Early Years
Nicholas Throckmorton was the fourth of eight sons of Sir George Throckmorton of Coughton Court, near Alcester in Warwickshire and Hon. Katherine, daughter of Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden and Hon. Elizabeth FitzHugh, the former Lady Parr. Nicholas was an uncle of the conspirator Francis Throckmorton. He was brought up in the households of members of the Parr family, including that of his cousin Catherine Parr, the last queen consort of Henry VIII. He got acquainted with young Lady Elizabeth when he was serving in the household of the dowager queen and her new husband Lord Seymour and became a close confidant. In his youth he also became favourable to the Protestant reformation.
After the execution of Lord Thomas Seymour in 1549 and the downfall of the Duke of Somerset in the same year, Throckmorton managed to distance himself from those affairs and eventually became the part of the circle of John Dudley and confidant of the young king Edward VI.
He sat in Parliament from 1545 to 1567, initially as the member for Maldon and then in 1547 for Devizes (a seat previously held by his brother Clement Throckmorton). During the reign of Edward VI he was in high favour with the regents.
In 1547, he was present at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh during the invasion of Scotland. He was knighted in 1551, and the title included numerous benefits, including land grants, that gave him financial security. He held the post of under-treasurer at the Tower mint from 1549 to 1552. In March 1553 he was elected knight of the shire for Northamptonshire and then MP for Old Sarum (Nov 1553), Lyme Regis (1559) and Tavistock (1563).
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