Catherine Howard, Countess of Nottingham
Catherine Carey | |
---|---|
Countess of Nottingham | |
Born | c. 1550 |
Died | 25 February 1603 (aged 52–53) Arundel House |
Buried | 25 April 1603 Chelsea Old Church |
Noble family | Carey |
Spouse(s) | Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham |
Issue | Frances Howard, Countess of Kildare William Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Effingham Charles Howard, 2nd Earl of Nottingham Margaret Howard Elizabeth Howard, Countess of Carrick |
Father | Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon |
Mother | Anne Morgan |
Occupation | First Lady of the Bedchamber to Elizabeth I |
Catherine Howard, Countess of Nottingham (
Life
Catherine Carey was the eldest daughter of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon and his wife Anne Morgan, daughter of Sir Thomas Morgan and Anne Whitney. Hunsdon was Queen Elizabeth's cousin, being the son of Mary Boleyn, and court gossip hinted at a closer connection, since Mary had been the mistress of Henry VIII. Catherine may have joined Elizabeth's household at Hatfield House as a child during the reign of Elizabeth's elder sister Mary. On Elizabeth's accession, Catherine and her younger sister Philadelphia came to court as maids of honour under the auspices of their aunt, Catherine Carey, the queen's first cousin and a Lady of the Bedchamber.[1][2]
In July 1563, Catherine married
Catherine was appointed First Lady of the Bedchamber by 1572.[4] Her daughter Elizabeth, the queen's goddaughter, was a maid of honour from 1576 until 1583, the year of her marriage. Her daughter Frances, dowager Countess of Kildare, and granddaughter Elizabeth Southwell joined her in the queen's inner circle in the 1590s. Her health began to decline in 1601, and she died at Arundel House on 25 February 1603, only weeks before the death of the queen she had served for 45 years. She was buried at Chelsea Old Church on 25 April 1603.[5]
Issue
The Earl and Countess of Nottingham had five children:
- Frances Howard (buried 11 July 1628). She was married first to Henry FitzGerald, 12th Earl of Kildare. She was secondly married to Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham.[6]
- William Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Effingham (27 December 1577 – 28 November 1615). Summoned to the Lords as 3rd Baron Howard of Effingham. He was married on 7 February 1596/1597 to Anne St John.
- Lord Mayor of Londonin 1619 and Mary Morris.
- Margaret Howard, married in 1587 wardshipwas awarded to her brother, William, on the death of Leveson and to her father in 1615.
- John Stewart, 1st Earl of Carrick, (d. 1644).[7]
The Countess and the legend of the Essex ring
There is a widely repeated romantic legend about a ring given by Queen Elizabeth to the
Some historians consider this story of the ring to be a myth, partly because there are no contemporaneous accounts of it. John Lingard in his history of England says the story appears to be fiction. Lytton Strachey states "Such a narrative is appropriate enough to the place where it was first fully elaborated—a sentimental novelette, but it does not belong to history",[citation needed] and Alison Weir calls it a fabrication.[8]
Nevertheless, this version of the story forms the basis of the plot of Gaetano Donizetti's opera Roberto Devereux, with a further twist added to the story, in that Essex is cheating on both the queen and his best friend by having an affair with Lady Nottingham (who in the opera is given the wrong first name of Sarah rather than Catherine): and that this turns out to be (a) the reason why Lord Nottingham turns against his now former friend, when he discovers the ring in question and prevents her sending it, and (b) is the ultimate reason for Queen Elizabeth withdrawing her support for Essex at his trial.
Notes
References
- Somerset, Anne (1984). Ladies in Waiting: From the Tudors to the present day. Knopf. ISBN 9780394520001.