In March 1537 Elizabeth, Lady Ughtred wrote to Thomas Cromwell from York to seek his favour in acquiring one of the soon-to-be dissolved monasteries. Aged about 19, she was the widow of Sir Anthony Ughtred (who had died in 1534); a younger daughter of Sir John Seymour; and sister of Queen Jane Seymour and future Lord Protector Edward Seymour. The opportunity was not lost on Cromwell. He proposed instead that she marry his son and heir, Gregory. By June it appears that Cromwell's offer had been accepted, although Gregory had not been her only suitor. Sir Arthur Darcy had written to her on 15 June, regretting his loss: "If I do tarry here in the country, I would have been glad to have had you likewise, but sure it is, as I said, that some southern lord shall make you forget the North." The couple were married on 3 August 1537 at Mortlake.
