Mary Seymour facts for kids

Mary Seymour was born on August 30, 1548, at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire, England. She was the only child of Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, and Catherine Parr. Catherine Parr was the last wife of King Henry VIII.

Mary's mother, Queen Catherine Parr, sadly passed away on September 5, 1548, shortly after Mary's birth. Less than a year later, Mary's father, Thomas Seymour, was arrested. He was accused of plotting against the young King Edward VI, who was Mary's cousin.

After her father's death, Mary was left without her parents. Her mother's money had gone to her father and was then taken by the Crown. This meant Mary had no money or property of her own. She was placed in the care of Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk.

In 1549, the English Parliament passed a law that removed the legal punishment placed on Mary's father from her. However, his lands remained under the control of the Crown. After 1550, Mary completely disappears from historical records. Because no one ever claimed her father's small estate, many historians believe she did not live past the age of two.

What Happened to Mary Seymour?

Mary Seymour's disappearance from history has led to many questions. People have wondered if she survived childhood.

Theories About Her Survival

Some historians have suggested that Mary might have lived longer. One idea came from a writer named Agnes Strickland in the Victorian era. She thought Mary Seymour grew up and married a man named Sir Edward Bushel. However, this theory has a problem: Mary would have been only six years old at the time of this suggested marriage.

Another theory suggests Mary was taken to Wexford, Ireland. There, she might have been raised by a Protestant family called the Harts. This family was known for piracy, and they had a deal with Mary's father, Thomas Seymour. A special ring, said to have belonged to Thomas Seymour, was passed down through the Seymour-Hart family for many years.

A Possible Epitaph

A more recent theory comes from historian Linda Porter. She wrote a book about Catherine Parr in 2010. Porter found a Latin book of poems from 1573 by John Parkhurst, who was Catherine Parr's chaplain. This book contains a poem that might be about Mary:

I whom at the cost

Of her own life

My queenly mother

Bore with the pangs of labour

Sleep under this marble

An unfit traveller.

If Death had given me to live longer

That virtue, that modesty, That obedience of my excellent Mother

That Heavenly courageous nature

Would have lived again in me.

Now, whoever

You are, fare thee well

Because I cannot speak any more, this stone

Is a memorial to my brief life.

Linda Porter believes this poem is an epitaph, a message written for a tombstone. She thinks it was written by Parkhurst when Mary died around the age of two. Porter suggests Mary might be buried in Lincolnshire, near Grimsthorpe. This was an estate owned by the Duchess of Suffolk, who had cared for Mary.

Mary Seymour in Books and TV

Mary Seymour's mysterious life has inspired many stories.

Fictional Portrayals

• The 2007 book The Red Queen's Daughter by Jacqueline Kolosov imagines a different history. In this story, Mary Seymour grows up to become a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I.
• In the 2009 novel The Stolen One by Suzanne Crowley, Mary is raised by a "witch" in the English countryside.
• A similar idea is used in the 2016 novel The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick. Here, Mary has special powers that help her friend find a lost child.

On Screen

• The 2022 TV drama series Becoming Elizabeth shows Mary's birth.