| Frances Howard, Countess Of Somerset |
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Frances Howard ( 1591 – 1632 ) was an English noblewoman who was a central figure in a famous scandal and murder during the reign of King James I . Howard was the daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl Of Suffolk , and his wife Katherine Knyvet. Suffolk was a wealthy and powerful noble during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At the age of 13, Howard was married to the 14-year-old Earl Of Essex . Several years later, she requested an annulment of the marriage, on the grounds that Essex was impotent with her, but not with other women. She sought the annulment in order to marry her lover, Robert Carr, 1st Earl Of Somerset . Because Somerset was a favourite of King James, the necessary annulment went through, enabling her remarriage. Sir Thomas Overbury , a close friend and advisor of Somerset, had tried to advise him not to marry Howard, but Carr was a desirable ally for the powerful Howard family. The family managed to get Overbury imprisoned, and Frances Howard had him poisoned through an agent. The Somersets were convicted of murder, but spared execution. The Occultist Simon Forman was also implicated in the Overbury affair — Frances Howard was one of his clients. Somerset and Howard had one daughter, Anne Carr, who married The Duke Of Bedford . References
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