Lord Protector is a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It
Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp was an English nobleman and politician who served as Lord Protector of England from 1547 to 1549 during the minority
Portrait of Edward Seymour as 1st Earl of Hertford (cr 1537)
Thomas Seymour, Lord Admiral and brother of Edward Seymour
One of Somerset's last desperate acts as Lord Protector was to request 1,000 troops from Sir Rowland Hill as Lord Mayor of London. Hill did not send assistance.
Execution of the Duke of Somerset, from a 19th-century book