Lettice Knollys
Lettice Knollys | |
---|---|
Penelope Rich Dorothy Percy, Countess of Northumberland Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Walter Devereux Francis Devereux Robert Dudley, Lord Denbigh | |
Parent(s) | Sir Francis Knollys Catherine Carey |
Lettice Knollys (
A grandniece of Elizabeth's mother,
The Countess was left rich under Leicester's will; yet the discharge of his overwhelming debts diminished her wealth. In 1604–1605 she successfully defended her widow's rights in court when her possessions and her good name were threatened by the Earl's
Family and upbringing
Lettice Knollys was born on 8 November 1543 at
Sir Francis and his wife were
First marriage and love affair
In late 1560 Lettice Knollys married
Walter Devereux was raised to the
When Walter Devereux returned to England in December 1575, the Spanish agent in London, Antonio de Guaras, reported:
As the thing is publicly talked of in the streets, there can be no harm in my writing openly about the great enmity between the Earl of Leicester and the Earl of Essex, in consequence, it is said, of the fact that while Essex was in Ireland his wife had two children by Leicester. ... Great discord is expected in consequence.[13]
These rumours were elaborated on years later in
The Earl of Essex returned to Ireland in July 1576. At Dublin, he died of dysentery on 22 September during an epidemic, bemoaning the "frailness of women" in his last words.[16] Rumours of poison, administered by Leicester, immediately sprang up and continued, notwithstanding an official investigation which concluded that Essex had died of natural causes.[17][18] His body was carried over to Carmarthen, where his widow attended the funeral.[1]
The Countess'
Marriage to Leicester and banishment from court
Lettice Knollys married Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester on 21 September 1578 at around seven o'clock in the morning. Only six other people were present at the Earl's
Leicester—a widower since 1560—had for many years been in hope of marrying Elizabeth herself, "for whose sake he had hitherto forborne marriage", as he confessed to Lord North.[22] He feared Elizabeth's reaction and insisted that his marriage be kept a secret. It did not remain one for long, the French ambassador, Michel de Castelnau, reporting it two months later.[1] When the Queen was told of the marriage the next year, she banished Lettice Dudley permanently from court; she never forgave her cousin, nor could she ever accept the marriage.[24][25] Even Lady Leicester's movements through London were resented by the Queen,[26] let alone summer visits to Kenilworth by husband and wife.[1]
Lettice Dudley continued to style herself Countess of Essex for several years into her new marriage.[1] She lived very discreetly, often with her relatives at the Knollys family home in Oxfordshire. In February 1580 she was expecting the birth of a child there. For the birth of Leicester's heir, Robert, Lord Denbigh, in June 1581, she moved to Leicester House on the Strand. A further advanced pregnancy was reported in September 1582 by the French ambassador, yet the outcome is again unknown.[1] The next year Lettice Dudley became officially resident at Leicester House, and Elizabeth was once again furious with the Earl "about his marriage, for he opened the same more plainly than ever before".[1] A few weeks later Michel de Castelnau was a guest at Leicester's palatial mansion: "He especially invited me to dine with him and his wife, who has much influence over him and whom he introduces only to those to whom he wishes to show a particular mark of attention."[27]
Robert Dudley had been close to the Knollys family since the early 1550s; several of Lettice's brothers had been in his service, and his marriage only enhanced his relations with her siblings. To his four stepchildren he was a concerned and generous stepfather.[1][28] The Dudleys' domestic life is partly documented in the Earl's accounts.[1] Lettice Dudley financed her personal expenses and servants out of her revenue as Dowager Countess of Essex,[29] and remained largely excluded from society life.[27]
The three-year-old Lord Denbigh died suddenly on 19 July 1584 at Wanstead. His death shattered the hopes of a dynasty for the House of Dudley.[23] Leicester stayed away from his court duties for a few weeks "to comfort my sorrowful wife for the loss of my little son, whom God has lately taken from us."[30] He also thanked Lord Burghley for—unsuccessfully—pleading with the Queen "on behalf of my poor wife. For truly my Lord, in all reason she is hardly dealt with."[31]
In 1585 Leicester led an English expedition to assist the rebellious
The Earl returned to England in December 1586, but was sent again to the Netherlands in the following June—to the grief of his wife, as the young Earl of Essex remarked in a letter.[1] Leicester eventually resigned his post in December 1587. The Countess was with him when he died unexpectedly, possibly of malaria, on 4 September 1588 at Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire; they had been on their way to Kenilworth and Buxton.[35] The Earl's funeral at Warwick in October 1588 was attended by his widow as well as numerous members of her family circle.[35][36]
Blount and Essex
Lettice Dudley was left a wealthy widow. Leicester's will appointed her as executrix and her income from both her husbands' jointures amounted to £3,000 annually, to which came plate and movables worth £6,000. However, her jointure was to suffer greatly from paying off Leicester's debts, which at some £50,000 were so overwhelming that she was advised to decline the responsibility of dealing with her husband's financial legacy.[1]
In March or April 1589, hardly six months after Leicester's death, Lettice married
Lettice's second son, Walter Devereux, died 1591 in France while on military duty,[42] and in subsequent years she was anxious for her elder son's safety. She addressed him "Sweet Robin", longing for his letters and helpless about his moodiness and depression.[43][44] In 1593, she sold Leicester House to him, after which it became known as Essex House. She moved to Drayton Bassett near Chartley in Staffordshire, which would be her main residence for the rest of her life.[1] Still banished from court, she saw no point in returning to London without being reconciled to Elizabeth. In December 1597, having heard from friends that "Her Majesty is very well prepared to hearken to terms of pacification", she prepared to do "a winter journey" if her son thought "it be to any purpose".[1] "Otherwise a country life is fittest for disgraced persons", she commented.[45] She travelled to London, staying at Essex House from January till March 1598,[1] and seeking a reconciliation with Elizabeth. At last a short meeting was granted, in which the Countess kissed the Queen and "the Queen kissed her", but nothing really changed.[45]
Essex was imprisoned in 1599 after returning from his command in Ireland without licence; his mother came to London to intercede for him with the Queen.[1] She tried to send Elizabeth a present in the form of a gown, which Elizabeth neither accepted nor refused.[46] Her efforts to get sight of her son made matters worse: "Mislike is taken that his mother and friends have been in a house that looks into York Garden where he uses to walk, and have saluted each other out of a window."[46] Both his military incompetence and his de facto abandonment of his post were condoned on that occasion, but rather than count his blessings and hold his peace, he became malcontent, chaffed at his failures, and fell into rebellion. During Essex' revolt, trial, and execution in February 1601, Lettice remained at Drayton Basset. The event was a comprehensive personal disaster for her, because she lost not only her son but also her beloved third husband, who was, she wrote, her "best friend".[1][40] Sir Christopher Blount was executed on 18 March 1601, three weeks after the execution of his stepson, to whom he had been a friend and confidant for many years.[1][37] Sir Christopher had taken in Mary Cresswell and after he died she was looked after by Lettice. Lettice was alarmed when she discovered that Cresswell was set on becoming a nun. With the aid of her chaplain she close to brainwashed the child until she finally accepted the Protestant faith. Cresswell's life story would in time be well known.[47]
Litigation and old age
The executions and
Even more than his debts, the Earl of Leicester's will triggered litigation. He had intended his
In 1603, Dudley initiated moves to prove that he was the legitimate son of his parents and thus the heir to the earldoms of Warwick and Leicester. If successful, this claim would not only have implied that Lettice Knollys' union with Leicester had been bigamous, but would also have nullified her jointure rights.[48]
Consequently, in February 1604, she filed a complaint against Dudley in the Star Chamber, accusing him of defamation. She was backed by Sir Robert Sidney, who considered himself the only legitimate heir of his uncles Leicester and Warwick. During the Star Chamber proceedings 56 former servants and friends of the Earl of Leicester testified that he had always regarded Dudley as his illegitimate son.[1] The other side was unable to cite clear evidence and the King's chief minister, Robert Cecil, thought it unwise to rake up the existing property settlement, so the outcome was in favour of Lady Leicester. All the evidence was impounded to preclude a resumption of the case.[1][48]
Throughout her life, Lettice Knollys cared for her siblings, children, and grandchildren.[49][50][51] Until their respective deaths in 1607 and 1619, her daughters Penelope and Dorothy were her closest companions. The young third Earl of Essex, also called Robert, shared much of his life with the old Countess at Chartley and Drayton Bassett.[1]
Still walking a mile a day at nearly 90, she died in her chair in the morning of 25 December 1634, aged 91.[1][52] Widely mourned as a symbol of a by-gone age, she wished to be buried "at Warwick by my dear lord and husband the Earl of Leicester with whom I desire to be entombed". Her request was respected and she came to rest in the Beauchamp Chapel of Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, opposite the tomb of her son, young Lord Denbigh.[1]
Ancestry
Ancestors of Lettice Knollys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Descendants
An episode of the genealogical television series Who Do You Think You Are? traced British comedian Josh Widdicombe's ancestry in direct line to Knollys, via his grandmother, a member of the Barings family.[62]
See also
- Cultural depictions of Elizabeth I of England
Notes
- Elizabeth Jenkinsin 1961 (Jenkins 2002 p. 236) and Derek Wilson in 1981 (Adams 2008a). The marriage events were detailed in witness depositions by the guests before a notary on 13 March 1581 to secure the legitimacy of the child which the Countess of Leicester was carrying. They include the chaplain's observation about her dress (Adams 2008a).
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq Adams 2008a
- ^ Lacey 1971 p. 15
- ^ Hammer 1999 p. 280
- ^ Varlow 2007 pp. 23–24
- ^ Varlow 2007 p. 22
- ^ a b c d Varlow 2007 p. 24
- ^ Hammer 1999 p. 22
- ^ Jenkins 2002 p. 124
- ^ Jenkins 2002 p. 125
- ^ Varlow 2007 p. 28
- ^ Varlow 2007 p. 44
- ^ Jenkins 2002 pp. 211–212
- ^ a b Jenkins 2002 p. 212
- ^ Wilson 1981 pp. 251–255
- ^ Jenkins 2002 p. 293
- ^ Freedman 1983 pp. 22–23; 33–34
- ^ Freedman 1983 pp. 33–34
- ^ Jenkins 2002 p. 217
- ^ Freedman 1983 pp. 28–29
- ^ a b Freedman 1983 p. 29
- ^ Freedman 1983 pp. 29–30
- ^ a b Jenkins 2002 pp. 234–235
- ^ a b c Hammer 1999 p. 35
- ^ Hammer 1999 pp. 33–34, 46
- ^ Wilson 1981 pp. 230–231
- ^ Hammer 1999 p. 46
- ^ a b Jenkins 2002 p. 280
- ^ Adams 1995 pp. 49, 182, 181
- ^ Adams 1995 p. 28
- ^ Jenkins 2002 p. 287
- ^ Wilson 1981 p. 247
- ^ a b Bruce 1844 p. 112
- ^ Bruce 1844 p. 144
- ^ Jenkins 2002 pp. 312, 314–315
- ^ a b Adams 2008b
- ^ Varlow 2007 p. 106
- ^ a b c d e f Hammer 2008
- ^ Varlow 2007 p. 109–110
- ^ Adams 2002 p. 190
- ^ a b Freedman 1983 p. 74
- ^ Jenkins 2002 p. 361
- ^ Varlow 2007 pp. 134, 136
- ^ Freedman 1983 pp. 119, 122
- ^ Varlow 2007 p. 200
- ^ a b Freedman 1983 pp. 121-122
- ^ a b Freedman 1983 p. 135
- required.)
- ^ a b c Adams 2008c
- ^ Slater 2007
- ^ Freedman 1983 pp. 8–9, 119–120
- ^ Varlow 2007 p. 271
- ^ Jenkins 2002 p. 368
- ^ a b c Lee, Sidney (1892). Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 31. London: Smith, Elder & Co. . In
- ^ a b Cokayne, G.E.; Gibbs, Vicary; Doubleday, H.A.; White, Geoffrey H.; Warrand, Duncan; de Walden, Lord Howard, eds. (2000). The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant. Vol. I (new ed.). Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing. p. 400.
- ^ a b c d Lee, Frederick George (1883). The History, Description and Antiquities of the Prebendal Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Thame, in the County and Diocese of Oxford. Mitchell and Hughes. pp. 591–592.
- ^ a b c Chambers, E.K. (1936). Sir Henry Lee: An Elizabethan Portrait. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 7, 16, 247.
- ^ a b c d Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Vol. 1 (107th ed.). Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. p. 1382.
- ^ a b Cokayne et al. (2000), v. VI, p. 627.
- ^ a b Weir, Alison (1999). Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: The Bodley Head. p. 106.
- ^ a b Louda, Jirí; MacLagan, Michael (1999). Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe (2nd ed.). London: Little, Brown and Company. table 10.
- ^ a b Mosley (2003), v. 2, p. 2906.
- ^ "Josh Widdicombe". Who Do You Think You Are?. Series 18. Episode 1. 12 October 2021. BBC.
References
- Adams, Simon (ed.) (1995): Household Accounts and Disbursement Books of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, 1558–1561, 1584–1586 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-55156-0
- Adams, Simon (2002): Leicester and the Court: Essays in Elizabethan Politics Manchester: Manchester University Press ISBN 0-7190-5325-0
- Adams, Simon (2008a): "Dudley, Lettice, countess of Essex and countess of Leicester (1543–1634)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biographyonline edn. Jan 2008 (subscription required) Retrieved 2010-06-27
- Adams, Simon (2008b): "Dudley, Robert, earl of Leicester (1532/3–1588)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biographyonline edn. May 2008 (subscription required) Retrieved 2010-04-03
- Adams, Simon (2008c): "Dudley, Sir Robert (1574–1649)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biographyonline edn. Jan 2008 (subscription required) Retrieved 2010-04-03
- Bruce, John (ed.) (1844): Correspondence of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leycester, during his Government of the Low Countries, in the Years 1585 and 1586 London: Camden Society
- Freedman, Sylvia (1983): Poor Penelope: Penelope Rich. An Elizabethan Woman London: The Kensal Press ISBN 0-946041-20-2
- Hammer, P.E.J. (1999): The Polarisation of Elizabethan Politics: The Political Career of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex 1585–1597 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-01941-9
- Hammer, P.E.J. (2008): "Blount, Sir Christopher (1555/6–1601)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biographyonline edn. Jan. 2008 (subscription required) Retrieved 2010-04-04
- Hume, Martin (ed.) (1896): Calendar of...State Papers Relating to English Affairs...in...Simancas 1558–1603 Vol. III London: HMSO
- ISBN 1-84212-560-5
- ISBN 0-297-00320-8
- Slater, Victor (2007): "Knollys, William, first earl of Banbury (c.1545–1632)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biographyonline edn. Oct 2007 (subscription required) Retrieved 2010-04-11
- Varlow, Sally (2007): The Lady Penelope: The Lost Love and Politics in the Court of Elizabeth I London: André Deutsch ISBN 0-233-00265-0
- Wilson, Derek (1981): Sweet Robin: A Biography of Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester 1533–1588 London: Hamish Hamilton ISBN 0-241-10149-2