William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset 1588-1660

In 1588 William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset was born to Edward Seymour [aged 26] and Honora Rogers. He a great x 3 grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland.

On 22nd June 1610 William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 22] and Arabella Stewart [aged 35] were married in secret at Palace of Placentia, Greenwich [Map]. For having married without permission King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland [aged 44] had Arabella Stewart imprisoned in Sir Thomas Perry's House, Lambeth and he in the Tower of London [Map]. She the daughter of Charles Stewart 5th Earl Lennox and Elizabeth Cavendish Countess Lennox. They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 3 grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland.

On 21st July 1612 [his father] Edward Seymour [aged 50] died.

In 1613 [his brother] Francis Seymour 1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge [aged 23] and [his sister-in-law] Frances Prynne were married.

On 25th September 1615 [his wife] Arabella Stewart [aged 40] died at Tower of London [Map] from illnesses exacerbated by her refusal to eat.

On 3rd March 1617 William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 29] and Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 17] were married at Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire [Map]. She the daughter of Robert Devereux 2nd Earl Essex and Frances Walsingham Countess Essex [aged 50]. They were fourth cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland.

In 1618 [his daughter] Frances Seymour Countess Southampton was born to William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 30] and [his wife] Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 18]. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland. She married 1. 1637 Richard Molyneux 2nd Viscount Molyneux, son of Richard Molyneux 1st Viscount Molyneux and Mary Caryll Viscountess Molyneux 2. 7th May 1659 her second cousin once removed Thomas Wriothesley 4th Earl of Southampton 2nd Earl Chichester, son of Henry Wriothesley 3rd Earl of Southampton and Elizabeth Vernon Countess Southampton 3. 1676 her sixth cousin Conyers Darcy 2nd Earl Holderness, son of Conyers Darcy 1st Earl Holderness and Grace Rokeby.

Diary of Anne Clifford. 28th April 1619. The 28th my Lord [aged 30] and I, my Coz. Sackville and Lady Windsor went to the Tower to see my Lady Somerset [aged 28], where we saw her little child [aged 3]¹. My Lord went to see Earl of Northumberland [aged 55]² and I and the Lady Windsor went to see Lady Shrewsbury [aged 63]³, and after supper my Lord and I went by water to Channel Row to see my [his grandfather] Lord of Hertford [aged 79]⁴ and his Lady [aged 40] where we found my Lady Beauchamp⁵, my [his brother-in-law] Lord Essex's [aged 28] Sister, then I went to Arundel House and talked with her about Lords being made Knights of the Garter.

Note 1. "Her little Child," Anne Carr, afterwards married to William 5th Earl and 1st Duke of Bedford [aged 2].

Note 2. Henry, 6th Earl, a Prisoner since the time of the Gunpowder Plot.

Note 3. Mary Cavendish, wife of Gilbert 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, was sent to the Tower in June 1611, at the same time with her niece the Lady Arabella Stuart first cousin of King James. Lady Arabella died, in the Tower, in 1615.

Note 4. Earl of Hertford son of Protector Somerset, and his 3rd wife Frances, d. of Thomas Viscount Howard of Bindon, widow of Henry Pranell, Esq., and married, 3rdly to Ludovick Stuart Duke of Lenox and Richmond [aged 44].

Note 5. Lady Frances Devereux [aged 19], and wife of William Lord Beauchamp [aged 31], afterwards Marquis of Hertford; daughter of Queen Elizabeth's favourite, and sister of the Parliament's General.

In 1621 [his son] William Seymour was born to William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 33] and [his wife] Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 21]. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland.

In 1622 [his brother-in-law] Ulick Burke 1st Marquess Clanricarde [aged 18] and Anne Compton Lady Rushout were married. She the daughter of William Compton 1st Earl of Northampton and Elizabeth Spencer Countess Northampton [aged 46]. He the son of Richard Burke 4th Earl Clanricarde 1st Earl St Albans [aged 50] and [his mother-in-law] Frances Walsingham Countess Essex [aged 55].

In 1622 [his son] Robert Seymour was born to William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 34] and [his wife] Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 22]. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland.

In 1626 [his son] Henry Seymour was born to William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 38] and [his wife] Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 26]. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland. He married 28th June 1648 his fourth cousin Mary Capell Duchess Beaufort, daughter of Arthur Capell 1st Baron Capell Hadham and Elizabeth Morrison Baroness Capell Hadham, and had issue.

On 11th March 1630 [his brother-in-law] Robert Devereux 3rd Earl Essex [aged 39] and Elizabeth Paulet Countess Essex were married. She by marriage Countess Essex. He the son of Robert Devereux 2nd Earl Essex and [his mother-in-law] Frances Walsingham Countess Essex [aged 63]. They were fourth cousins.

In 1635 [his brother] Francis Seymour 1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge [aged 45] and [his sister-in-law] Catherine Lee Baroness Seymour Trowbridge were married.

On 12th November 1635 Richard Burke 4th Earl Clanricarde 1st Earl St Albans [aged 63] died. His son [his brother-in-law] Ulick [aged 31] succeeded 5th Earl Clanricarde, 2nd Earl St Albans. Thomas Wentworth 1st Earl Strafford [aged 42] was blamed for his death making an enemy of Ulick Burke 1st Marquess Clanricarde and his half-brother (they shared the same mother [his mother-in-law] Frances Walsingham Countess Essex) Robert Devereux 3rd Earl Essex [aged 44].

In 1637 [his daughter] Mary Seymour Countess Winchelsea was born to William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 49] and [his wife] Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 37]. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland. She married 1650 her third cousin Heneage Finch 3rd Earl Winchilsea, son of Thomas Finch 2nd Earl Winchilsea and Cecily Wentworth Countess Winchelsea, and had issue.

In 1637 [his daughter] Jane Seymour was born to William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 49] and [his wife] Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 37]. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland. She married 7th May 1661 her half sixth cousin Charles Boyle 3rd Baron Clifford, son of Richard Boyle 2nd Earl Cork 1st Earl Burlington and Elizabeth Clifford Countess Burlington, and had issue.

Around 1637 [his son-in-law] Richard Molyneux 2nd Viscount Molyneux [aged 18] and Frances Seymour Countess Southampton [aged 19] were married. She by marriage Viscountess Molyneux. She the daughter of William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 49] and Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 37].

In 1641 [his brother] Francis Seymour 1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge [aged 51] was created 1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge. [his sister-in-law] Catherine Lee Baroness Seymour Trowbridge by marriage Baroness Seymour of Trowbridge.

In 1641 William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 53] was created 1st Marquess Hertford.

On 16th June 1642 [his son] William Seymour [aged 21] died.

In or before 1645 [his son] John Seymour 4th Duke of Somerset was born to William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 56] and [his wife] Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 45]. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland. He married 1656 Sarah Alston Duchess Somerset.

In 1646 [his son] Robert Seymour [aged 24] died.

On 14th September 1646 [his brother-in-law] Robert Devereux 3rd Earl Essex [aged 55] died. He was buried at Westminster Abbey [Map]. Earl Essex extinct. His half first cousin twice removed Walter [aged 71] succeeded 5th Viscount Hereford. Baron Ferrers of Chartley, Baron Bourchier abeyant.

On 28th June 1648 Henry Seymour [aged 22] and Mary Capell Duchess Beaufort [aged 17] were married at Little Hadham, Hertfordshire [Map]. He the son of William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 60] and Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 48]. They were fourth cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland.

In 1650 William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 62] was appointed 447th Knight of the Garter by King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 19].

Around 1650 [his son-in-law] Heneage Finch 3rd Earl Winchilsea [aged 22] and Mary Seymour Countess Winchelsea [aged 13] were married. She by marriage Countess Winchilsea. She the daughter of William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 62] and Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 50]. He the son of Thomas Finch 2nd Earl Winchilsea and Cecily Wentworth Countess Winchelsea. They were third cousins. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland.

On 30th March 1654 [his son] Henry Seymour [aged 28] died. He was buried at Bedwyn Magna Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire.

In 1656 John Seymour 4th Duke of Somerset [aged 11] and Sarah Alston Duchess Somerset [aged 14] were married. He the son of William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 68] and Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 56].

In July 1657 [his brother-in-law] Ulick Burke 1st Marquess Clanricarde [aged 53] died. His first cousin Richard succeeded 6th Earl Clanricarde. Earl St Albans extinct.

On 7th May 1659 [his son-in-law] Thomas Wriothesley 4th Earl of Southampton 2nd Earl Chichester [aged 52] and Frances Seymour Countess Southampton [aged 41] were married. She by marriage Countess of Southampton. She the daughter of William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 71] and Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 59]. He the son of Henry Wriothesley 3rd Earl of Southampton and Elizabeth Vernon Countess Southampton. They were second cousin once removed. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland.

Before 24th October 1660 William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 72] was restored 2nd Duke Somerset, 2nd Earl Hertford, 2nd Baron Beauchamp of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset. [his wife] Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 61] by marriage Duchess Somerset.

On 24th October 1660 William Seymour 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 72] died. His grandson William [aged 6] succeeded 3rd Duke Somerset, 2nd Marquess Hertford, 3rd Earl Hertford, 3rd Baron Beauchamp of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset.

On 23rd April 1674 [his former wife] Frances Devereux Duchess of Somerset [aged 74] died.

[his father] Edward Seymour and [his mother] Honora Rogers were married. He the son of [his grandfather] Edward Seymour 1st Earl Hertford and [his grandmother] Catherine Grey Countess Hertford.