Thomas Seymour Timeline 1508-1549

Thomas Seymour was born to Sir John Seymour and Margery Wentworth at Wulfhall, Wiltshire. He was the couple’s 5th child, and had three elder brothers John, Edward and Henry and an elder sister, Jane.

Thomas’s father left for France with King Henry VIII. He was one of the commanders of the English army in France.

Thomas’s father returned to England having defeated the French at Tournai.

Thomas’s sister, Elizabeth, was born to John Seymour and Margery Wentworth.

Thomas’s father. John Seymour, was one of those that sailed to Calais for the Field of the Cloth of Gold summit meeting.

Thomas was in the service of Francis Bryan.

Thomas’s younger sister, Elizabeth, married Sir Anthony Ughtred of Yorkshire.

Thomas’s elder sister, Jane became a member of Anne Boleyn’s household.

A daughter, Elizabeth was born to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

Thomas’s sister, Elizabeth, was widowed.

Thomas’s elder brother, Edward, married Anne Stanhope, daughter of Sir Edward Stanhope.

The Royal Progress visited Wulfhall in Wiltshire, the Seymour family home.

Henry VIII had noticed Jane Seymour and was struck by her calm, quiet nature.

Anne discovered that she was pregnant again. She was aware that everything depended on the outcome of this pregnancy.

Catherine of Aragon died. It was commonly believed that Anne Boleyn had slowly poisoned her to death. Nowadays it is believed that she died from cancer

Catherine of Aragon’s daughter, Mary was taken very ill and it was commonly believed that she was being poisoned by Anne Boleyn.

Henry fell from his horse during a joust and was unconscious for two hours. The fall caused a head injury that left him more bad tempered than before and also opened up an old wound on his leg that would cause him problems for the rest of his life.

Anne Boleyn miscarried of a son four months into her pregnancy. She blamed the miscarriage on concern following Henry’s fall and Henry’s interest in Jane Seymour.

Henry believed that the miscarriage of a son was God’s way of declaring that his marriage to Anne Boleyn was unlawful either because of her earlier pre-contract to James Butler or because of Henry’s affair with Anne’s sister, Mary Boleyn. He decided that he needed to find a way out of his marriage to Anne.

Henry began to spend more time with Jane Seymour.

Edward Seymour, was appointed a Gentleman of the King’s Privy Chamber.

Closure of the Monasteries
A bill was presented to Parliament that authorised the closure of all monasteries with a revenue of less than £200 per year.

Thomas Cromwell was collecting evidence against Anne Boleyn. During the course of his investigations he heard that some members of Anne’s court were admitted to her chamber at late hours. Those named were George Boleyn, Henry Norris, Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton. Cromwell used this information to construct a case that Anne had committed adultery with all five men and that they had plotted to murder the King. The information was passed to Henry.

Jane Seymour was sent home to Wulfhall. Henry did not want her at court while a case was being made against Anne Boleyn.

Jane Seymour took up residence at Beddington Park in Surrey so that Henry could visit her in secret.

Henry moved to Hampton Court and began making preparations for his marriage to Jane Seymour.

The trial of those accused of committing adultery with the Queen took place. The Duke of Norfolk presided over the trial which found all men guilty. They were sentenced to death.

Anne Boleyn was tried by 26 peers of the realm including her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, who presided over the trial. Although Anne argued her innocence she was found guilty and sentenced to die by burning or beheading whichever the King chose.

Thomas Cranmer found that Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn was null and void due to Henry’s earlier affair with Mary Boleyn.

Anne Boleyn was executed by beheading with a single stroke of the sword. She was buried in the choir of the royal chapel of St Peter ad Vincula.

Henry VIII was formally betrothed to Jane Seymour at Hampton Court.

Princess Elizabeth was taken from Greenwich to Hatfield House where she was to be cared for by Lady Margaret Bryan.

Henry’s daughter, Mary, was told that if she would take the Oath of Supremacy then she would be welcomed back to court.

Henry VIII married Jane Seymour in the Queen’s Closet at Whitehall.

Jane Seymour was proclaimed Queen of England at a ceremony at Greenwich.

Edward Seymour, was created Viscount Beauchamp.

Queen Jane made her official state entry into London accompanied by Henry. Crowds of people lined the streets and many cheered as she went past.

Act of Succession
This act cancelled the two previous acts of succession and registered the invalidity of Henry’s first two marriages. Elizabeth was now given the same status as Mary and the succession was settled on the children of Henry and Jane Seymour.

Henry’s daughter, Mary joined the court in London.

Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, died from tuberculosis. He was 17 years old.

Henry began to be concerned that Jane Seymour was not yet pregnant.

The court moved to Windsor to escape an outbreak of the plague.

The closure of the monasteries was not well received by the common people. The monasteries had provided food, shelter and a basic education for the people as well as a place for travellers to stay. Many traditional religious festivals were now forbidden and people were angry. However, they blamed Cromwell rather than the King for this.

Pilgrimage of Grace
This rebellion against the closure of the monasteries began in Louth where people were concerned by the news that commissioners would be arriving to investigate their church.

Jane begged Henry to restore some of the monasteries saying that the riot may have been allowed by God as a punishment for the deliberate desecration of so many churches. Henry was furious and ordered Jane to occupy her mind with other things.

Henry’s daughter, Mary, arrived at Windsor for the Christmas festivities.

Thomas Seymour’s father died at Wulfhall.

Pilgrimage of Grace
The Duke of Norfolk presided over a Great Assize and sentenced around 50 mostly monks and priors to be executed. Due to the large number of nobles that had taken part in the uprising it was deemed counter productive to execute them all so they were divided into those to be executed and those to be pardoned. Those to be pardoned included Archbishop Lee, Lord Scrope, Lord Latimer and Robert Bowes while those to be executed included Lord D’Arcy, Robert Aske and Hugh Bigod.

Jane Seymour announced that she was pregnant and that she believed the baby would be born in the middle of October.

Celebrations were held to mark the fact that Jane had felt her child move in her wormb.

An outbreak of plague in London meant that the court moved to Windsor. Henry was anxious to keep Jane away from any illness.

Thomas’s sister, Elizabeth, married Thomas Cromwell’s son, Gregory.

The Court moved to Hampton Court to await the birth of Jane’s baby.

Thomas Seymour was knighted.

Henry’s niece, Frances Brandon, gave birth to a baby girl. She was named Jane Grey.

After a very difficult labour Jane was delivered of a baby boy. Henry was overjoyed and named the child Edward and created him Duke of Cornwall. Heralds were dispatched to every part of the country with the news.

Prince Edward was christened at midnight at Hampton Court. His godparents were the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Cranmer and Lady Mary.

Jane was taken ill with diarrhoea and sickness.

Jane died. It is thought that she died from puerperal fever which was a common cause of death after pregnancy and is caused by lack of antiseptic conditions.

Jane’s body was embalmed and dressed in gold tissue. A golden crown was placed on her head. Her body was taken to the presence chamber of Hampton Court where it lay in state.

Jane’s body was taken to the Chapel Royal at Windsor where it continued to lay in state.

Jane’s coffin was carried to St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle for the funeral service. As was the custom Henry did not attend the funeral so Lady Mary was chief mourner. After the service her body continued to lay in state.

Queen Jane’s body was laid to rest in a vault before the high altar of St George’s Chapel, Windsor. The Bells of London tolled for six hours to mark the event. Henry declared that it was his wish to be buried next to Jane.

Thomas was sent as ambassador to the French court.

Seymour was granted former monastery land in Essex, Hampshire and Berkshire.

Thomas Seymour was one of the nobles that met Anne of Cleves at Calais.

Thomas was sent to the court of Ferdinand I of Hungary.

Thomas fell in love with Katherine Parr.

Lord Latimer, Katherine Parr’s husband, died. Although she was now a wealthy independent woman, Katherine chose to remain at court where she would continue to see Sir Thomas Seymour.

Katherine took up a position in the household of the Lady Mary, King Henry VIII’s eldest daughter. She caught the eye of the King when he visited his daughter.

King Henry VIII had noticed the infatuation between Katherine Parr and Thomas Seymour. As he had already decided to make Katherine Parr his sixth wife he sent Thomas Seymour as permanent ambassador at the court of the regent of the Netherlands.

Thomas Seymour was created Marshal of the English army in the Netherlands.

King Henry VIII married Katherine Parr in the Queen’s Privy Chamber at Hampton Court. The King’s three children were present for the ceremony which was conducted by Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester.

The army under Seymour’s control, took part in the Siege of Boulogne.

Thomas Seymour completed his spell as ambassador to the Netherlands. Wanting to keep him as far away from Katherine as possible Henry appointed him Lord High Admiral.

Thomas Seymour was created Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

King Henry revealed the names of those that he had chosen to form a Regency Council after his death. Top of the list was Edward Seymour who was to be Lord Protector for Edward.

King Henry VIII died. He was succeeded by his son, Edward, Thomas’s nephew.

Thomas Seymour became Baron Seymour of Sudeley. His brother Edward became Duke of Somerset.

Thomas Seymour suggested to the council that he marry Lady Elizabeth but his request was turned down.

Thomas Seymour secretly married Katherine Parr. They kept the marriage secret because it had only been a short time since the death of Henry VIII and lived separately.

Katherine invited Lady Elizabeth and Lady Jane Grey to live in her household.

Thomas Seymour’s marriage to Katherine Parr became known. It was not well received due to the haste with which it had been made.

Seymour began to pay more attention to Elizabeth, who had remained under the protection of Katherine and lived in their household. He visited her in the early hours of the morning while she was in bed and tried to touch and kiss her. Elizabeth’s governess, Kat Ashley, reported his behaviour to Katherine but it was dismissed as harmless fun.

Katherine Parr, who was pregnant, caught Thomas Seymour with his arms around Elizabeth. She arranged for Elizabeth to go and live with Sir Anthony Denny.

Thomas and Katherine moved to Sudeley Castle.

A daughter, Mary, was born to Katherine and Thomas Seymour.

Katherine Parr died from puerperal fever at Sudeley Castle. She was buried in Sudeley Castle Chapel.

Thomas tried to win the affections of his nephew, King Edward by visiting him in his bedchamber and giving him pocket money.

Edward Seymour ordered an investigation into Thomas’s behaviour.

Lady Elizabeth Tudor was questioned regarding her relationship with Thomas Seymour.

It was rumoured that Lady Elizabeth was pregnant with Thomas Seymour’s child. She wrote to Edward Seymour stating that she was not with child.

Thomas Seymour was charged with having committed treason. The treasonable offences included trying to marry the King’s sister, Lady Elizabeth, without permission and of trying to depose his brother by winning over the young King’s affections and abducting him.

Thomas Seymour was had been found guilty and was beheaded on Tower Hill.