Katherine Seymour, Countess of Hertford ( Lady Katherine Grey; 25 August 1540 – 26 January 1568) was a younger sister of

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...

. A granddaughter of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's sister

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, she emerged as a prospective successor to her cousin,

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

, before incurring Queen Elizabeth's wrath by secretly marrying

Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Baron Beauchamp, KG (22 May 1539 – 6 April 1621), of Wulfhall and Totnam Lodge in Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset, of Netley Abbey, Hampshire, and of Hertford House, Ca ...

. Arrested after the Queen was informed of their clandestine marriage, Katherine (''as'' Lady Hertford) lived in captivity until her death, having borne two sons in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

Family and claim to the throne

Lady Katherine was born on 25 August 1540 at

Bradgate Park Bradgate Park () is a public park in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire, England, northwest of Leicester. It covers . The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford, Anstey, Leicestershire, Anstey, Cropston, Woodhouse Eaves and Swithla ...

, near

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, the second surviving daughter of

Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset (17 January 151723 February 1554), was an English courtier and nobleman of the Tudor period. He was the father of Lady Jane Grey, known as "the Nine Days Queen". Origins He was born on 17 ...

, by his marriage to

Lady Frances Brandon Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk (née Lady Frances Brandon; 16 July 1517 – 20 November 1559), was an English noblewoman. She was the second child and eldest daughter of King Henry VIII's younger sister, Princess Mary, and Charles Brandon, 1s ...

. She was the younger sister of

and elder sister of

Lady Mary Grey Lady Mary Keyes (née Grey; 20 April 1545 – 20 April 1578) was the youngest daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk, Frances Brandon, and through her mother had a succession to Elizabeth I of England, ...

. Katherine Grey's maternal grandparents were

Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk ( – 22 August 1545) was an English military leader and courtier. Through his third wife, Mary Tudor, he was the brother-in-law of King Henry VIII. Biography Born in 1484, Charles Brandon was the secon ...

, and Mary Tudor, Dowager Queen of France, youngest surviving daughter of Henry VII and

Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII of England, Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. She was the daughter of King E ...

. Through their

grandmother Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maxi ...

, the Grey sisters had a close claim in the line of succession to the

English throne The Throne of England is the throne of the Monarch of England. "Throne of England" also refers metonymically to the office of monarch, and monarchy itself.Gordon, Delahay. (1760) ''A General History of the Lives, Trials, and Executions of All t ...

. They were preceded in the line of succession only by Henry VIII's three children – Prince Edward, Lady Mary and Lady Elizabeth – and the descendants of

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...

, the elder daughter of Henry VII and Queen Consort of Scotland, after 1542 represented by

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

. However, Henry VIII had excluded the Scottish regal line from the English succession in his Will, placing the Grey sisters next-in-line after his own children.

First marriage

Some time before August 1552, Katherine Grey was betrothed to Henry, Lord Herbert,

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke. In 1553, as Edward VI was dying, the King and his Chief Minister,

John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504Loades 2008 – 22 August 1553) was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane ...

, planned to exclude Edward's sister Mary Tudor from the succession in favour of Katherine's elder sister, Jane. According to the

Letters Patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

of 21 June 1553, Lady Katherine was to be second in the line of succession behind her sister and heirs-male. Jane had been married to Northumberland's son,

Lord Guildford Dudley Lord Guildford Dudley (also spelt Guilford) ( – 12 February 1554) was an English nobleman who was married to Lady Jane Grey. She occupied the English throne from 10 July until 19 July 1553, having been declared the heir of King E ...

, on 25 May 1553. On the same occasion, Katherine was married to Lord Herbert at Durham House. After the wedding, Katherine (''now'' Lady Herbert) went to live with her husband at

Baynard's Castle Baynard's Castle refers to buildings on two neighbouring sites in the City of London, between where Blackfriars station and St. Paul's Cathedral now stand. The first was a Norman fortification constructed by Ralph Baynard ( 1086), 1st feuda ...

beside the Thames. When Jane's accession to the throne failed, Henry's father sought to distance himself from the Grey family by separating his son from Katherine and seeking the

annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning alm ...

of the marriage; this was probably achieved in early 1554, as the union had not been consummated. Meanwhile, her sister Jane and her father (the

Duke of Suffolk Duke of Suffolk is a title that has been created three times in the peerage of England. The dukedom was first created for William de la Pole, who had already been elevated to the ranks of earl and marquess, and was a powerful figure under Henr ...

) had been executed in February 1554 after the suppression of

Wyatt's Rebellion Wyatt's Rebellion was a limited and unsuccessful uprising in England in early 1554 led by four men, one of whom was Sir Thomas Wyatt. It was given its name by the lawyer at Wyatt's arraignment, who stated for the record that "this shall be eve ...

Prospective royal heir under Mary I and Elizabeth I

During the first phase of Queen Mary I's reign, Katherine was senior heir-in-line to the throne as Mary was yet unmarried and her younger sister Elizabeth was regarded as illegitimate. Demoted when Elizabeth was declared heir, Katherine's claim came to the fore again when Queen Elizabeth I acceded to the throne in November 1558. At one point the Queen was apparently contemplating Katherine as a potential Protestant heir, with rumours of a possible adoption, but any such development was terminated upon Katherine's clandestine marriage to Lord Hertford.

Second marriage

One of Katherine's friends, Lady Jane Seymour, daughter of the

Duke of Somerset Duke of Somerset, from the county of Somerset, is a title that has been created five times in the peerage of England. It is particularly associated with two families: the Beauforts, who held the title from the creation of 1448, and the Seymours ...

, introduced her brother,

, to Lady Katherine Grey (so restyled after the annulment of her first marriage). Without

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

, the two were married in late December 1560 during a secret ceremony at Lord Hertford's house in Cannon Row, where Lady Jane Seymour was the sole witness. Soon thereafter, the Queen despatched Lord Hertford with

Thomas Cecil Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter (5 May 1542 – 8 February 1623), known as Lord Burghley from 1598 to 1605, was an English politician, courtier and soldier. Family Thomas Cecil was the elder son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, by hi ...

, eldest son of

Sir William Cecil William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from ...

, on a grand tour across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

"for the improvement of their education". The Earl of Hertford provided his wife with a

document A document is a writing, written, drawing, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of nonfiction, non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes ...

that would, in the event of his death, enable her to prove the marriage and inherit his property, but apparently Katherine lost the document. Thus, after Lady Jane Seymour died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1561, Katherine was unable to prove that they had ever been married.

Imprisonment

Katherine concealed the marriage from everyone for months, even after she became pregnant; in her eighth month of pregnancy and on progress with the

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, she decided to ask someone to plead for her with the Queen. She first confided in

Bess of Hardwick Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury ( Hardwick; 13 February 1608), known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series of well-made marri ...

, who refused to listen to Katherine and berated her for implicating her. Katherine then went to her late sister's brother-in-law, Robert Dudley. Visiting his bedroom in the middle of the night, she explained her dilemma. As Dudley's room adjoined the Queen's chambers, he was afraid they might be overheard or that he might be caught with a visibly pregnant woman at his bedside, and tried to get rid of Katherine as soon as he could. The next day he told Elizabeth everything he knew regarding Katherine and her pregnancy. Lady Katherine Grey and her son Lord Edward Beauchamp v2

Lady Katherine Grey and her son Lord Edward Beauchamp v2

Elizabeth was infuriated that her cousin had married without her knowledge or consent. The marriage also upset Anglo-Scottish diplomacy, as the possibility of a union between Katherine and the Earl of Arran, a young and unstable nobleman with a strong claim to the Scottish throne, had thereby been removed as an option. Elizabeth also disapproved of her choice of husband and, still unmarried, also feared that Katherine's ability to bear male offspring could possibly facilitate a rebellion in support of Katherine as queen.Chapman p. 200 To Katherine's misfortune, her claim to the throne was at the time argued by a book written by

John Hales John Hales may refer to: *John Hales (theologian) (1584–1656), English theologian *John Hales (bishop of Exeter) from 1455 to 1456 *John Hales (bishop of Coventry and Lichfield) (died 1490) from 1459 to 1490 *John Hales (died 1540), MP for Canterb ...

. Elizabeth imprisoned Katherine in the

, where Edward Seymour was sent to join her on his return to England. Bess of Hardwick was also imprisoned, as Elizabeth had become convinced (not without reason) that the marriage was part of a wider conspiracy against the Crown. Sir Edward Warner,

Lieutenant of The Tower The Lieutenant of the Tower of London serves directly under the Constable of the Tower. The office has been appointed at least since the 13th century. There were formerly many privileges, immunities and perquisites attached to the office. Like th ...

, permitted secret visits between Katherine and Edward. Warner reported that the furnishings of Katherine's room, which were provided from the Royal Wardrobe in the Tower, had been damaged by her pet monkey and dogs. While imprisoned in the Tower, Katherine gave birth to two sons: * Edward Seymour (1561–1612) * Thomas Seymour (1562/3,

– 8 August 1600). Baptized on 11 February 1563, he married Isabel Onley (d. 20 August 1619), daughter of Edward Onley MP, of Catesby, Northamptonshire. The couple had no issue, and were buried at

St. Margaret's Church, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster an ...

, where there is a monument with effigies in their memory. In 1562, the marriage was annulled and the Seymours were censured as fornicators for "carnal copulation" by the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

. This rendered the children

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

and thereby ineligible as successors to the throne. Nonetheless, this did not stop their being courted as potential heirs to the Crown.

Final years

After the birth of Katherine's second child in 1563, the enraged Elizabeth ordered her permanent separation from her husband and elder son. Katherine was removed to the care of her uncle, Sir John Grey, at Pirgo. She stayed there until November 1564, when she was transferred to the charge of Sir

William Petre Sir William Petre (c. 1505 – 1572) (pronounced ''Peter'') was Secretary of State to three successive Tudor monarchs, namely Kings Henry VIII, Edward VI and Queen Mary I. He also deputised for the Secretary of State to Elizabeth I. Educated ...

. For two years she was in his custody, and probably resided at

Ingatestone Hall Ingatestone Hall is a Grade I listed 16th-century manor house in Essex, England. It is located outside the village of Ingatestone, approximately south west of Chelmsford and north east of London. The house was built by Sir William Petre, a ...

; then she was removed to the care of Sir John Wentworth (a kinsman of Petre's first wife) at

Gosfield Hall Gosfield Hall is a English country houses, country house in Gosfield, near Braintree, Essex, Braintree in Essex, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The house was built in 1545 by Sir John Wentworth, a member of Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal Wo ...

, and after seventeen months' confinement there was taken to

Cockfield Hall Cockfield Hall in Yoxford in Suffolk, England is a Grade I listed private house standing in of historic parkland, partly dating from the 16th century. Cockfield Hall takes its name from the Cokefeud Family, established there at the beginning of ...

Yoxford Yoxford is a village in East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk, England, close to the Heritage Coast, Minsmere Reserve (RSPB), Aldeburgh and Southwold. It is known for its antique shops and (as "Loxford") for providing the setting for a Benjamin ...

, in Suffolk. There, Lady Katherine died fourteen days later on 26 January 1568 at the age of 27 of consumption. She was interred at the Cockfield Chapel in

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, before her body was moved to

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

to be buried alongside her husband.

Family tree

The following chart illustrates Lady Katherine Grey's relationship to the

House of Tudor The House of Tudor ( ) was an English and Welsh dynasty that held the throne of Kingdom of England, England from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd, a Welsh noble family, and Catherine of Valois. The Tudor monarchs ruled ...

and other claimants to the English throne. Italics indicate people who predeceased Edward VI; Arabic numerals indicate the line of succession to Edward VI at the time of his death according to Henry VIII's will; and Roman numerals indicate the line of succession at the time of Edward VI's death according to Edward's will.

Descendants

The descendants of Lady Katherine would one day inherit the British throne, on account of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

being a descendant of Lady Katherine by the following line: # Lady Katherine Grey (1540-1568) #

Edward Seymour, Lord Beauchamp Edward Seymour, Lord Beauchamp of Hache (21 September 1561 – July 1612) was an English nobleman who had a theoretically strong claim to the throne of England through his mother, Lady Katherine Grey, but his legitimacy was questioned. He was an ...

(1561-1612) #

William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, (158824 October 1660) was an English nobleman and Royalist commander in the English Civil War. Origins Seymour was the son of Edward Seymour, Lord Beauchamp (who predeceased his own father) by his wife ...

(1588-1660) # Lady Jane Seymour (1637-1679), m.

Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan, 3rd Baron Clifford, FRS ( bapt. 12 December 1639 – 12 October 1694), was an English peer and politician. He was a member of a famous Anglo-Irish aristocratic family. Early life Charles Boyle was the ...

(1639-1694) #

Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington, PC (d. 9 February 1704) was an Anglo-Irish peer, courtier and politician. Early life Hon. Charles Boyle was the eldest son of Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan and his first wife, Lady Jane Seymour. ...

(d. 1704) #

Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork (25 April 1694 – 4 December 1753) was a British architect and noble often called the "Apollo of the Arts" and the "Architect Earl". The son of the 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Ear ...

(1694-1753) #

Charlotte Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington Charlotte Elizabeth Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington, 6th Baron Clifford, Baroness Clifford (born Lady Charlotte Boyle; 27 October 1731 – 8 December 1754) was the daughter of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and Lady Dorothy Boyle, C ...

(1731-1754) #

Dorothy Bentinck, Duchess of Portland Dorothy Bentinck, Duchess of Portland (née Lady Dorothy Cavendish; 27 August 17503 June 1794) was Duchess of Portland and the wife of William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Biography Dorothy Caven ...

(1750-1794) #

Lord Charles Bentinck Lord William Charles Augustus Cavendish-Bentinck (20 May 178028 April 1826), known as Lord Charles Bentinck, was a British soldier and politician and a great-great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II. Background Bentinck was the third son of Brit ...

(1780-1826) #

Charles Cavendish-Bentinck (priest) Charles William Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (8 November 1817 – 17 August 1865) was a priest of the Church of England who held livings in Bedfordshire. He was also the maternal grandfather of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, great-grandfather ...

(1817-1865) #

Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne Cecilia Nina Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne (''née'' Cavendish-Bentinck; 11 September 1862 – 23 June 1938) was the mother of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and maternal grandmother and godmother of Queen Elizabeth&nbs ...

(1862-1938) #

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

(1900-2002) #

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

(1926-2022)

In popular culture

Katherine Grey was portrayed by Laura Clipsham in

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is an English theatre director and lyricist. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has dir ...

's film '' Lady Jane'' (1986) and Isabella Brownson in the

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

series '' My Lady Jane'' (2024).

Notes

References

* Chapman, Hester: ''Two Tudor Portraits: Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and Lady Katherine Grey''. Jonathan Cape, 1960. * de Lisle, Leanda: ''The Sisters Who Would be Queen: The Tragedy of Mary, Katherine & Lady Jane Grey''. Ballantine Books, 2009. . * Farquhar, Michael
''A Treasure of Royal Scandals''
Penguin Books, 2001. . * Ives, Eric: ''Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery''. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. . * Haynes, Alan. ''Sex in Elizabethan England''. Sutton Publishing, 1997. .

External links

Katherine Grey profile
TudorPlace.com. Accessed 23 November 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Katherine 1540 births 1568 deaths 16th-century deaths from tuberculosis 16th-century English nobility 16th-century English women Heirs presumptive to the English throne Daughters of English dukes

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...

People from Leicester Prisoners in the Tower of London

Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

Tuberculosis deaths in England Wives of knights Annulment