'A man of much wit': the death of Thomas Seymour

They may be the stuff of legend but the words said to have been spoken by the future Elizabeth I on March 20th 1549 have become one of her legendary quotes. When told that Thomas Seymour, Baron Sudeley had been executed for treason, one pithy phrase reportedly dropped from her lips. It has become his epitaph. 'Today died a man of much wit and very little judgement'.


I first came across those words on my very first visit to Sudeley Castle in 2011. They were written on a board among the displays. I remember that exhibition haphazardly propped against a wall - at the time the story of Katherine, Thomas and all that went with it was very much intermingled with other fascinating parts of the castle's history. But those words stood out, they almost shout across the centuries. For not only do they sum Thomas up, they show that even at the age of fifteen, Elizabeth had all the political acumen and sharp reasoning that would turn her into a famous queen.

Thomas and Elizabeth's paths had tangled when she came to live with him soon after his marriage to Katherine. The rather salacious stories that emanated from that time and which would later get Elizabeth into a spot of bother are for other posts. But it's worth remembering that the teenage girl who summed up a man in so sharp a sentence had been involved in a situation with him that was far from clear cut.

What Elizabeth really felt when she heard of his death is anyone's guess. She was shrewd enough not to let her feelings show any more than that one line which echoes down the years. She had had time to get used to the idea for Thomas had been condemned to death on February 22nd that year.

He met his fate at the Tower of London on March 20th, his death warrant signed by his own brother, Edward Seymour, and his nephew, King Edward VI. Whether Thomas, whose strange actions had led to him being found outside the young monarch's bedchamber with a pistol, ever expected a reprieve given his family connections isn't really known. But his death brought to an end some of the family squabblings that had swirled around the court since Edward took the throne.

However, it is Elizabeth's testament that sums up his death. We know Thomas was charming, dashing and popular as well as rash, ambitious and angry. 'Today died a man of much wit and very little judgement'. It's hard to disagree.