Great Ladies: The Forgotten Witnesses to the Lives of Tudor Queens 3 (Pages 84 - 148)

 One of Jane Seymour's ladies-in-waiting was her sister-in-law, Anne Seymour. Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (née Stanhope; before 1512 – 16 April 1587) was the second wife of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset. 

In autumn 1536 there was an inserruction known as the Pilgrimage of Grace. The rebellion opposed the dissolution of monasteries, and it seems that Jane sympathised. The Pilgrimage of Grace was an English Catholic popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536 before spreading to other parts of Northern England, including Cumberland, Northumberland, Durham and north Lancashire. 

On 12 October 1537, Jane gave birth to a son, Edward. The royal couple chose Margaret Grey, Dowager Marchioness of Dorset as godmother. However, on the way to Hampton Court, Margaret stayed at the aRchibishop of Canterbury's residence where at least two people got sick with the plage. So in the end Henry chose his daughter Mary as the godmother. 

Jane Seyouor died on 24 October 1537 October 24, 1537, at the age of 29, due to postnatal complications less than two weeks after giving birth to her son, the future King Edward VI.

Henry's health starated to deteriorate. He started seeing his relatives the Poles and the Courterays with suspicion. Henry had Henry Courtenay, Henry Pole and Margaret Pole executed. The Exeter Conspiracy in 1538 was an attempt to overthrow Henry VIII, who had taken control of the Church of England away from the Pope, and replace him with Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter, who was a first cousin of the King.

Henry VIII was close to Anne Bassett(1520 – before 1558)  , the stepdaughter of Arthur Plantagenet, and it is believed she may have been his mistress for some time.  

She was the lady-in-waiting of Anne of Cleves, Henry's new wife. 

Eleanor Manners, countess of Rutland, was one of the women who served Anne. Eleanor Manners, Countess of Rutland (née Paston; c. 1495 – 1551), was lady-in-waiting to five wives of King Henry VIII of England: Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Katherine Parr.

In 1540 Henry divorced Anne, and she was given Hever Castle. Her maid was Katherine Bassett. 

Hever Castle is located in the village Hever, Kente, 48 km south-east of London. It was the seat of the Boleyn  family. Anne Boleyn spent her early youth there after her father, Thomas Boleyn, inherited it in 1505. . It later came into the possession of King Henry VIII's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.

Henry next married Katherine Howard. 

The marriage took place in Oatlands Palace, Surrey. Oatlands Palace is a former Tudor and Stuart royal palace which took the place of the former manor of the village of Oatlands near Weybridge, Surrey. Little remains of the original building.

Even though she was young, she had experience in relationships. Joan Bulmer, who had known her, asked her for a position at court as she knew her secrets. Yet, Joan's husband forbade her to leave him. Following Katherine's arrest, Bulmer was called upon to testify against the Queen and detail the aspects of her early life.

Thomas Cromwell was executed for meddling in Henry's private life. Thomas Cromwell was beheaded on Tower Hill on July 28, 1540, after being condemned of treason and heresy through an act of attainder. Cromwell arranged King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne of Cleves, which proved disastrous and was quickly annulled. Rivals at court used the failed marriage to turn the King against him, leading to his arrest at a Privy Council meeting on June 10, 1540.

Katherine's past lovers were Henry Manor, her music teacher, and Francis Dereham. Francis Dereham (c. 1506/09 – executed 10 December 1541) was a Tudor courtier whose involvement with Henry VIII's fifth Queen, Catherine Howard, in her youth, prior to engagement with the king, was eventually found out and led to his arrest. 

Katherine received the nightly visits of Thomas Culpeper. Thomas Culpeper (c. 1514 – 10 December 1541) was an English courtier and close friend of King Henry VIII. In 1540, Culpeper caught the attention of Henry's young new bride, Catherine Howard, and by 1541 they were spending time together, often alone and late at night, aided and abetted by Catherine's lady-in-waiting, Lady Rochford, the widowed sister-in-law of Anne Boleyn. Culpeper had access to the Queen's apartments and often came into contact with the Queen and her attendants.

Thomas Culpeper and Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochoford, were sent to the Tower of London, and Kaatherine to the Abbey of Syon. Syon Abbey was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th century, on the left bank of the River Thames within the parish of Isleworth, in the county of Middlesex.

Culpeper and Dereham were executed. Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham were executed on December 10, 1541, at Tyburn for high treason relating to their involvement with Queen Catherine Howard.

Catherine Howard and Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford were beheaded on February 13, 1542, at the Tower of London for high treason. Catherine Howardwas accused of unchaste premarital behaviour and adultery with courtier Thomas Culpeper during their marriage.Jane Boleyn (Lady Rochford), Catherine's lady-in-waiting and the widow of George Boleyn, was accused of helping arrange secret meetings between the Queen and Culpeper.

Henry's next wife was Katherine Parr. 

Rumours circulated that the king may marry Katherine Brandon, Madame Suffolk, next because the queen was barren. She was a close friend to Katherine Parr.

Katherine's sister, Anne Herbert, is said to have had an affair with Thomas Culpeper. 

William Parr, the queen's brtoher, had an affair with Dorothy Bray. 

Dorothy Bray (or Braye), Baroness Chandos (c. 1524 – 31 October 1605) was an English noblewoman, who served as a Maid of Honour to three queens consort of King Henry VIII of England; Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. From 1541 to 1543, she had an affair with the latter's married brother, William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton.

William Parr married Anne Bourchier, who eloped with her lover. Then William fell for Elisabeth Brooke. 

Anne Bourchier (1517 – 28 January 1571) was the suo jure 7th Baroness Bourchier, suo jure Lady Lovayne, and Baroness Parr of Kendal. She was the first wife of William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, Earl of Essex, and the sister-in-law of Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII of England. She created a scandal in 1541 when she deserted her husband to elope with her lover, John Lyngfield (John Hunt or Huntley), the prior of St. James's Church, Tanbridge, Surrey, by whom she would have several illegitimate children.

Elisabeth Brooke (25 June 1526 – 2 April 1565) was an English courtier and noblewoman. Elisabeth became involved with Parr around the time that the King chose William's sister, Katherine, to be his sixth wife, and the relationship quickly became common knowledge. As the brother-in-law of the King, he was in favour at court. Despite the annulment of four of King Henry's marriages, divorce was still not possible for the average person. A man could divorce a wife if she was found to be adulteress, as William Parr's first wife Anne Bourchier was found, and he did legally cast her aside through an act of parliament in 1543.

Apart from her sister, Anne Herbert, one of Katherine Parr's main ladies-in-waiting was Lady Maud Lane. 

Maud Lane (c. 1507 – 1558) was an English courtier. She was the cousin of Katherine Parr and she became her courtier and supporter of the new Church of England religion.

During his marriage to Katherine, Henry decided to include Mary and Elizabeth in the new act of succession, and he commissioned the portrait with his children and Jane Seymour. The statute established that Edward VI would inherit the crown first, followed by Mary, and then Elizabeth. The act did not legitimize Mary or Elizabeth—both technically remained born out of lawful wedlock under the law—but it granted them clear legal rights to ascend to the throne.

Henry Viii died on 28 January 1547. Despite what the king established for the regency of his son, Edward Seymour was Lord Protector from 1547 to 1549 during the minority of his nephew King Edward VI. 

In 1547 Thomas Seymour proposed to Katherine Parr, and they married only two months after the death of the king. 

Katherine Parr gave birth to a girl, Mary, but she died. The birth took place in Sudeley Castle. Sudeley Castle is a castle in the parish of Sudeley, in the Cotswolds, near to the medieval market town of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire.

Thomas Seymour was executed on 20 March 1549. Accusations stated he tried to kidnap his nephew, King Edward VI, and seize control of the throne.

Edward Seymour was also arrested and executed in 1549. His failure to handle the 1549 rebellions and costly foreign wars led to a coup led by rival John Dudley. Arrested and accused of plotting against Dudley's regime, Seymour was acquitted of high treason. He was found guilty of the lesser felony of unlawful assembly, which still carried a death sentence.

Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland, became the most influential woman in court. Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland (née Guildford; 1508/1509 – 15 or 22 January 1555) was an English courtier. She was the wife of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. 

Edward died on 6 July , 1593, and he stated his heir would be Jane Grey.  Historians and doctors believe he died from consumption.

After Edward's death, Jane was proclaimed queen on 10 July 1553 and awaited coronation in the Tower of London. Support for Mary grew rapidly, and most of Jane's supporters abandoned her. The Privy Council suddenly changed sides and proclaimed Mary as queen on 19 July, deposing Jane. Her primary supporter, her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland, was accused of treason and executed less than a month later. Jane was held prisoner in the Tower.

Mary Tudor claimed the throne. Mary Tudor triumphantly entered London as Queen of England on August 3, 1553, riding through Aldgate to massive cheering crowds after defeating the rival claim of Lady Jane Grey.