Frances Stewart, Duchess of Lennox

Frances Stewart
Duchess of Richmond Duchess of Lennox Countess of Hertford
Portrait by Marcus Gheeraerts, c. 1615
Full name	Frances Howard
Born	(1578-07-27)27 July 1578
Died	8 October 1639(1639-10-08) (aged 61)
Noble family	Howard
Spouse(s)	Henry Pranell ​ ​ (m. 1592; died 1599)​ Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford ​ ​ (m. 1601; died 1621)​ Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox ​ ​ (m. 1621; died 1624)​
Father	Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount Howard of Bindon
Mother	Mabel Burton

Frances Stewart (née Howard), Duchess of Lennox and Richmond, Countess of Hertford (27 July 1578 – 8 October 1639)^[1] was the daughter of a younger son of the Duke of Norfolk. An orphan of small fortune, she rose to be the only duchess at the court of James I of England. She married the son of a London alderman who died in 1599, leaving her a wealthy widow at a young age. She became, for 20 years, the third wife of the ageing Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, nephew of Jane Seymour, third queen consort of Henry VIII. Within months of Edward's death she married a cousin of James I, Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond. One of the great beauties of the Jacobean court, she was also the patron of Captain John Smith of the Virginia Colony.