Frances Carr neé Devereux neé Howard
The Countess of Somerset
Born	1591
Died	1632
Spouse	Robert Devereux Robert Carr
Parents	Thomas Howard Catherine Knyvet
Children	Anne Carr

Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset (1591 – 1632) was an English noblewoman who was a central figure in a famous scandal and murder during the reign of King James I. Year 1591 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... See also: 1632 (novel) Events February 22 - Galileos Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published July 23 - 300 colonists for New France depart Dieppe November 8 - Wladyslaw IV Waza elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after Zygmunt III Waza death November 16 - Battle of Lützen... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... James VI and I (James Stuart) (June 19, 1566 – March 27, 1625) was King of Scots, King of England, and King of Ireland. ...

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 noble during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Admiral Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (24 August 1561-28 May 1626) was a son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk by his second wife Hon. ... Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (March 10, 1536 — 1572) and 1st Earl of Southampton, was entrusted by Queen Elizabeth I of England with public office despite his family history and his prior support for the Catholic cause, although he claimed to be a...

A Failed Marriage

At the age of 13, by now Lady Frances Howard, she was married to the 14-year-old 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 early sex and pregnancy was good for neither. 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 1st Earl of Somerset. It is suspected that she might have purposely encouraged his 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, she could not do it 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 watched by those with "prurient minds". She claimed that she had made every attempt to be sexually available for her husband, and that 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". The matter was a subject of mockery and ribald commentary throughout the court, including: Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, (January 11 1591 – 14 September 1646), was the son and heir of the unfortunate Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and succeeded to his fathers title in 1604, three years after the previous earl had been executed for treason. ... The Right Honourable Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, KG, PC (sometimes spelt Kerr) ( 1590 – July 17, 1645), was a Scottish politician, and favourite of King James I of England. ... Simon Forman (December 30, 1552 – September, 1611) was a prominent Elizabethan occultist, astrologist and herbalist active in London. ...

This Dame was inspected but Fraud interjected
A maid of more perfection
Whom the midwives did handle whilst the knight held the candle
O there was a clear inspection.^[1]

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 friends) he had stood up and lifted his nightshirt to show them his erection -- showing, 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 a favourite of King James).

A murderous plot

Sir Thomas Overbury, a close friend and advisor of Somerset, had tried to advise him not to marry 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 -- interestingly enough, the annullment 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. Thomas Overbury Sir Thomas Overbury (1581 - September 15, 1613), English poet and essayist, and the victim of one of the most sensational crimes in English history, was the son of Nicholas Overbury, of Bourton-on-the-Hill, and was born at Compton Scorpion, near Ilmington, in Warwickshire. ...

Lord and Lady Somerset had one daughter, Lady Anne Carr, who married the 1st Duke of Bedford. The Most Noble Sir William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford KG PC (August 1616–September 7, 1700) was a British peer and soldier, the son of Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford. ...

Notes

1. ^ Haynes, Alan: Sex in Elizabethan England, page 130. Wrens Park Publishing, 1997

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