The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor: Elizabeth I, Thomas Seymour, and the Making of a Virgin Queen by Norton Elizabeth

Author:Norton, Elizabeth [Norton, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2016-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

Thomas Seymour’s emotional state was not helped by the tense wait for news of his wife’s labor. It was the same for Elizabeth, whose health continued to be poor at Cheshunt, although she was beginning to build a friendship with her host, Lady Denny.¶ Elizabeth last wrote to Catherine on 31 July, before her stepmother retired for her month of rest and waiting. The princess looked forward to news of what she hoped would be “a most lucky deliverance,” resulting in the birth of a healthy little stepbrother.22

The queen’s impending labor was discussed at Cheshunt by Elizabeth and the ladies around her. Everyone was hopeful. Elizabeth had considerable confidence in Catherine’s doctor, Robert Huicke, who had served for some years as a royal physician and in whom she had been happy to entrust her own care when ill.23 Catherine was also pleased to bring Huicke with her to Sudeley—by then, he had served her dutifully for several years.24 The doctor had his own reasons for welcoming the change of scene. He had only recently been the subject of a famous divorce case, where he had been censured for his cruelty toward his entirely blameless wife. Despite the gossip on that score, he was renowned for his skill in medicine and had been one of the physicians admitted to the old king’s deathbed. Huicke was admired in Catherine’s household. Now he consulted with her, as the birth drew near.

The child who had been so active in Catherine’s womb finally entered the world on 30 August 1548, in the privacy of the queen’s darkened bedchamber at Sudeley. The birth, attended by doctors and female household members, went well. There was no hint that the parents were in any way disappointed to discover that their “little knave” was a girl. They delighted in the child, naming her “Mary” in honor of her eldest royal stepsister, who was to be her godmother.

The day of the birth was hectic, with Seymour rushing in to meet his daughter as the queen tried to speak to Dr. Huicke about her recovery. It was the action of an excited first-time father—but in shooing away the doctor, Thomas later laid himself open to criticism. Catherine had not dared to speak up then, but later, as Elizabeth Tyrwhitt remembered, she plaintively told her husband: “My Lord, I would have given a thousand marks to have had my full talk with Huicke the first day I was delivered. But I durst not, for displeasing of you.”25 Thomas, who—like Catherine—was old to be a first-time parent, just wanted to see his child, pushing all obstacles out of his path. He was besotted with the tiny infant, who lay in her cradle of crimson and gold.26 She was so pretty, he wrote to his brother, while the queen, too, was doing well. The Protector was still his brother and the first person to whom he wanted to tell his good news. He dispatched his letter posthaste.

Somerset had just dispatched one of his own

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