Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, was appointed 'Lord Protector' of England and Head of the Regency Council, when his 9 year old nephew Edward VI ascended the throne in January 1547. He had effectively become the most powerful man in England, leading the Regency Council. However, he could not hold this position of power for long, following the downfall and execution of his younger brother Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley in March 1549, and recurrent incidents of political and social unrest throughout the country, including in response to his religious policies regarding the Protestant reformation in England. By October 1549, Seymour had been arrested and taken to the Tower of London, on initial charges regarding the mismanagement of government; he was later released in February 1550.
Edward Seymour's second marriage to Anne Stanhope (bef. 1535), had been successful in regards to their offspring; whilst their first son Edward died aged 2yo, they went on to have a total of 10 children, including Anne, Countess of Warwick, and (another) Edward, Earl of Hertford. Whilst the couple were both fervent supporters of Protestantism, it was Anne who appears to have had the stronger leanings towards reform; she actively encouraged Protestant writings and had many publications dedicated to her. She was also identified as one of the women who had influenced Katherine Parr's strong 'heretical' views whilst Queen. These beliefs appear to have been passed on to their children, and influenced their education, their religious upbringing and access to various source materials at the time. She was known to have supported Protestant preacher Anne Askew, who was burned for heresy in 1546 during the reign of Henry VIII, sending financial aid to her whilst imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Anne herself was also arrested and taken to the Tower of London in October 1549 on the arrest of her husband Edward Seymour; however, she was released in early 1550.
Edward was also keen for change regarding education, wanting to move away from the traditional training of the clergy at the colleges of Cambridge and Oxford, with a focus on training for the law and its' application in government. This untraditional but progressive approach was reflected in the education of his children; his sons Edward and Henry spent time with their cousin Edward VI and his tutors, whilst his three eldest daughters Anne (born c.1538), Margaret (born c.1540) and Jane (born c.1541) received a classical but "liberal" education, learning Latin, Greek, Italian and French. Shortly following the ascension of Edward VI in 1547, Seymour appointed Humanist French poet and painter Nicolas Denisot, 'le comte d'Alsinois', as tutor to his daughters; he appears to have held this position until his return to Paris in mid-1549. Around this time, Denisot painted a portrait of their uncle, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley (c.1545-49). Other tutors including John Crane and Thomas Norton, the latter becoming a passionate supporter of reform of Calvinism.
Marguerite d'Angoulême, Queen of Navarre (known as 'Marguerite de Navarre') was the wife of King Henry II of Navarre, and the brother of King François I of France.
Her intelligence was praised throughout France (and beyond, including in England), and she was a patron of the arts throughout her life. Marguerite was a prolific writer; she wrote many short stories and poems, including the 'Heptaméron' (a collection of 72 short stories with subject matters including love, lust, infidelity and sexuality). She also played an important part in France's religious reformation, actively encouraging and protecting Protestant writers, and providing texts to other high-status individuals, including potentially Anne Boleyn when she was a lady-in-waiting at the French court.
Following Marguerite's death in December 1549, in honour of her life and achievements, the three sisters reportedly wrote a poem in Latin; this consisted of 104 distichs/couplets. It appears that Marguerite's work had been taught to the girls by Denisot, which were reflected in their own words.
Nicolas Denisot then edited and published the work of whom he called "three most excellent princesses" in Paris, as 'Annae, Margaritae, Ianae, Sororum Virginum Heroidum Anglarum, In Mortem Divae Margaritae Valesiae Navarrorum Reginae, Hecatodistichon' (or 'Hecatodistichon'), the first edition being released in March 1550. This piece of work was the first published by collective Englishwomen (in any language) prior to 1560s, and the only piece published in Latin by any Englishwomen in the 16th century. It was republished the following year, as part of a collection of works dedicated to Marguerite - 'Le Tombeau de Marguerite de Valois Royne de Navarre' (1551).
The sisters were young at the time of the initial publication; Anne was approx 12 years old, Margaret approx 10 years old and Jane approx 9 years old. Whilst their ages have made scholars question the validity of the claim that the girls were the primary authors, there is contemporary evidence of their intelligence and achievements (specifically Jane), including correspondence with Protestant scholars on the continent.
John Dudley, Earl of Warwick subsequently took over the leadership of the Regency Council in October 1549; he held this position until Edward VI's death in July 1553, following which he made attempts with other members of the Privy Council to place his daughter-in-law Jane Grey on the throne of England. However, shortly following taking on the role as 'Lord Protector', Dudley continued and intensified the religious reformation, of which Edward Seymour had been a key instigator from the beginning of Edward VI's reign.
Edward Seymour was released from the tower on 06 February 1550, but he did not rejoin Edward VI's government until April 1550. In June 1550, the marriage took place between Anne Seymour , eldest daughter of Edward Seymour, and John Dudley, son and heir of the Earl of Warwick; this marriage was designed to create strength and reconciliation between the two families, although this cordiality did not last.
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