Lady Katherine Grey

Lady Katherine Grey, 1540–1568, was the second daughter of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, and Lady Frances Brandon and the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey. Through their maternal grandmother, Mary Tudor, the Grey sisters had a close claim to the throne of England.

Katherine was first married to Lord Henry Herbert, a Welsh nobleman and future Earl of Pembroke. The wedding happened on May 25th, 1553—the same day that her sister Lady Jane married Guildford Dudley. After Lady Jane’s failed attempt to ascend to the throne, Henry’s father sought to distance himself from the Grey family by demanding an annulment of the marriage on the grounds that it was never consummated.

Both her sister, Jane, and her father were executed in February 1554.

During the reign of Queen Mary I, Lady Katherine was the senior heir-in-line to the throne, as Mary was unmarried at the time and had no heirs, and her sister Elizabeth was regarded as illegitimate.

In 1560, during Elizabeth’s reign, Katherine married again. She was introduced to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, and fell in love, marrying him without royal assent. They kept the marriage secret for months, even after Katherine became pregnant.

Queen Elizabeth became furious when she found out the couple had married without permission and had them both sent to the Tower of London. The couple managed to continue to meet in secret despite their imprisonment. They had two sons, Edward (1561–1612) and Thomas (1562–1600). In 1562, the marriage was annulled and the children rendered illegitimate. The Seymours were censured as fornicators by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s commission.

When Elizabeth found out another son had been born to them, she had Katherine sent away and permanently separated from her husband and older son. She was held in the care of several different people and finally passed away on January 27, 1568, of consumption. She was 27. Her body was later moved from Cockfield Chapel in Suffolk and re-interred at Salisbury Cathedral alongside her husband.

Sources:

The Sisters Who Would be Queen: The Tragedy of Mary, Katherine & Lady Jane Grey, Leanda de Lisle

A Treasure of Royal Scandals, Michael Farquhar