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{{For|the duchess whose married name was Mary Seymour|Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort (1630-1715)}} {{For|the duchess whose married name was Mary Seymour|Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort (1630-1715)}}
'''Mary Seymour''' (30 August 1548 - c. 1550), born at her father’s country seat, ] in ], was the only daughter of ], Baron Seymour of Sudeley, and ], widow of ] of ]. Although Catherine was married four times, Mary was her only child. Complications from Mary's birth would claim the life of her mother on 5 September 1548, and her father was executed less than a year later for treason against ]. '''Mary Seymour''' (30 August 1548 - c. 1550?), born at her father’s country seat, ] in ], was the only daughter of ], Baron Seymour of Sudeley, and ], widow of ] of ]. Although Katherine was married four times, Mary was her only child. Complications from Mary's birth would claim the life of her mother on 5 September 1548, and her father was executed less than a year later for treason against ].


In 1549, the ] passed an ] (3 & 4 Edw. 6 C A P. XIV) removing the ] placed on her father from Mary, but his lands remained property of the Crown. In 1549, the ] passed an ] (3 & 4 Edw. 6 C A P. XIV) removing the ] placed on her father from Mary, but his lands remained property of the Crown.


As her mother's wealth was left entirely to her father and later confiscated by the Crown, Mary was left a destitute orphan in the care of ] ], who appears to have resented this imposition.<ref>Linda Porter (2010) ''Katherine the Queen''</ref> After 1550 Mary disappears from historical record completely, leading to the conclusion that she did not live past the age of two.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/sixwives/meet/cp_handbook_children2.html|title=Catherine Parr: Children|work=The Six Wives of Henry VIII|publisher=]|accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref> As her mother's wealth was left entirely to her father and later confiscated by the Crown, Mary was left a destitute orphan in the care of ], ], who appears to have resented this imposition.<ref>Linda Porter (2010) ''Katherine the Queen''</ref> After 1550 Mary disappears from historical record completely, and no claim was ever made on her father's meager estate, leading to the conclusion that she did not live past the age of two.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/sixwives/meet/cp_handbook_children2.html|title=Catherine Parr: Children|work=The Six Wives of Henry VIII|publisher=]|accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref>


==Speculations of an adult life== ==Speculations on Mary's adulthood==
] author ] claims in her biography of Catherine Parr that Mary Seymour did survive to adulthood, and in fact married ], a member of the household of Queen ], consort to King James VI of Scotland and I of England. Strickland's theory incorporates that perhaps the Dowager ], after her marriage to ] in 1553, and before she fled England during the ] which started on 20 January 1555, she provided an honorable marriage for Mary with Bushel. The problem with this theory is that Lady Mary would have been aged six at the time.<ref>Agnes Strickland, Elizabeth Strickland. ''Lives of the Queens of England from the Norman Conquest,'' 1842. pg 296.</ref> ] author ] claimed, in her biography of Katherine Parr, that Mary Seymour did survive to adulthood, and in fact married Sir Edward Bushel, a member of the household of Queen ], consort to King James VI of Scotland and I of England. Strickland's theory suggested that the Dowager ], after her marriage to ] in 1553, and before she fled England during the ] in or after 1555, she arranged Mary's marriage to Bushel. The problem with this theory is that Mary would have been aged six at the time.<ref>Agnes Strickland, Elizabeth Strickland. ''Lives of the Queens of England from the Norman Conquest,'' 1842. pg 296.</ref>


Mary was also believed to have been removed to ], ] and raised under the care of a Protestant family there, the Harts, who had been engaged in piracy off the Irish coast under the protection of a profit sharing arrangement with Thomas Seymour.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} A lozenge-shaped ring inscribed "What I have I hold" reputed to have been an early gift to Thomas by his brother Edward passed down through her descendants the Seymour-Harts up to at least 1927.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} Another theory states that Mary was removed to ], ] and raised under the care of a Protestant family there, the Harts, who had been engaged in piracy off the Irish coast under the protection of a profit sharing arrangement with Thomas Seymour.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} A lozenge-shaped ring inscribed "What I have I hold" was reputed to have been an early gift to Thomas by his brother Edward, and was passed down through generations of the Seymour-Harts until at least 1927.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}


There was reference found in old Elizabethan texts of 'The Late Queen's heir.' However, this could be various other women. Historian ] states that "Mary definitely lived past the age of 10, but after that little is known." There was reference to "Mary" found in old Elizabethan texts of 'The Late Queen's heir.' However, this could be various other women.{{Citation needed|date=March 2014}} Historian S. Joy states that "Mary definitely lived past the age of 10, but after that little is known."{{Citation needed|date=March 2014}}


The latest theory, comes from ] who has done extensive research and written her own biography on Lady Mary's mother, Queen Catherine. A more modern theory, from ], author of a 2010 biography on Katherine Parr, suggests that a 1573 Latin book of poems and epitaphs written by ], Katherine Parr’s chaplain, contains the following reference to Mary:

In an article in ''History Today'', published in July 2011, Porter states:

{{quote|text=In January 1550, Lady Mary Seymour was allowed, by act of Parliament, to inherit any of her father’s property that remained. There was not much left but no claim was ever made and, thereafter, Catherine Parr’s daughter disappears from the historical record completely. What could have happened to her?

The answer to this compelling Tudor mystery seems to lie in a Latin book of poems and epitaphs written by ], Katherine Parr’s chaplain, who had previously served the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk. The discovery was made by the American academic, ], but has been overlooked by historians. I am grateful to Jean Bray, the archivist at Sudeley Castle, for drawing it to my attention. In Parkhurst’s Ludicra sive Epigrammata ], published in 1573, appears the following poem, which translated reads:


I whom at the cost<br> I whom at the cost<br>
Line 36: Line 30:
Is a memorial to my brief life Is a memorial to my brief life


Though no name is given, this must surely be the epitaph that Parkhurst, who would have known Lady Mary Seymour, wrote on her death. It suggests, as has long been conjectured, that she died young, probably around the age of two. She may well be buried in ], near ], the estate owned by the Duchess of Suffolk, where she had lived as an unwelcome burden for most of her short, sad life.|sign=Linda Porter|source=History Today, ''Lady Mary Seymour: An Unfit Traveller", Volume: 61 Issue: 7 2011.}} Porter suggested that this was an epitaph written by Parkhurst on the occasion of Mary's death, around the age of two. Porter further speculates that Mary is buried in ], near ], the estate owned by the Duchess of Suffolk, "where she had lived as an unwelcome burden for most of her short, sad life."<ref>Linda Porter, ''History Today Magazine'', "Lady Mary Seymour: An Unfit Traveller", Volume 61, Issue 7, 2011.</ref>

⚫ ==Portrayals in Fiction==
⚫ The story ''The Red Queen's Daughter'' by ] centres around Mary Seymour, and speculates a life in which she never marries, and becomes ] to ].


The novel ''The Stolen One'' by ] states that Mary survived and was raised by a 'witch' in the English countryside.
⚫ ==Fiction==
⚫ The fictional story, ], by ], centres around Mary Seymour, and speculates a life in which she never marries, and becomes ] to ]. Another fiction book named The Stolen One by ] is about Lady Mary. It states Mary lived and was raised by a 'witch' in the England countryside.


==Ancestry== ==Ancestry==

Revision as of 19:51, 7 March 2014

For the duchess whose married name was Mary Seymour, see Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort (1630-1715).

Mary Seymour (30 August 1548 - c. 1550?), born at her father’s country seat, Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire, was the only daughter of Thomas Seymour, Baron Seymour of Sudeley, and Katherine Parr, widow of Henry VIII of England. Although Katherine was married four times, Mary was her only child. Complications from Mary's birth would claim the life of her mother on 5 September 1548, and her father was executed less than a year later for treason against Edward VI.

In 1549, the Parliament of England passed an Act (3 & 4 Edw. 6 C A P. XIV) removing the attainder placed on her father from Mary, but his lands remained property of the Crown.

As her mother's wealth was left entirely to her father and later confiscated by the Crown, Mary was left a destitute orphan in the care of Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk, who appears to have resented this imposition. After 1550 Mary disappears from historical record completely, and no claim was ever made on her father's meager estate, leading to the conclusion that she did not live past the age of two.

Speculations on Mary's adulthood

Victorian author Agnes Strickland claimed, in her biography of Katherine Parr, that Mary Seymour did survive to adulthood, and in fact married Sir Edward Bushel, a member of the household of Queen Anne of Denmark, consort to King James VI of Scotland and I of England. Strickland's theory suggested that the Dowager Duchess of Suffolk, after her marriage to Richard Bertie in 1553, and before she fled England during the Marian Persecutions in or after 1555, she arranged Mary's marriage to Bushel. The problem with this theory is that Mary would have been aged six at the time.

Another theory states that Mary was removed to Wexford, Ireland and raised under the care of a Protestant family there, the Harts, who had been engaged in piracy off the Irish coast under the protection of a profit sharing arrangement with Thomas Seymour. A lozenge-shaped ring inscribed "What I have I hold" was reputed to have been an early gift to Thomas by his brother Edward, and was passed down through generations of the Seymour-Harts until at least 1927.

There was reference to "Mary" found in old Elizabethan texts of 'The Late Queen's heir.' However, this could be various other women. Historian S. Joy states that "Mary definitely lived past the age of 10, but after that little is known."

A more modern theory, from Linda Porter, author of a 2010 biography on Katherine Parr, suggests that a 1573 Latin book of poems and epitaphs written by John Parkhurst, Katherine Parr’s chaplain, contains the following reference to Mary:

I whom at the cost
Of her own life
My queenly mother
Bore with the pangs of labour
Sleep under this marble
An unfit traveller.
If Death had given me to live longer
That virtue, that modesty, That obedience of my excellent Mother
That Heavenly courageous nature
Would have lived again in me.
Now, whoever
You are, fare thee well
Because I cannot speak any more, this stone
Is a memorial to my brief life

Porter suggested that this was an epitaph written by Parkhurst on the occasion of Mary's death, around the age of two. Porter further speculates that Mary is buried in Lincolnshire, near Grimsthorpe, the estate owned by the Duchess of Suffolk, "where she had lived as an unwelcome burden for most of her short, sad life."

Portrayals in Fiction

The story The Red Queen's Daughter by Jacqueline Kolosov centres around Mary Seymour, and speculates a life in which she never marries, and becomes lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I.

The novel The Stolen One by Suzanne Crowley states that Mary survived and was raised by a 'witch' in the English countryside.

Ancestry

Family of Mary Seymour
16. John Seymour of Stapleford
8. John Seymour of Wulfhull
17. Elizabeth Coker
4. Sir John Seymour
18. Sir George Darrell of Littlecote
9. Elizabeth Darrell
19. Hon. Margaret Stourton
2. Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley
20. Sir Philip Wentworth
10. Sir Henry Wentworth
21. Hon. Mary Clifford
5. Margery Wentworth
22. Sir John Say of Baas
11. Anne Say
23. Elizabeth Cheney
1. Lady Mary Seymour
24. Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal
12. William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Kendal
25. Alice Tunstall
6. Sir Thomas Parr
26. Henry FitzHugh, 5th Baron Fitzhugh of Ravensworth
13. Hon. Elizabeth FitzHugh
27. Lady Alice Neville
3. Queen Dowager Katherine Parr
28. Sir Thomas Green, Lord of Greens Norton
14. Sir Thomas Green
29. Matilda Throckmorton
7. Maud Green, Lady Parr
30. Sir John Fogge, Lord of Repton Manor
15. Joan Fogge
31. Alice Haute

References

  1. Linda Porter (2010) Katherine the Queen
  2. "Catherine Parr: Children". The Six Wives of Henry VIII. PBS. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  3. Agnes Strickland, Elizabeth Strickland. Lives of the Queens of England from the Norman Conquest, 1842. pg 296.
  4. Linda Porter, History Today Magazine, "Lady Mary Seymour: An Unfit Traveller", Volume 61, Issue 7, 2011.

External links

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