Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset

Infobox Person
name = Frances Carr "née" Howard


image_size = 213px
caption = The Countess of Somerset
birth_date = 31 May 1590
birth_place =
death_date = 1632
death_place =
occupation =
spouse = Robert Devereux Robert Carr
parents = Thomas Howard, Vicount Bindon Margaret Manning( 4th Wife)
children = Anne Carr

Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset (31 May 1590 [Brian Tompsett's Royal Genealogy Database] – 1632) was an English noblewoman who was a central figure in a famous scandal and murder during the reign of King James I.

Family

She was born Frances Howard, the daughter of Lord Thomas Howard (later 1st Earl of Suffolk), second son of the 4th Duke of Norfolk, and his wife, the former Catherine Knyvet. Her father was a wealthy and powerful nobleman during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Her maternal grandparents were Sir Henry Knyvet, of Charlton, Wiltshire, and Elizabeth Stumpe.

A Failed Marriage

Lady Frances Howard was married at the age of 13 to the 14-year-old Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex. The marriage was primarily a political union; they were separated after the wedding to prevent them from having intercourse, with the view that premature sex and pregnancy was to be avoided. Essex went on a European tour (from 1607 to 1609) and when he returned Frances made every effort to avoid him. He was at the time seriously ill with smallpox, but she had also fallen in love with Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset. It is suspected that she might have purposely encouraged her husband's natural impotence by the use of "love-philters" with first Simon Forman and later Abraham Savery. Essex himself did not seem to mind the lack of his wife's company, spending most of his time drinking with other men.

When she finally took the step of annulment, unable to legally represent herself, her father and uncle, Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, represented her and drew up the libel. The situation quickly attracted public attention, and was widely observed by those with "prurient minds". She claimed that she had made every attempt to be sexually compliant for her husband, and that, through no fault of her own, she was still a virgin. She was examined by ten matrons and two midwives who found her hymen intact. It was widely rumoured at the time that Sir Thomas Monson's daughter was a substitute, which is possible because she had requested to be veiled during the examination "for modesty's sake".

The matter was a subject of mockery and ribald commentary throughout the court, including:

This Dame was inspected but Fraud interjected
A maid of more perfection
Whom the midwives did handle whilest the knight held the candle
O there was a clear inspection. [Haynes, Alan: Sex in Elizabethan England, page 130. Wrens Park Publishing, 1997 ]

In turn, Essex claimed that he was capable with other women, but was unable to consummate his marriage. According to a friend, one morning (while chatting with a group of male companions) he had stood up and lifted his nightshirt to show them his erection -- proving, if nothing else, he was physically capable of arousal. When asked why only she caused his failing, he claimed that "she reviled him, and miscalled him, terming him a cow, and coward, and beast."

The idea of satanic involvement was seriously considered by the judges and at one point it was proposed that Essex should go to Poland to see if he could be "unwitched". The annulment languished and possibly would not have been granted if it were not for the king's intervention (Somerset was the favourite of King James). James I of England granted the annulement on 25 September 1613. Frances married Somerset on 26 December 1613.

A murderous plot

Sir Thomas Overbury, a close friend and advisor of Somerset, had tried to advise him not to marry Frances Howard, but he was a desirable ally for the powerful Howard family. The family managed to get Overbury imprisoned during the annulment proceedings where he died -- curiouly enough, the annulment went through eleven days after his death. It has been widely considered that Lady Somerset had him poisoned through an agent. The Somersets were convicted of murder, but spared execution.

Lord and Lady Somerset had one daughter, Lady Anne Carr, who married the 1st Duke of Bedford.

Notes

References

* Bellany, Alistair. "The Politics of Court Scandal in Early Modern England: News Culture and the Overbury Affair, 1603-1660". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
* Fraser, Antonia. "The Weaker Vessel". New York : Knopf, 1984. ISBN 1-84212-635-0
* Haynes, Alan. "Sex in Elizabethan England". Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited, 1997. ISBN 0-905-778-359
* King, Betty Nygaard. "Hell Hath No Fury: Famous Women in Crime" (Borealis Press, 2001)
* Lindley, David. "The Trials of Frances Howard". London, Routledge, 1993.
* Schama, Simon. "A History of Britain: The Wars of the British, 1603 - 1776". New York : Hyperion, 2001. ISBN 0-563-48718-6
* Somerset, Anne. "Unnatural Murder: Poison at the Court of James I". London : Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1997. ISBN 0-7538-0198-1

Persondata
NAME= Carr, Frances, Countess of Somerset
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Howard, Frances; Devereux, Frances
SHORT DESCRIPTION=
DATE OF BIRTH= 1591
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH= 1632
PLACE OF DEATH=