Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
WHAT HAPPENED to Lady Mary Seymour, the only child of Queen Catherine Parr and Elizabeth I’s step-sister? Born on 30 August 1548, Mary was the child of Catherine’s fourth husband, Thomas Seymour, first Baron Seymour of Sudeley and was therefore a first cousin of King Edward VI, whose mother, Jane Seymour had been the third wife of Henry VIII. Catherine of course, had been his sixth, so little Mary was very well connected and she was named after her other step-sister, Mary Tudor, later Mary I. Tragically, just days after her birth, the little girl’s mother died of childbed fever leaving her great wealth to her husband. Mary was sent to live in the household of her uncle, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, but after her father’s disgrace and execution the following year, the entirety of the Seymour-Parr wealth was forfeited and she was left a penniless orphan. Taken in by her mother’s friend, Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk, she disappears from the historical record in 1550 at the age of two. So what happened to Catherine Parr’s daughter? Did she grow up and marry during the reign of her step-sister, Elizabeth I or or did she die as a toddler like so many children of her era? In this Tudor history documentary from History Calling we look into the mysterious disappearance of the almost royal Lady Mary Seymour, consider the theories as to what happened to her and ask, how strange is it that a girl like this seems to have dropped off the face of the planet?
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hb5Wjykc2hBrBddQYXDUqU
CATHERINE PARR: BEFORE SHE WAS QUEEN
youtu.be/y4fEIOohi48
CATHERINE PARR: THE QUEEN WHO SURVIVED HENRY VIII
youtu.be/yU0b0WgmGR8
CATHERINE PARR’S BURIAL & SHOCKING CORPSE MULTILATION
youtu.be/p6lPB4uzmwI
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
BUY OR RENT
The Tudors, season 1 amzn.to/3rFmveg (UK link) OR amzn.to/2VCwQ0j (US link)
The Tudors, season 2 amzn.to/3m64HIn (UK link) OR amzn.to/2VMPnHw (US link)
The Tudors, season 3 amzn.to/3wiwPwi (UK link) OR amzn.to/3BijsPB (US link)
The Tudors, season 4 amzn.to/3rNeggF (UK link) OR amzn.to/3z16S58 (US link)
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama) amzn.to/3jiCkag
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama) amzn.to/3hd93vd (UK link) OR amzn.to/3wH2mr2 (US link)
DVDS
The Tudors complete collection: amzn.to/3gWs4Ty (UK link) OR amzn.to/3z3Ef7n (US link)
Henry VIII (2003) amzn.to/2ZrjK4U (UK link) OR amzn.to/3z73ndj (US link)
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama): amzn.to/3gXU4GH
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama): amzn.to/3h7Qh8z (UK link) OR amzn.to/3xKuBGA (US link)
READ
Linda Porter, Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr (2010)
amzn.to/3ONRMKX
Susan James, Catherine Parr: Henry VIII's Last Love (2008) amzn.to/2XCS9Am (UK link) OR amzn.to/3nLizL1 (US link)
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/3atiEfi (UK link) OR amzn.to/36IqD5r (US link)
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004) amzn.to/3k9uD4Z (UK link) OR amzn.to/3wImKIh (US link)
THUMBNAIL: Portrait owned by the National Portrait Gallery, London. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
WHAT HAPPENED to Lady Mary Seymour, the only child of Queen Catherine Parr and Elizabeth I’s step-sister? Born on 30 August 1548, Mary was the child of Catherine’s fourth husband, Thomas Seymour, first Baron Seymour of Sudeley and was therefore a first cousin of King Edward VI, whose mother, Jane Seymour had been the third wife of Henry VIII. Catherine of course, had been his sixth, so little Mary was very well connected and she was named after her other step-sister, Mary Tudor, later Mary I. Tragically, just days after her birth, the little girl’s mother died of childbed fever leaving her great wealth to her husband. Mary was sent to live in the household of her uncle, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, but after her father’s disgrace and execution the following year, the entirety of the Seymour-Parr wealth was forfeited and she was left a penniless orphan. Taken in by her mother’s friend, Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk, she disappears from the historical record in 1550 at the age of two. So what happened to Catherine Parr’s daughter? Did she grow up and marry during the reign of her step-sister, Elizabeth I or or did she die as a toddler like so many children of her era? In this Tudor history documentary from History Calling we look into the mysterious disappearance of the almost royal Lady Mary Seymour, consider the theories as to what happened to her and ask, how strange is it that a girl like this seems to have dropped off the face of the planet?
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hb5Wjykc2hBrBddQYXDUqU
CATHERINE PARR: BEFORE SHE WAS QUEEN
youtu.be/y4fEIOohi48
CATHERINE PARR: THE QUEEN WHO SURVIVED HENRY VIII
youtu.be/yU0b0WgmGR8
CATHERINE PARR’S BURIAL & SHOCKING CORPSE MULTILATION
youtu.be/p6lPB4uzmwI
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
BUY OR RENT
The Tudors, season 1 amzn.to/3rFmveg (UK link) OR amzn.to/2VCwQ0j (US link)
The Tudors, season 2 amzn.to/3m64HIn (UK link) OR amzn.to/2VMPnHw (US link)
The Tudors, season 3 amzn.to/3wiwPwi (UK link) OR amzn.to/3BijsPB (US link)
The Tudors, season 4 amzn.to/3rNeggF (UK link) OR amzn.to/3z16S58 (US link)
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama) amzn.to/3jiCkag
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama) amzn.to/3hd93vd (UK link) OR amzn.to/3wH2mr2 (US link)
DVDS
The Tudors complete collection: amzn.to/3gWs4Ty (UK link) OR amzn.to/3z3Ef7n (US link)
Henry VIII (2003) amzn.to/2ZrjK4U (UK link) OR amzn.to/3z73ndj (US link)
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama): amzn.to/3gXU4GH
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama): amzn.to/3h7Qh8z (UK link) OR amzn.to/3xKuBGA (US link)
READ
Linda Porter, Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr (2010)
amzn.to/3ONRMKX
Susan James, Catherine Parr: Henry VIII's Last Love (2008) amzn.to/2XCS9Am (UK link) OR amzn.to/3nLizL1 (US link)
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/3atiEfi (UK link) OR amzn.to/36IqD5r (US link)
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004) amzn.to/3k9uD4Z (UK link) OR amzn.to/3wImKIh (US link)
THUMBNAIL: Portrait owned by the National Portrait Gallery, London. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
