Lady Frances Brandon: Encyclopedia II - Lady Frances Brandon - Scheming for her daughter

Lady Frances Brandon - Scheming for her daughter

Frances was active at the court of Henry VIII and was on friendly terms with his sixth wife Catherine Parr. She secured a position in Catherine's household for her eldest daughter Jane. There Jane came into contact with Prince Edward (later Edward VI of England), son of Henry VIII and half-brother of Mary and Elizabeth.

Henry VIII died on January 28, 1547, and Edward succeeded to the throne. Jane followed the queen dowager, Catherine Parr, to her new residence. She was soon established as a member of the inner circle of the young king. Edward was unmarried and childless and Frances found herself third in line for the English throne following Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. Her daughters were also in line for the throne: Jane (fourth in line), Catherine (fifth in line) and Mary (sixth in line).

Meanwhile Catherine Parr was married to Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, Lord High Admiral. Jane again followed the queen dowager to her new household. Frances soon started scheming with her husband and Baron Seymour on the prospect of arranging a marriage between the king and Jane Grey. The two adolescents were reportedly already close. The success of this scheme would secure the succession of Edward VI, and the Greys would gain further influence over Edward VI and any issue of the marriage would be their own family member. Baron Seymour would benefit in undermining his older brother, Lord Protector Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset who was seeking a queen consort for Edward VI among the daughters of Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

Catherine Parr gave birth to her daughter Mary Seymour on August 30, 1548. Complications in childbirth resulted in her death on September 7, 1548. Frances did not trust her eldest daughter alone with Baron Seymour and recalled her home. However Frances found her daughter to have grown difficult to handle. Baron Seymour on the other hand pressed the Greys with demands that Jane should be returned to his household. The Greys surrendered to the inevitable. Rumors circulated that Thomas Seymour intended to marry Jane. Seymour confided to Sir Thomas Parry that the rumors amused him.

Seymour still planned to convince Edward VI to marry Jane. But the king had grown distrustful of either of his two uncles. An increasingly desperate Seymour invaded the king's bedchamber in an attempt to either convince or abduct him. This ill-thought attempt only resulted in his execution on March 10, 1549.

The Greys convinced the Privy Council of their innocence in Seymour's scheme. Jane was again recalled home. The Greys lost all hope of marrying her to Edward VI. They contemplated marrying her instead to Edward Seymour, 2nd Earl of Hertford, son of the Lord Protector and Anne Stanhope. However the Lord Protector fell from power and was replaced from John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. The Greys soon declared their allegiance to the new Lord Protector. They successfully arranged for Jane to be married to his eldest son Lord Guilford Dudley. By some accounts, Jane at first refused, and had to be strongly pressurised by her parents.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Scheming for her daughter", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki