Frances Seymour, Duchess of Somerset numerous descendants include Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (and therefore The Queen and all of her blood descendants), Diana, Princess of Wales, and Sarah, Duchess of York. Frances Seymour, Duchess of Somerset Frances Seymour, Duchess of Somerset ("née" Devereux; 30 September 1599 – 24 April 1674), was an English noblewoman who lived during the reigns of Elizabeth I, James I, Charles I and Charles II. Her father was Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Elizabeth I's favourite who was executed for treason in 1601. She was the second wife of William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, and the mother of
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Sarah opened his correspondence and filtered the letters Marlborough received, lest their contents precipitate another stroke. Sarah's relationship with her children was strained. Although she had a good relationship with her daughter, Anne Spencer, she became estranged from her daughters Henrietta, Elizabeth and Mary. Similarly heartbroken when her favourite daughter Anne died in 1716, Sarah kept her favourite cup, a lock of her hair, and adopted the Sunderlands' youngest child, Lady Diana, who would later become her favourite granddaughter. John Churchill died at Windsor in 1722, and Sarah arranged a large funeral for him. Their daughter, Henrietta, became duchess in