Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (1500-22 January 1552) was Lord High Admiral of England from 1542 to 1543, Lord High Treasurer from 1547 to 1549, Earl Marshal from 1547 to 1549, and Lord Protector from 1547 to 1549.
Biography[]
Edward Seymour was born in 1500, the son of John Seymour and the brother of Jane Seymour and Thomas Seymour. After his sister married King Henry VIII in 1536, Edward was created Viscount Beauchamp, and he was made Earl of Hertford in 1537 and Warden of the Scottish Marches. In 1544, he burned down Edinburgh while leading an expedition to Scotland, and he defended Boulogne-sur-Mer in France in 1546 during the Italian War of 1542-46.
Regency and downfall[]
Somerset's execution
Upon the death of Henry in 1547, Edward became a member of King Edward VI of England's regency council, as he had already become well known for his military successes. In 1548, however, the Scots reinforced Edinburgh, and the massive English armies began to become a drain on the treasury. In 1549, a French attack on Boulogne forced Seymour to withdraw from Scotland. After April 1549, several religious and agrarian uprising broke out, and Somerset's reign as Lord Protector was seen as a failure. In 1550, John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland replaced Seymour as Lord Protector, and his popularity among the common people was outmatched by anger amongst the gentry. On 22 January 1552, he was executed by decapitation at the Tower of London.