A Creepy Courtier’s Bad End
Thomas Seymour hated his older brother Edward, Lord Protector of England in the reign of the siblings’ underage nephew, King Edward VI, and sought his ruin. Despite that, Edward Seymour went out of his way to try and save his kid brother from himself. When the Privy Council grew alarmed at Thomas’ brazenness, such as efforts to stir up rebellion, and alliances with pirates in a bid to secure their support, the Protector invited his younger brother to come and explain himself. Thomas failed to do so, and instead, tried to kidnap the king. On the night of January 16th, 1549, Thomas Seymour tried to break into the child monarch’s apartments.
His attempt was foiled when one of the king’s spaniels woke the place up with its barking. So Thomas shot it dead. The next day, Thomas Seymour was locked up in the Tower of London. In light of the fact that he had been caught outside the king’s bedroom at night, with a loaded pistol, there was little that his older brother – or anybody else for that matter – could do to help. Thomas was charged with thirty three counts of treason, convicted, and sentenced to death. Parliament passed a Bill of Attainder against him on March 5th, 1549, and he was beheaded fifteen days later.