Anne Seymour, born about 1538, [1] was the eldest daughter of Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, and his second wife, Anne Stanhope. [2] Her aunt, Jane, had been married to Henry VIII and had borne him a son, Edward in 1537. The king died in 1547 and Anne's cousin became King as Edward VI with Anne's father the head of the Regency Council. [3] She was educated by the French humanist and poet, Nicholas Denisot, and with her sisters Margaret and Jane composed 103 Latindistichs for the tomb of Marguerite of Navarre, which were published in France as Hecatodistichon. [4]The first edition of March 1550 was followed by a second in 1551, containing significant alterations.
In an arrangement agreed to make a truce between her father and John Dudley Anne was married to John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, son of John Dudley Viscount LIsle and his wife, Jane Guildford at the Royal Palace of Sheen on 3 June 1549 in the presence of the young King, Edward VI, which splendid event he recorded in his diary. [5]
Anne was perhaps one of the un-noticed victims of the age. Tom Seymour, her uncle, was executed for treason in 1549, [6] her father in 1552 [7] and her father-in-law, John Dudley, in 1553. [8] Her brother-in-law, Guildford Dudley and his wife, Lady Jane Grey followed to the scaffold in 1554. [9] Even her first husband was condemned to death, dying on 21 October 1544 shortly after he had been reprieved and released from The Tower. [10]
On 29 April 1555, soon after John's death, Anne married Sir Edward Unton of Faringdon in Berkshire, son of Alexander Unton and his wife, Cicely Bulstrode. Together they had five sons and two daughters. [11]
By 1566 she was said to have become "a lunatic enjoying lucid intervals" [12] and her husband, by his will, gave her into the custody of her son, Henry, when Edward died in 1582. [4] Some of the interests in her lands were assigned to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, her former brother-in-law.
Anne died in about 1587 and was buried at Faringdon. [4] History of Parliament says that she died in 1588 [13] and was buried at All Saints, Faringdon. [14] The Find a Grave memoiral says she was buried in the Churchyard at All Saints, Faringdon [15] on 17 February. The FAG memorial offers no image or sources. It is unlikely that a lady of her rank would have been buried in the Churchyard in the 16th Century.
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S > Seymour | U > Unton > Anne (Seymour) Unton
Categories: Faringdon, Berkshire | Hatford, Berkshire | All Saints Church, Faringdon, Berkshire | Wulfhall, Burbage, Wiltshire | Notables
León Alfar, Cristina., Sherwood, Emily., (2021). Reading Mistress Elizabeth Bourne: Marriage, Separation, and Legal Controversies. Pub: Taylor & Francis. Retrieved from Google Books (Here;) Accessed 20 Apr 2022.
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