Edward Seymour and Thomas Seymour: The Worst Royal Uncles of Edward VI

Edward Seymour and Thomas Seymour were the worst royal uncles during the Tudor era.
They were the brothers of Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII.
Not only did they fail in their duty to protect and support their nephew on the regency council, they actively want to replace him as the King of England.
They were both executed and Edward VI soon died.

Chapters:
00:00 Who were the Worst Royal Uncles?
00:03 Jasper Tudor was the Best Uncle for Henry Tudor
00:17 Thomas Seymour and Edward Seymour were the worst royal uncles
00:31 Edward VI was the grandson of Henry VII and son of Henry VIII
00:40 Henry VIII’s regency council
00:46 Edward Seymour, the brother of Jane Seymour
01:00 Edward VI’s other maternal uncle
01:14 Thomas Seymour proposed to Elizabeth and married Catherine Parr
01:42 Thomas Seymour seducing Young Elizabeth
01:56 Thomas Seymour’s Dreams
02:23 Kidnapping Edward VI and Thomas Seymour executions
02:37 Edward Seymour was as bad as Thomas Seymour
03:11 Edward Seymour Executions
03:19 Death of Edward VI due to Tuberculosis and Smallpox
03:27 Lady Jane Grey and John Dudley
03:33 Failure of Thomas Seymour and Edward Seymour
03:48 Richard III and the Princes in the Tower, the other story

That honour, or dishonour, fell upon the Seymour brothers, the maternal uncles of Edward VI, Henry VII’s less fortunate grandson.
Edward VI was the grandson of Henry VII and the darling son of Henry VIII, who set up a Regency Council comprising 16 men to look after his 9-year-old son on his deathbed.
Edward Seymour led the Regency Council as the Lord Protector. He was the brother of Edward’s mother, Jane Seymour, and, therefore, the young King’s maternal uncle.
His brother and Edward’s other uncle, Thomas Seymour, then the Lord Admiral, was also on the Regency Council. Did these uncles help Edward VI secure his kingdom?
Let us start with Thomas Seymour; within a month after the death of Henry VIII, Thomas Seymour had proposed to 13-years-old Elizabeth, Edward’s older sister.
After Elizabeth rejected his proposal, he proposed and married Catherine Parr, the Dowager Queen of Henry VIII, with whom Elizabeth stayed.
The rumour was that Catherine Parr and Elizabeth’s governess found Thomas Seymour in an inappropriate embrace with Elizabeth.
Thomas had wanted to seduce and marry her and make her the Queen and himself the King of England. This would help him replace Edward VI as the King of England.
After Catherine Parr sensibly sent Elizabeth away but subsequently died in childbirth, Thomas Seymour took the delusional step of trying to kidnap Edward VI to replace him.
Edward’s dog foiled his attempt when Thomas Seymour got so annoyed by Edward’s barking dog that he shot the dog. The guard promptly arrested him. He was tried and soon executed.
His older brother, Edward Seymour, fared no better. Firstly, he ran the country to the ground and started wars with Scotland, emptying the treasury.
When he feared losing his position as Lord Protector in October 1549, he kidnapped Edward VI and took him as a prisoner to Windsor Castle to try and hold onto his power.
After tense negotiations, Edward VI was released, but Edward Seymour was arrested again and executed in 1552. Edward VI felt little remorse for his death.
Soon afterwards, Edward VI died painfully of smallpox and tuberculosis in July 1553. Before he died, he signed a new succession device naming his niece, Lady Jane Grey, the daughter-in-law of the Lord President of his Regency Council, as Queen.
Not only did the Seymour brothers fail to protect and support their nephew, Edward, but they were also actively seeking to replace him to be Kings before they were executed and their nephew died.

The music is “Le Jour Des Cigales” by Dominique Charpentier licensed via Music Vine: YIWLBARIKLSH6MX3

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