William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset was the great-grandson of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (c.1500-1552), the uncle of King Edward VI and Lord Protector of England. Seymour made a secret marriage at Greenwich on 22 June 1610 to Arbella Stuart (d.1615), daughter of Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox and Elizabeth Cavendish. Arbella was thirteen years his senior, and King James I disapproved of the marriage as the union of two potential Tudor pretenders to the throne, who were respectively fourth and sixth in line, could only be seen as a threat to the ruling dynasty. As a result, William was condemned to life
Lord Edward Seymour (died 1593) Lord Edward Seymour (died 1593) Lord Edward Seymour (c. 1528 - 2 May 1593), knight, of Berry Pomeroy, Devon, was Sheriff of Devon in 1583 and was knighted by his father the Duke of Somerset on the battlefield of Pinkie Cleugh on 10 September 1547. He was the eldest son (but not the main heir) of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (c.1500-1552) by his first wife Catherine Fillol (or Filliol) (c.1507-1535) a daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Fillol (1453-1527), of Fillol's Hall, Essex and Woodlands, Horton, Dorset. The children from this first marriage ranked below those from the