Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

Gregory Cromwell was the son of Thomas Cromwell and Elizabeth Wyckes. His father arranged a careful education and, in 1537, a prestigious marriage to Elizabeth Seymour, sister of Queen Jane Seymour. The match tied the Cromwell family to one of the most rapidly rising noble families of Henry VIII’s reign.

Thomas Cromwell’s arrest and execution in 1540 did not destroy Gregory’s career. He was restored to royal favour and created Baron Cromwell later that year, establishing a peerage independent of his father’s attainder. Gregory and Elizabeth had children and maintained their position until his death in 1551.

In Carol McGrath’s The Queen’s Sister, Gregory is a principal historical character whose marriage to Elizabeth Seymour places their household between the fortunes of the Seymour family and the political rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell.