Page "Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley" Paragraph 6

Though Thomas Seymour's name had been linked to Mary Howard, Duchess of Richmond, he was still unmarried at the time of the King's death.

One view is that Thomas schemed to marry either Princess Mary or Princess Elizabeth, Henry VIII's daughters by his first two marriages, and there were rumours that he attempted to pursue a relationship with Elizabeth, still in her early teens.

If he hoped for such a marriage as a route to power, he was unsuccessful, though his secret marriage to Katherine Parr, Elizabeth's guardian, in late April 1547 was viewed by some as an attempt to become close to the young princess.

Certainly, many regarded this marriage as having occurred too quickly after the King's death.

Anne Stanhope, Somerset's proud wife, disliked Katherine and Thomas, and began to turn many people in court against them.

To demonstrate her hatred, Anne kept the Queen's jewels, which by right were Katherine's.