Hertford, William Seymour, 1st marquess and 2d earl of definition of Hertford, William Seymour, 1st marquess and 2d earl of in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Hertford, William Seymour, 1st marquess and 2d earl of (här`fərd, härt`–), 1588–1660, English nobleman; great grandson of Edward Seymour, duke of Somerset Somerset, Edward Seymour, duke of, 1506?–1552, protector of England. He served on various military and diplomatic missions for Henry VIII and, after the marriage of his sister Jane to the king, was created Viscount Beauchamp (1536) and earl of Hertford (1537).
..... Click the link for more information. , and grandson of Lady Catherine Grey, through whom he had a claim to the throne. His secret marriage (1610) to Arabella Stuart Stuart or Stewart, Arabella, 1575–1615, cousin of James I of England (James VI of Scotland).
..... Click the link for more information. , cousin of James I, enraged the king, and he was imprisoned. He escaped and fled the country, but returned in 1616 after Arabella's death. Made a privy councillor (1640) and marquess of Hertford (1640), he fought for Charles I in the civil war. He received his ancestor's dukedom of Somerset at the Restoration (1660).