Frances Howard, Duchess of Richmond
| Frances Stuart | |
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| Duchess of Richmond Duchess of Lennox Countess of Hertford |
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Frances Howard as Countess of Hertford, by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger.
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| Spouse(s) | Henry Pranell Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox |
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Full name
Frances Howard
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| Noble family | House of Howard |
| Father | Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount Howard of Bindon |
| Mother | Mabel Burton |
| Born | 27 July 1578 |
| Died | 8 October 1639 (aged 61) |
Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, Countess of Hertford, née Howard (27 July 1578 – 8 October 1639) 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.
Frances Howard was the daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount Howard of Bindon (c. 1520–1582) and his wife Mabel Burton, daughter of Nicholas Burton. Lord Howard was the third and youngest son of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, by his second wife Elizabeth Stafford, daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham.
Orphaned at a young age, Frances Howard "was married off" to Henry Pranell, the son of a rich wine merchant and alderman and a patron of the Virginia Company, in early 1592. The marriage apparently displeased Lord Burghley, who had other plans for the descendant of two Dukes than marriage with a vintner; Pranell was moved to write a letter of apology to Burghley:
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