately he was unable to maintain his position in Scotland. Domestically, Somerset pursued further reforms as an extension of the English Reformation, and in 1549 imposed the first Book of Common Prayer through the Act of Uniformity, offering a compromise between Protestant and Roman Catholic teachings. The unpopularity of Somerset's religious measures, along with agrarian grievances, resulted in unrest in England and provoked a series of uprisings (including the Prayer Book Rebellion and Kett's Rebellion). Costly wars and economic mismanagement brought the Crown to financial ruin, further undermining his government.
In October 1549, Somerset was forced out of power and imprisoned in the Tower of London by John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, and a group of privy councillors. He was later released and reconciled with Warwick (now Duke of Northumberland), but in 1551 Northumberland accused him of treason, and he was executed in January 1552. Until the 1970s historians had a highly positive view of Somerset, seeing him as a champion of political liberty and the common people, but since then he has also often been portrayed as an arrogant and inept ruler of the Tudor state.