The first full biography of Edward Seymour, kinsman of Tudor royalty, from Lord Protector of England to the block On the accession of the boy king, Edward VI in 1547, his uncle Edward Seymour became Lord Protector, Duke of Somerset and, overnight, the most powerful man in England. Foremost amongst the group of ambitious men who sought to govern, Seymour's usurpation of power set him on a course that ended on the block. To the common-folk Seymour was 'The Good Duke', but to his fellow councillors he was a traitor. This is a story of power and ambition, failure and execution. AUTHOR: Margaret Scard's especial interest in the Tudor period developed after researching sixteenth-century court life and household management at Hampton Court Palace. This is her second book and the extensive research it entailed has been underpinned by study at Oxford University and by her work as an interpretative historian at Hampton Court. She is the author of 'Tudor Survivor: The Life and Times of William Paulet' for The History Press. SELLING POINTS: . First full-length biography of Jane Seymour's brother - a man right at the centre of the Tudor era, bloodline and power . Edward VI wrote down the reasons for his uncle's execution: 'Ambition, vainglory, entering into rash wars in mine youth, enriching himself of my treasure, following his own opinion, and doing all by his own authority, etc.' . A controversial figure explored in detail . A reinterpretation of the intrigue surrounding Henry VIII's will. 25 b/w illustrations