Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset when the descendants of Edward Seymour by his first wife, Catherine Fillol, inherited the Somerset dukedom in accordance with the Private Act of 1541. However, the female line continued, and Queen Elizabeth II is descended from Somerset through his grandchild by Catherine Grey. Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (c. 1500 – 22 January 1552), was Lord Protector of England during part of the Tudor period from 1547 until 1549 during the minority of his nephew, King Edward VI (1547–1553). Despite his popularity with the common people, his policies often angered the gentry and
Mary Seymour, Duchess of Somerset in Wiltshire and Devon. On 11 September 1744, the unexpected death of George Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp (1725–1744), the only son of Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, made Sir Edward the heir presumptive to the dukedom and to the barony of Seymour. On 23 November 1750 the 7th duke died, and Seymour succeeded to the dukedom, his wife then becoming a duchess. The principal Percy family estates and houses of Alnwick Castle, Northumberland House, Petworth House, and Syon House, had been divided between the 7th duke's daughter Elizabeth Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, and his nephew, Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of