Lady Frances Brandon

Lady Frances Brandon and her second husband Adrian Stokes, painted by Hans Eworth.
Lady Frances Brandon and her second husband Adrian Stokes, painted by Hans Eworth.

Lady Frances Brandon (July 16, 1517November 20, 1559) was the second child and eldest daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Mary Tudor, former queen consort of France. She was a younger sister of Henry Brandon, 1st Earl of Lincoln and an older sister of Lady Eleanor Brandon.

Her paternal grandparents were Sir William Brandon and Elizabeth Bruyn. Her maternal grandparents were Henry VII of England and his queen consort Elizabeth of York.

Her maternal uncles included Arthur, Prince of Wales, Henry VIII of England and Edmund Tudor, Duke of Somerset. Her maternal aunts included Margaret Tudor, Elizabeth Tudor and Katherine Tudor. These royal connections gave her a claim to the throne of England that would be seized upon in 1553 by opponents to the accession of Mary I of England.

Early life and first marriage

Frances spent her childhood in the care of her mother. She was also close to her aunt-by-marriage Catherine of Aragon, first queen consort of Henry VIII. She was a childhood friend of her first cousin Mary Tudor (later Mary I of England). Mary was opposed to the annulment of the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine in 1533. She never accepted Anne Boleyn as a legitimate wife or queen. Frances also considered Anne a usurper but was less vocal about it.

Frances received permission from her maternal uncle Henry VIII to marry Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk in 1533. They were married in Southwark, London.

Her first two pregnancies resulted in the births of a son and daughter who died young. These were followed by three successful births:

Frances is considered to have been a strong and energetic woman and a domineering wife and mother. She was in her own right a political schemer with a taste for wealth and political influence. Her residence in Bradgate was a minor palace in Tudor style.

She had high expectations for her daughters and made certain they received equal education to the daughters of Henry VIII, the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I of England). Her daughters were associated with both princesses on relatively equal terms; indeed, the Greys led a more luxurious life than either Princess.

Scheming for her daughter

Frances was active at the court of Henry VIII and was on friendly terms with his sixth wife Catherine Parr. She secured a position in Catherine's household for her eldest daughter Jane. There Jane came into contact with Prince Edward (later Edward VI of England), son of Henry VIII and half-brother of Mary and Elizabeth.

Henry VIII died on January 28, 1547, and Edward succeeded to the throne. Jane followed the queen dowager, Catherine Parr, to her new residence. She was soon established as a member of the inner circle of the young king. Edward was unmarried and childless and Frances found herself third in line for the English throne following Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. Her daughters were also in line for the throne: Jane (fourth in line), Catherine (fifth in line) and Mary (sixth in line).

Meanwhile Catherine Parr was married to Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, Lord High Admiral. Jane again followed the queen dowager to her new household. Frances soon started scheming with her husband and Baron Seymour on the prospect of arranging a marriage between the king and Jane Grey. The two adolescents were reportedly already close. The success of this scheme would secure the succession of Edward VI, and the Greys would gain further influence over Edward VI and any issue of the marriage would be their own family member. Baron Seymour would benefit in undermining his older brother, Lord Protector Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset who was seeking a queen consort for Edward VI among the daughters of Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

Catherine Parr gave birth to her daughter Mary Seymour on August 30, 1548. Complications in childbirth resulted in her death on September 7, 1548. Frances did not trust her eldest daughter alone with Baron Seymour and recalled her home. However Frances found her daughter to have grown difficult to handle. Baron Seymour on the other hand pressed the Greys with demands that Jane should be returned to his household. The Greys surrendered to the inevitable. Rumors circulated that Thomas Seymour intended to marry Jane. Seymour confided to Sir Thomas Parry that the rumors amused him.

Seymour still planned to convince Edward VI to marry Jane. But the king had grown distrustful of either of his two uncles. An increasingly desperate Seymour invaded the king's bedchamber in an attempt to either convince or abduct him. This ill-thought attempt only resulted in his execution on March 10, 1549.

The Greys convinced the Privy Council of their innocence in Seymour's scheme. Jane was again recalled home. The Greys lost all hope of marrying her to Edward VI. They contemplated marrying her instead to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, son of the Lord Protector and Anne Stanhope. However the Lord Protector fell from power and was replaced from John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. The Greys soon declared their allegiance to the new Lord Protector. They successfully arranged for Jane to be married to his eldest son Lord Guilford Dudley. By some accounts, Jane at first refused, and had to be strongly pressurised by her parents.

Mother to a Queen regnant

The marriage occurred on May 15, 1553. Northumberland had a greater scheme in mind. Edward VI was dying and was considering the matter of his own succession. The young king was a firm believer in the practices of Anglicanism. His half-sister Mary was an equally firm believer in those of the Roman Catholic Church. Her accession would likely end the Protestant Reformation in her domains. Edward VI and Northumberland arranged for the will of the dying king to exclude both Princesses Mary and Elizabeth under the pretext of being illegitimate, on the grounds that Henry VIII had his marriages to their respective mothers Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn annulled (though at the time both daughters remained in line of succession). Their removal from the line would make Frances the heiress presumptive of the King. Northumberland was not however ready to see either Frances or her husband acceeding to the throne. Frances was convinced to agreed to renounce her own rights to the throne in favor of Jane. The throne would thus pass to Jane and her heirs-male.

Edward VI died on July 6, 1553. Jane was declared queen regnant on July 10. Frances had finally succeeded in becoming the mother of a queen. The Greys and Dudleys exercised considerable influence over the youthful monarch and planned to rule through her. However, their success was short-lived. Jane was deposed by popular revolt in favor of Princess Mary on July 19, 1553. Mary became Queen Mary I of England.

Northumberland paid for his failed machinations with his life on August 22/August 23. Frances and Suffolk were arrested but released days later. The victorious Mary was able to pardon her first cousin. However the following year the queen announced her intention to marry Philip II of Spain. Thomas Wyatt the younger declared a revolt against her on January 25, 1544.

Suffolk joined the revolt but was captured by Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon. The revolt had failed by February. Jane Grey was not involved in it but paid for it with her life on February 12, 1554. Her father followed her in death on February 23.

Life at court

Mary I however again favored her cousin Frances with her pardon. She was apparently unwilling to execute her childhood friend. Frances and her two surviving daughters settled in court. Mary I made a point of placing them by her side. Favoured but kept under the observation of the Queen. Mary even allowed Frances to marry again. On March 9, 1554, Frances was married to Adrian Stokes, Master of the Horse (1532November 30, 1586).

They were parents to three children:

Frances' luck seemed to run out with the death of the childless Mary I on November 17, 1558. Princess Elizabeth acceeded to the throne as Queen Elizabeth I of England. She had little reason to trust a first cousin who never accepted her as a legitimate child of Henry VIII. She kept Frances and her daughter in court but not as favourites. Frances was still able to negotiate the marriage of her daughter Catherine to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, the old suitor of Jane Grey. Frances died on November 20, 1559, never having secured the approval of Elizabeth. She was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Catherine Grey married Hertford in 1560. They were grandparents to William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, husband of Arbella Stuart.

Dramatic representation

Her best known dramatic representation is in the film Lady Jane, where she was played by Sara Kestelman.

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