28. He Sought to Increase His Power by Marrying 13 Year Old Princess Elizabeth
Ticked off that his older brother seemed to be hogging all the power via his control over the underage king Edward VI, Thomas Seymour figured he could get his own access to power by controlling another royal: princess Elizabeth. Less than a month after the death of her father, king Henry VIII, Thomas Seymour wrote a letter to 13 year old princess Elizabeth, asking her to marry him. An alarmed Elizabeth elegantly rejected his proposal, writing him back that she was too young – Seymour was 25 years older – and that she planned to mourn her father for the next two years.