General Notes

REFN: 6280
English soldier and statesman, the brother of Jane Seymour.
After the marriage (1536) of his sister Jane to Henry VIII,
he served on
various di plomatic missions, was in command of the English
army in the
Netherlands in 1 543, and was admiral of the fleet in 1544.
When, on the
death of Henry in 154 7, his brother Edward Seymour, duke
of Somerset,
became the protector of the young Edward VI, Thomas was
made lord high
admiral and Baron Seymour of Sudel ey. Thereafter he tried
to supplant his
brother as guardian of the king. In 1 547 he married the
dowager queen,
Catherine Parr. He was influential in secur ing an act of
Parliament
(1547) that made the duration of the protectorate de
pendent on the king's
pleasure instead of being fixed until the king was 18, and
he carefully
cultivated the friendship of Edward.
He also used his posit ion as admiral to come to an
understanding with
pirates, in the hope of secur ing their support. After his
wife's death
(1548) he sued unsuccessfully for t he hand of Princess
Elizabeth (later
Elizabeth I), to whom he had already mad e advances. His
activities
provoked questioning by the council, and he was co nvicted
of high treason
and executed.
!Fix This Location-1210
Was Charged With Treason And Beheaded.