Anne Hamilton, Countess of Huntly
Anne Hamilton | |
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Countess of Huntly | |
Born | c. 1535 Maid of Honour |
Anne Hamilton, Countess of Huntly (c. 1535 – after 17 April 1574), was a Scottish noblewoman and a member of the powerful Hamilton family which had a strong claim to the Scottish crown. Her father
In her teens, Anne entered
Family
Lady Anne was born in
Anne had three younger sisters and five brothers, including James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran, John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Hamilton, and Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley. James, who was declared legally insane on 9 April 1562, had aspired to marry Queen Mary,[2] and at one point in 1562, there was a rumour spread throughout the realm that he had planned to abduct her. Although the rumour proved false, the eccentric James would, throughout his life, nurse a neurotic obsession for his royal cousin.[3]
Early life
On the infant Queen Mary's accession to the throne, Anne's father, James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, became Regent of Scotland until 1554, when he surrendered the post to Mary's mother Mary of Guise. Mary of Guise visited France in 1551. On her return in December, Anne was bought magnificent clothes to join Guise's household as a lady-in-waiting and maid of honour. The clothes included; a grey velvet gown; a crimson velvet gown with gold passementerie; four hoods and sets of sleeves; red stockings; with a sponge, a rubbing brush and a pair of knives. Her father had already bought her several fine gowns, made by John Anderson, all paid for from the royal exchequer.[4]
Anne was ill in March and April 1552. She recovered, perhaps with the help of drugs bought from Guise's apothecary and surgeon costing £20.[5] At this time her servants were Effame Hamilton, Gilbert Ruthven and William Forrester. Effame, who was called Anne's keeper, sewed her clothes and kept the fire in Anne's chamber.[6] Anne's older sister Barbara Hamilton married Alexander Gordon, Lord Gordon. Lady Gordon and Lady Anne travelled with Mary of Guise to the west of Scotland in March 1553. Lady Anne went to Falkland Palace in June.[7] Soon after, their father resigned the regency to Mary of Guise, and thereafter the Crown records no longer documented Anne's expenses.[8]
Marriage and issue
On 12 March 1558,[9] Lady Anne married George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly, son of George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly and Elizabeth Keith. He would become one of the chief conspirators in the realm during the reign of Queen Mary.
Anne was described as having '"shown a mettle which outstripped that of her husband".[10] The marriage produced four children:
- Lady Jean Gordon (died after 29 December 1615), married George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness, son of John Sinclair, Master of Caithness and Jean Hepburn, by whom she had five children.
- George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly (1562 – 13 June 1636), married Henrietta Stewart (1573–1642), daughter of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox and Catherine de Balsac, by whom he had seven children, including George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly.
- Alexander Gordon (died January 1622), married Lady Agnes Sinclair.
- William Gordon, a monk.
Anne's husband was warded at
Anne was well regarded by Mary, Queen of Scots, and she was the only Hamilton mentioned in her will made in June 1566 before the birth of
Anne's brother
Anne Hamilton died sometime after 17 April 1574.
Ancestry
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References
- ^ Antonia Fraser, Mary, Queen of Scots, pp.17-18
- ^ Fraser, pp.28, 128-129
- ^ Fraser, p.196
- ^ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1913), pp. xvii, 19, 28, 37-39: Melanie Schuessler Bond, Dressing the Scottish Court: 1543-1553 (Boydell: Woodbridge, 2019), pp. 453, 459-481.
- ^ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1913), pp. 65, 74.
- ^ Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1913), p. 42.
- ^ Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1913), p. 185.
- ^ Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 10, (Edinburgh, 1913), pp. xvii, 206.
- ^ "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ Fraser, p. 168
- ^ Fraser, p. 306
- ^ Fraser, pp. 341–342, 409
- ^ Fraser, pp. 420–421
- ^ thePeerage.com
- Antonia Fraser, Mary, Queen of Scots, Dell Publishing Co., Inc., New York, March 1971, originally published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1969
- www.thePeerage.com/p2100.htm#20995
- www.Stirnet.com