Editing Lady Arbella Stuart (section)

==Marriage to Lord Beauchamp, imprisonment and death==
[[File:William Seymour, Marquess of Hertford, later Duke of Somerset (1588-1660), Attributed to Gilbert Jackson (1622 - 1640).jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset|William, 2nd Duke of Somerset]]]]
[[File:Houghton - STC 8469. Arabella Stuart warrant.jpg|thumb|Royal warrant for arrest of Arbella, Lady Beauchamp, and [[William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset|Lord Beauchamp]], 1611]]
Arbella refused to be chief mourner at the funeral of Elizabeth I.<ref>[[Susan Doran]], ''From Tudor to Stuart: The Regime Change from Elizabeth I to James I'' (Oxford University Press, 2024), p. 19.</ref> She came to the court of [[James VI and I]] in August 1603. She was given precedence as a Princess of the Blood. A Venetian diplomat [[Giovanni Carlo Scaramelli|Scaramelli]] noted that she carried the train of the dress of the queen, [[Anne of Denmark]], when she went to chapel.<ref>Horatio Brown, ''Calendar State Papers Venice, 1603-1607'', vol. 10 (London, 1900), p. 82 no. 113.</ref> In March 1608 Anne of Denmark, Prince Henry, and Arbella's friend the courtier [[John Elphinstone (courtier)|John Elphinstone]] wrote to her at Sheffield to request that her lutenist Thomas Cutting be sent to the queen's brother [[Christian IV of Denmark]]. Arbella reluctantly agreed.<ref>Sara Jayne Steen, ''Letters of Arbella Stewart'' (Oxford, 1994), pp. 224-7, 284-6.</ref> Cutting soon returned to England but joined Prince Henry's household.<ref>[[Thomas Birch]], ''Life of Prince Henry'' (London, 1760), p. 467.</ref>

At the end of 1609, Arbella was in trouble for her involvement with an imposter, the "Prince of Moldavia" and other actions deemed suspicious, but she was forgiven, and the King gave her silver plate worth £200 as a [[New Year's Day gift (royal courts)|New Year's Day gift]].<ref>E. K. Purnell & A. B. Hinds, ''HMC Downshire: 1605-1610'', vol. 2 (London, 1936), p. 219.</ref><ref>Sara Jayne Steen, ''Letters of Arbella Stuart'' (Oxford, 1994), pp. 61-2.</ref> On 5 June 1610 Arbella danced in [[Samuel Daniel]]'s masque ''[[Tethys' Festival]]'', one of the festivities at the investiture of Prince Henry as [[Prince of Wales]]. She followed, in order of precedence, Anne of Denmark and [[Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia|Princess Elizabeth]].<ref>''Memorials of Affairs of State from the papers of Ralph Winwood'', vol. 3 (London, 1725), p. 181: Roy Strong, ''Henry Prince of Wales'' (London, 1986), pp. 155-158.</ref>

Arbella, who was fourth in line to the English throne, was in trouble again in 1610 for planning to marry [[William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset|William Seymour]], then known as Lord Beauchamp, who later succeeded as 2nd [[Duke of Somerset]]. Lord Beauchamp was seventh-in-line, grandson of [[Lady Katherine Grey]], a younger sister of [[Lady Jane Grey]] and a granddaughter of [[Mary Tudor, Queen of France|Mary Tudor]], younger sister of King [[Henry VIII]] and Arbella's ancestor, Margaret Tudor. Under the circumstances, the King wondered whether the marriage was the prelude to an attempt to seize [[the Crown]] itself.

Although the couple at first denied that any arrangement existed between them, they later married in secret on 22 June 1610 at [[Greenwich Palace]]. For marrying without his permission, King James imprisoned them: Arbella in Sir Thomas Perry's house in [[Lambeth]] and Lord Beauchamp in the [[Tower of London]]. The couple had some liberty within those buildings, and some of Arbella's letters to Beauchamp and to the King during this period survive. When the King learned of her letters to Lord Beauchamp, however, he ordered Arbella's transfer to the custody of [[William James (bishop)|William James]], [[Bishop of Durham]]. Arbella claimed to be ill, so her departure for [[Durham, England|Durham]] was delayed.

The couple used that delay to plan their escape. Arbella raised some money by selling a collection of [[Oxburgh Hangings|embroideries made by Mary, Queen of Scots]] to her aunt for £850.<ref>Michael Bath, ''Emblems for a Queen: the Needlework of Mary Queen of Scots'' (London, 2008), pp. 12-3.</ref> Arbella, who was lodged at Highgate, dressed as a man to escape. This involved putting on French-fashioned [[Hose (clothing)|hose]] over her petticoat, a man's [[Doublet (clothing)|doublet]], a male wig over her hair, a black hat, black cloak, russet boats with red tops, and wearing a rapier.<ref>''Memorials of State from the Papers of Ralph Winwood'', vol. 3 (London, 1725), p. 279.</ref> Imogen, the virtuous, cross-dressed heroine of [[William Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[Cymbeline]]'' (1610–1611), has sometimes been read as a reference to Arbella, but the warrant for the couple's arrest is dated 3 June 1611 and [[Simon Forman]] recorded seeing a production of that play in April 1611.<ref>Steen, 96</ref> The black hat and riding [[safeguard (costume)|safeguard]] worn by one woman reminded a witness, John Bright, of [[Moll Cutpurse]].<ref>Christabel Blanche Hardy, ''Arbella Stuart: a biography'' (London, 1913), p. 285.</ref> Beauchamp also disguised himself to escape from the Tower. Both told some of the servants they left behind that they were going in disguise to meet their partner.<ref>''Memorials of State from the Papers of Ralph Winwood'', vol. 3 (London, 1725), p. 280.</ref>

Arbella went by boat on the [[River Thames|Thames]] to Lee (in [[Kent]]). She sailed to France before Lord Beauchamp arrived. Beauchamp caught the next ship to [[Flanders]]. Arbella's ship was overtaken by King James's men just before it reached [[Calais]]. She was returned to England and imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]]. She never saw her husband again.

Later in the summer of 1610, Arbella embroidered a pair of gloves for [[Anne of Denmark]] and sent them to her lady-in-waiting [[Jean Ker, Countess of Roxburghe|Jane Drummond]]. She hoped to regain the queen's favour and kiss her hands again.<ref>Sara Jayne Steen, ''Letters of Arbella Stewart'' (Oxford, 1994), pp. 245-6.</ref> Arbella expected to be released to attend the marriage of [[Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia|Princess Elizabeth]] in February 1613 and she bought pearls and a gown embroidered with pearls to wear from the jeweller [[Abraham der Kinderen]].<ref>Nadine Akkerman, ''Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Hearts'' (Oxford, 2022), p. 73.</ref> She was not invited and pawned and sold most of the pearls for funds a few months later. Abraham der Kinderen petitioned for the return of the gown after her death.<ref>Sara Jayne Steen, ''Letters of Arbella Stewart'' (Oxford, 1994), pp. 89, 91-2: ''Acts of the Privy Council'', vol. 34 (London, 1925), pp. 293-4.</ref>

In her final days as a prisoner in the [[Tower of London]], Arbella Seymour (her married name), refusing to eat, fell ill, and died on 25 September 1615. She was buried in [[Westminster Abbey]] on 29 September 1615. In the 19th century, during a search for the tomb of James VI and I, Arbella's lead coffin was found in the vault of Mary, Queen of Scots (her aunt by marriage) and placed directly on top of that of the Scots queen.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stanley|first=A. P.|author-link=Arthur Penrhyn Stanley|title=Westminster Abbey|year=1886|publisher=John Murray|location=London|pages=499}}</ref>