Anyone who has known me for even a short amount of time knows that I am interested in telling the true story behind Thomas Seymour. In 2016 I chose Thomas Seymour as the figure from Tudor history that I wanted to research and write about. At the time, I was unfamiliar with the entire story, but there was something so fascinating about it that I could not step away.
After six years of transcribing and reading original documents held at the National Archives – Kew, I feel well equipped to debunk any falsehoods regarding Thomas Seymour.
Let’s begin by looking at the trailer, shall we?
Inaccuracy #1
When Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547, his son Edward was at Hertford House. His uncle Edward Seymour, then Earl of Hertford, and Sir Anthony Browne retrieved the young king and brought him to Enfield Palace, where his half-sister Elizabeth was. At Enfield, the two siblings were informed of their father’s death. Mary was not present. The opening sequence of the trailer clearly shows all three children together when they were informed. Is this an intentional oversight for dramatic purposes? If we’ve learned anything from Starz, then yes, yes it is. I wish I could be a historical consultant for a series like this and show them that the real history is even more interesting – we don’t need to create one for ratings. The Tudors, or Seymours in this case, knew how to do that all on their own!
I’ll be honest, most of what I’ve seen in the trailer shows me that the show creators chose to turn a large portion of the story in the Thomas/Elizabeth affair. As more is revealed to us I will be as transparent as I can about what really happened.
Thomas Seymour Society 