Tag Archives: lady-in-waiting

Family of Queen Katherine: Helena, Marchioness of Northampton

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Helena, Marchioness of Northampton c.1603 by Robert Peake, the elder. She’s wearing coronation robes for the coronation of James I.
Inscription, top left reads:
“Helena, Relict of WillmParr
Marquis of Northampton, and wife to
Sir Thos Gorge of Longford near
Salisbury, Daughter of Wafancus
Knacenburg of Sweden. She was
Chife Mourner at the Funeral of
Queen Elizabeth April 28, 1603.”
(Wikipedia)

Helena Parr, marchioness of Northampton (1548-1635), a courtier, was born in 1548 in Sweden, the daughter of Ulf Henriksson (d. 1560×68), a nobleman of Östergötland, and his wife, Agneta Knuttson (d. after 1568). Helena (Elin) had two brothers and several sisters. Her father was a supporter of Gustav Vasa, king of Sweden, and came from the old noble family of Bååt, while her mother was a descendant of the jarls or earls of Orkney. The name Snakenborg was taken from her mother’s family, which was originally from Mecklenburg.

Helena was one of six young Swedish girls appointed from 1564 to 1566 as maids of honour to Princess Cecilia, margravine of Baden, daughter of Gustav Vasa. Late in 1564, when she was fifteen, they embarked on a voyage to England. It was rumoured that Cecilia decided to visit England to revive the suit of her brother Erik XIV to marry Elizabeth I, but it is not clear that this was the case. Taking a roundabout route over land and travelling through Poland and Germany, in order to steer clear of hostile countries, the party was so hampered by bad weather that almost a year passed before it reached its destination.

‘A Young Lady Aged 21, Possibly Helena Snakenborg, Later Marchioness of Northampton’
1569. (Tate Museum)

On its arrival in England many prominent members of the nobility received the party. Helena was by all accounts a beautiful woman, having large brown eyes, red hair, and a perfect pink and white complexion. She caught the attention of William Parr, marquess of Northampton (1513-1571), nobleman and courtier, the third and only surviving son of
Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal, Westmorland, and his wife, Maud. He soon endeavored to court her. Northampton presented her with many
extravagant gifts such as clothes and jewels, and ‘being an impressionable and romantic young girl, Helena was swept off her feet by the experienced older man’ (James, 395). Cecilia built up large debts due to a lavish lifestyle and left England in April 1566 in order to escape her creditors. She wanted to take Helena back to Sweden with her; however, her young maid, enjoying life in her new country and becoming
close to the marquess, was keen to remain. This wish was granted through Elizabeth’s influence.

Northampton hoped to marry Helena but felt prevented from doing so because, although divorced in 1551, his first wife, Lady Anne Bourchier, was still alive. Elizabeth was fond of Helena and appointed her a maid of honour from about 1567, before promoting her to gentlewoman of her privy chamber-a highly respected position at the heart of the court in
which she was among the queen’s most intimate servants and controlled access by the press of courtiers. She was entitled to many privileges,
such as her own lodgings at court, servants, and a horse. However, she was not a waged member of the privy chamber and it is not known how
regularly she attended court. Bourchier died on 26 January 1571 and Northampton and Helena were finally able to marry in May. The wedding
took place in Elizabeth’s presence in the queen’s closet at Whitehall Palace. The bride was twenty-two and the groom fifty-seven. They seemed
happy together and divided their time between their houses in Guildford, Surrey, and at Stanstead Hall, Essex. The marriage came to a sudden end within a few months when the marquess died on 28 October in Thomas
Fisher’s house in Warwick. There were no children. The marchioness received a substantial dower of £368 per annum, drawn from her husband’s estates in Cumberland. This may have been exchanged for lands worth £400 per annum in Huntingdonshire.

It was not too long before Helena captivated another admirer, Thomas Gorges [see below]. The queen was originally in favour of his approaches
to Helena but changed her mind and refused to consent to a marriage, perhaps as a result of her notorious sexual jealousy regarding gentlewomen of her privy chamber or because she had strong views on unequal marriages; Helena was a marchioness and Gorges only a gentleman.
The couple wed in secret about 1576. When Elizabeth learned of their deceit, Helena was banned from court, although she was later reinstated, possibly with the help of her influential friend Thomas Radcliffe, third
earl of Sussex, the lord chamberlain. The queen warmed to her again and with wholly uncharacteristic generosity granted her manors in Huntingdonshire and Wiltshire.

The couple’s first child was born in June
1578 and named Elizabeth (1578-1659) after the queen, who was her godmother. Their first son, Francis (d. in or before 1599), was probably
born in 1579. Gorges was persuaded by his wife to make his property of Longford, Wiltshire, bought after 1573, more appealing by rebuilding it.
The mansion had been damaged by fire when he acquired it and a replacement was completed at great expense by 1591, under the final
supervision of John Thorpe, since the entrance on its north-east front bears that date. Longford was the model for the ‘Castle of Amphialeus’
in Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia. Gorges was knighted in 1586. During this time Helena settled down to raise her family. She had two more
daughters, Frances (1580-1649) and Bridget (1584-c.1634), and four more sons, all of whom were knighted: Edward Gorges, first Baron Gorges of
Dundalk (b. 1582/3, d. in or before 1652); Theobald (1583-1647); Robert (1588-1648); and Thomas (b. 1589, d. after 1624).

Queen Elizabeth I’s Funeral Procession. Part of The Funeral Procession of Queen Elizabeth From a Drawing of the Time, Supposed to be by the Hand of William Camden (Society of Antiquaries, 1791). Folding panorama nearly 29 feet long.
Zoom in for Helena, Marchioness of Northampton.
Look and Learn / Peter Jackson Collection

The marchioness was still valued highly by Elizabeth and often acted as her deputy at the baptism of the children of distinguished noblemen, particularly towards the end of the reign, when the queen’s health was deteriorating. Helena must have been distressed when Elizabeth, whose friendship and guidance she had known ever since her arrival in England,
died in March 1603 and she was the chief mourner in the funeral procession as senior peeress because Arabella Stuart refused to
undertake the role. The accession of James VI to the English throne paved the way for the removal of many of Elizabeth’s old courtiers and
Gorges was demoted. Helena did not retain all her privileges but was probably glad to escape the rivalry that existed among the gentlewomen
of the privy chamber to Anne of Denmark. After Gorges died on 30 March 1610 at the age of seventy-four, Helena increasingly retreated from
public life, although she remained a devoted member of the Church of England.

Helena, Marchioness of Northampton and Sir Thomas Gorges in Salisbury Cathedral.

Helena died on 10 April 1635 at Redlynch, Somerset, the residence of her son Sir Robert Gorges, and was buried on 14 May in Salisbury Cathedral. She had no fewer than ninety-two direct descendants at the time. She granted over £1700 in annuities and bequests in her will.

Sir Thomas Gorges (1536-1610), courtier, was born in Wraxall, Somerset, the fifth son of Sir Edward Gorges, landowner, of Wraxall, and his wife, Mary, daughter of Sir Anthony Poyntz of Iron Acton, Gloucestershire, and his wife, Elizabeth. He was a member of the royal household, groom of the privy chamber from 31 December 1571, JP for Huntingdon and Wiltshire
from about 1579, special ambassador to Sweden in 1582, and MP for Longford, Wiltshire, in 1586, as well as keeper of many important royal
estates. Gorges acted as Elizabeth’s ‘high grade messenger’ (HoP, Commons, 1558-1603, 2.208). He was one of the wealthiest gentlemen in
Wiltshire. Gorges, like his wife, was buried in Salisbury Cathedral.

Sources

C. A. Bradford, Helena, marchioness of Northampton (1936) · S.
E. James, Kateryn Parr: the making of a queen (1999), 394-7 · HoP,
Commons, 1558-1603, 2.208 · will, TNA: PRO, PROB 11/167, sig. 41 · TNA:
PRO, PROB 11/116, sig. 64 · administration, TNA: PRO, PROB 6/2, fol. 22r
· GEC, Peerage, 4.16
Paul Harrington, ‘Gorges , Helena, Lady Gorges [other married name Helena Parr, marchioness of Northampton] (1548-1635)’, Oxford Dictionary
of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/69751

Further reading

Roses Have Thorns: A Novel of Elizabeth I
Sandra Byrd

Tate Gallery Report, 1960-61, pp.16-17 Gunnar Sjogren, ‘Portrait of a young lady, 1569; an identification’, Burlington Magazine, October 1980, pp.698-700

Ladies-in-Waiting: Elizabeth, Countess of Lincoln

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elizabeth fitzgerald countess lincoln

Portrait of Lady Elizabeth FitzGerald, Countess of Lincoln, known as “The Fair Geraldine” (1527-1589), second daughter by his second wife of the 9th Earl of Kildare. After Master of Countess of Warwick.

Lady Elizabeth FitzGerald, Countess of Lincoln (1527 – March 1590) was the daughter of Gerald “Gearóid Óg” FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, Lord Deputy of Ireland, and his second wife, Lady Elizabeth Grey. By her mother, she was a great-granddaughter of Queen consort Elizabeth Woodville and Lady Katherine Neville; sister of “Warwick, the Kingmaker”.

Her father was a prisoner in The Tower of London. In 1533, as a young girl, she came to England with her mother. In 1537, her half-brother and five uncles were executed at Tyburn for their part in the uprising and rebellion against King Henry VIII. At the time, Elizabeth was sent to the household of Lady Mary Tudor, eldest daughter of Henry VIII, at Hunsdon. Her younger brothers were sent to be raised alongside Prince Edward; heir to the throne.

When Elizabeth was eleven or twelve, the Earl of Surrey (Henry Howard) decided to write a poem about her–probably to improve her chances at marrying. Truth being that Elizabeth was an impoverished, Irish born gentlewoman who depended upon the welfare of The Tudors to improve her lot in life. The poem that is believed to be written about “Fair Geraldine” reads:

“From Tuscane came my lady’s worthy race ;
Fair Florence was sometime her ancient seat.
The western isle whose pleasant shore doth face
Wild Camber’s cliffs, did give her lively heat.
Foster’d she was with milk of Irish breast :
Her sire an Earl, her dame of Prince’s blood.
From tender years, in Britain doth she rest,
With Kinges child ; where she tasteth costly food.
Hunsdon did first present her to mine eyen :
Bright is her hue, and Geraldine she hight.
Hampton me taught to wish her first for mine ;
And Windsor, alas ! doth chase me from her sight.
Her beauty of kind ; her virtues from above ;
Happy is he that may obtain her love!.“

In 1543, Elizabeth married Sir Anthony Browne of Cowdray Park, son of Sir Anthony and Lady Lucy Neville, daughter of Sir John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu; brother to “Warwick, the Kingmaker”. As such, the two were cousins. This marriage also made Elizabeth aunt to another lady-in-waiting of Queen Katherine Parr, Lucy, Lady Latimer. Elizabeth was Browne’s second wife. With this marriage, Elizabeth took on the raising of stepchildren. Her stepdaughter, Mabel Browne, would marry Elizabeth’s brother, Gerald, 11th Earl of Kildare and become Countess of Kildare. His other daughter, Lucy, would marry a grandson of Sir Thomas More, Thomas Roper.

Anthony Browne’s mother had been previously married to Sir Thomas FitzWilliam and was thus a half brother to Sir William FitzWilliam, later Earl of Southampton. FitzWilliam had been an executor of Lady Maud Parr’s will. The FitzWilliam family was kin to the Parr family.

Browne’s career at court started around 1518. His career somewhat resembled that of his half-brother, William FitzWilliam. However, since the age of ten, William had been brought up in the household of Henry VIII. Browne probably owed his career at court to his mother who had been a niece of “Warwick, the Kingmaker”. Browne became friends with people such as Sir Thomas Boleyn. He had probably been previously acquainted with Sir Thomas Parr, who’s mother was also a niece of Warwick. Sadly, Parr died in 1517 cancelling any chances of becoming a greater Tudor statesman. Browne went to France where he spent time with Boleyn. By 1519, he was recalled to England. In his youth he took to jousting and was at the Field of the Cloth of Gold where he distinguished himself as a fine jouster. He became Ambassador to France in 1527 and as he spent more time at the court, his antipathy grew towards the French. He took part in the suppression of the Northern Rebellion. In 1538, Lady Margaret of Clarence, Countess of Salisbury was imprisoned at Cowdray until September 1539. Margaret was the last Plantagenet from the House of York. She had been the niece of Edward IV and Richard III, and cousin to Browne, by his mother, as Margaret descended from Warwick. Browne was then part of the commission that questioned Queen Catherine Howard after her supposed infidelities had been made known to the King. Browne even had hand written evidence given to him by one of the Queen’s ladies. He examined the Duchess of Norfolk on Catherine’s previous relations and was part of the commission that tried Dereham and Culpepper at Guildhall. By 1542, he had been appointed Captain of the gentlemen pensioners. In 1543, Browne was an attendant at the wedding of Henry VIII to his sixth and final wife, the Dowager Lady Latimer (Katherine Parr). In 1544, he served under Norfolk in the French War. In the defensive wars of 1545 and 1546, he was securing coastal defenses and advising the Earl of Hertford’s on troops and other such things. In 1547, Browne took part in the trial of the Earl of Surrey and questioned the Duke of Norfolk; of which he had been well acquainted.

Upon the death of Sir Anthony on 28 April 1548, Elizabeth joined the household of the Dowager Queen Katherine (Parr) at Chelsea. At this point, Katherine had married Lord Seymour and the two were living together. It is said, at this point, that Elizabeth renewed her friendship with Lady Elizabeth Tudor, who was also living with the Queen. However, Elizabeth Tudor would later be sent away from the household after the Queen would discover what her husband’s real intentions for Elizabeth were. So it’s not known how much time the two actually spent together.

Edward Fiennes Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln

“Edward Clinton, Earl of Lincoln, 1584”, portrait by unknown artist, National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG 900

In 1552, Elizabeth married to Edward Clinton, 9th Baron Clinton who was later created Earl of Lincoln. Elizabeth was the third wife of Lord Clinton. By his previous wives he had, had children and once again, Elizabeth would take on the role of stepmother. One stepdaughter was Katherine Clinton, who married William Burgh, who became the 2nd Baron Burgh. William was the younger brother to Queen Katherine Parr’s first husband, Sir Edward Burgh. Another stepdaughter, Frances, would marry to Giles Brydges, 3rd Baron Chandos of Sudeley Castle; where Queen Katherine Parr is buried.

Edward Clinton was the son of Thomas, 8th Baron Clinton and Jane Poynings. His stepfather was Sir Robert Wingfield, who was a nephew of Elizabeth Wingfield, grandmother of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. He married firstly to Elizabeth Blount, the mistress of King Henry VIII and mother to Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond in 1534. As such, there was a connection to the Parr family as Elizabeth Blount had been a lady to Queen Katherine of Aragon with Lady Maud Parr and Parr’s son, William, grew up in the household of Fitzroy. The two families were no doubt close to each other. After the death of Elizabeth, Clinton married secondly to Ursula Stourton, a niece of John Dudley, later Duke of Northumberland. By Ursula, Clinton had further issue, including his male heir.

Clinton became the 9th Lord Clinton upon his father’s death. He appears in history when King Henry VIII took on Boulogne, France in 1532. Lord Clinton took part in the suppression of the Northern Rebellion in 1536. Certain land holdings of the Abbeys were leased to Clinton, but later give to the King’s brother-in-law, the Duke of Suffolk. When the Duke of Richmond died in 1536, Clinton took on the role of Admiral of England. At that time, his wife, Elizabeth Blount, returned to court as a lady to Anne of Cleves. She would die shortly after. His next wife, Ursula, would take Elizabeth’s place at court as the new Lady Clinton. Clinton would serve in the Royal Navy from 1544-1547. He was knighted in 1544 by Edward, Earl of Hertford. Like Elizabeth FitzGerald’s former husband, Clinton also served Henry VIII in the siege of Boulougne in 1544 while Queen Katherine Parr was Regent of England. Clinton was appointed Governor of Bolougne in 1547 and defended the city against French attacks from 1549-50.

Later on in life, Elizabeth and her husband were involved in the plot to raise Lady Jane Grey to Queen, but like other nobility–they distanced themselves enough to prove to be loyal to Queen Mary. The pardon probably came from Clinton’s willingness to suppress the Wyatt Rebellion. Elizabeth may have also been remembered from her days in Mary’s household and was thus excused from her part in the charade. Others were not so fortunate. For example — Sir William Parr, Marquess of Northampton (brother to the late Queen) was not excused and was sent to The Tower. Anne Parr’s husband, however, who had married his daughter to Lady Jane’s sister, immediately annulled the union and they gained favor with Queen Mary again.

Elizabeth_FitzGerald

When Queen Mary died, her half sister, Elizabeth, became Queen. Elizabeth took on Elizabeth, Lady Clinton, as a lady-in-waiting and the two became good friends. However, Elizabeth got into some sort of trouble with the Queen and was accused of “frailty” and “forgetfulness of her duty”. The charges against Elizabeth were made by Archbishop Parker who also declared that she should be “chastised in Bridewell”. Historian, David Starkey, concludes that Parker thought Elizabeth was a strumpet.

Under the rule of Elizabeth, Lord Clinton continued his role as Lord High Admiral from 1559-1585. In 1569, Elizabeth used her husband’s position as Lord Admiral to seize a ship that had been stolen. The man involved was arrested and Elizabeth kept the ship and cargo. In 1572, Lord Clinton stifled the Rising of the North brought about by the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland. For his service, Lord Clinton was created Earl of Lincoln.

Clinton Fiennes 1st Earl of Lincoln

Edward Clinton, (1512–1585) 1st Earl of Lincoln, 9th Baron Clinton KG. Source: European Heraldry

Clinton died in 1585. In his will, he left the bulk of his estates to his wife for life.

Elizabeth, Countess of Lincoln died in 1590. She was buried in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK, with her second husband, the Earl of Lincoln.

Links

Sources

Ladies-in-Waiting: Anne, Lady Walsingham

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Anne Jerningham (d.1559), daughter of Sir Edward Jerningham (died 6 January 1515) of Somerleyton, Suffolk, by Margaret Bedingfield (died 24 March 1504), daughter of Sir Edmund (1443-1496) and Alice Shelton (d. about 1478). Sir Edmund fought under the 13th Earl of Oxford at the Battle of Stoke on 15 July 1487. In that year he also entertained King Henry VII at Oxburgh. Edmund was married twice. Anne was one of the eight children born to Sir Edward Jerningham and Margaret. After the death of her mother, Anne’s father married to Mary Scrope by which she had five more siblings.[3]

In March 1516, Henry Brandon was born to the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk. He was christened with the pomp befitting of a nephew of King Henry VIII. As Lady Grey, Anne was responsible for carrying the infant into the hall. Anne was accompanied by Sir Humphrey Banaster, who bore the train, Lord Thomas Dacre, Chamberlain of the Duchess, her husband Lord Edward Grey, and a group of about 40 ladies. Anne’s prominence at the christening is attributed to her closeness to the Duchess, the Dowager French Queen. Anne accompanied the Princess to meet her bridegroom, Louis XII of France. Anne attended the wedding and was one of the English ladies who was allowed to stay on at court in France. When Louis died, Anne was kept on as a lady when the Queen married the Duke of Suffolk. Anne appeared at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.[1]

Anne is noted in the Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII as being paid 100s for her half year’s wages.[3]

In 1517, Lord Edward Grey died leaving Anne a widow. Edward had been the eldest son and heir of the 1st Marquess of Dorset and a grandson of King Edward IV’s queen, Elizabeth Woodville. Upon Edward’s death, Anne’s stepmother tried to quickly set her up with John, Lord Berkeley, a ward of the Duke of Suffolk. Outraged by this setup, the Duke wrote Thomas Wolsey on 17 March 1517, saying: “I had liever have spent a thousand pounds than any such pageants should have been done within the queen’s household and mine.”[1] However, this marriage may have taken place or she was later married to a man of the Berkeley family as in her will she names sons with the surname Berkeley.[2]

Anne’s second husband was Henry Barley of Albury (1487-12 November 1529). Barley was the son of William and Elizabeth Darcy, daughter of Sir Robert Darcy. Barley had been previously married to Elizabeth, daughter of John Northwood. Barley’s father, William, was attained for treason for supporting Perkin Warbeck in 1495, but was pardoned three years later. The Barleys’ are noted for a Star Chamber case in which a rector accused them of malicious persecution and destruction of church property. The Barleys’ sued for slander. In the end, the Barleys’ admitted to some of the behaviors, but they alleged that the rector had used Albury to pass through and have an illicit affair with the wife of a parishioner. It turns out the husband may have made payments to hush up the affair. Whatever the story was, the truth was never uncovered. The whole case showed the Barleys’ anti-clericalism.  The Barleys’ owned a considerable amount of land in Essex. Barley was considered to be one of the wealthiest men in Hertfordshire. Barley was at Parliament in 1529, which probably pleased the King. Sadly, eight days later Barley was dead.[4]

When Barley died in 1529, Anne married Sir Robert Drury two years later. Drury was linked to the Duke of Suffolk. When he died in 1535, Drury willed Anne and his sons various household items, plate, and livestock.[1] Drury had been Speaker of the House of Commons.

At the time of her marriage to Sir Edmund Walsingham, Anne was the widow of three husbands. When Walsingham died in 1550, Anne was willed 40 pounds, jewelry, plate, and property.[1]

Anne died in 1559. She was buried beside her first husband, Lord Edward Grey at St. Clement Danes in London.[1]

Sources

  1. Carole Levin, Anna Riehl Bertolet, Jo Eldridge Carney. A Biographical Encyclopedia of Early Modern Englishwomen: Exemplary Lives and Memorable Acts, 1500-1650. 2016. Google eBook
  2. Oxford-Shakespeare.com Will of Lady Anne Grey
  3. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic of the Reign of Henry VIII: Preserved in the Public Record Office, the British Museum and Elsewhere in England, Volume 2, Part 2. Google eBook
  4. History of Parliament: 1509-1558.

 

The Queen’s Sister: Lady Anne Herbert, Countess of Pembroke

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Anne Parr, Lady Pembroke from Wilton Parish Church

Lady Anne Herbert [Parr], Countess of Pembroke, Baroness Herbert of Cardiff (15 June 1515 – 20 February 1552) was a noblewoman and the younger sister of Queen Katherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII.

Anne is one of the few Tudor women to boast the fact that she was a lady-in-waiting to each of Henry’s six wives. Anne had an older brother, Sir William Parr, who among other creations, became Earl of Essex and 1st Marquess of Northampton. William was an influential man during the late reign of Henry VIII and that of Edward VI. Northampton was known as “the King’s uncle.” Northampton would also go on to become a loyal friend and ally of Queen Elizabeth I. Anne’s husband, Lord Pembroke, was also one of the most influential men during the reign of Edward VI and was rewarded with the title of 1st Earl of Pembroke.

Anne Parr was born on 15 June 1515 to Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal and Dame Maud Green, co-heiress of Sir Thomas Green, Lord of Greens Norton. She was the youngest surviving child of five; having an older sister Katherine, later Queen of England and Ireland, her brother William, and two other siblings. The first baby born to Anne’s mother was a boy. He died shortly after and Maud did not have another child until the birth of Katherine in 1512. In 1517, when she was two years old, her father died of the sweating sickness leaving her mother a widow, pregnant at twenty-five, and with the grave responsibility of guarding the inheritance of the Parr children.[3] It is not certain what happened to Maud’s baby but it did not survive.

Maud, Lady Parr was a maid-of-honour and good friend to Queen consort Katherine of Aragon. She was also apparently head of the Royal school at court where Anne was educated alongside her sister Katherine and other daughters of the nobility. Anne would have been taught French, Latin, philosophy, theology, and the Classics. Lady Parr had already taught her children to read and write when they were small. Anne herself later said that her education at home was based on the approach used in the family of Sir Thomas More where the boys and girls were educated together; as was the case with the Parr’s until her brother left home in 1525 to join the household of Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond; the recognized natural son of King Henry by his mistress Elizabeth Blount, a lady-in-waiting to the Queen.[3]

The Six Queens

At court

Sometime in 1528, Lady Parr secured her 13 year-old daughter, Anne, a post at Court as maid-of-honour to Queen Katherine of Aragon. Anne was then made a ward of King Henry. When Anne Boleyn was crowned queen in 1533, Anne Parr continued in the same capacity as maid-of-honour. She quickly succumbed to the spell of Queen Anne’s charismatic personality and following the Queen’s example, she became an ardent supporter of the New Faith.[5] After Anne Boleyn’s fall from power and subsequent execution, Anne remained at Court in the service of the new queen, Jane Seymour. She was one of the few present at the baptism of Prince Edward on 15 October 1537 and was part of the funeral cortege of Jane Seymour.[3] Some sources state that Anne carried the train of the Lady Elizabeth at Prince Edward’s baptism, while others believe it was Lady Herbert ‘of Troye’, wife of her future husband’s paternal half-uncle, Sir William Herbert, son of the 1st Earl of Pembroke of the eighth creation.

When King Henry took as his fourth wife Anne of Cleves, Anne returned to her role as maid-of-honour, which she remained in when Queen Anne was supplanted by Katherine Howard. Following Queen Katherine’s arrest for adultery, Anne Parr was entrusted with the Queen’s jewels.[6]

Marriage

Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke

In February 1538, Anne married Sir William Herbert (c.1501-17 March 1570), Esquire of the King’s Body. Herbert was the son of Sir Richard Herbert of Ewyas, the illegitimate son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke [of the before mentioned]. It is without a doubt that Anne met her husband at court. It is not known whether or not the marriage was a love match or not, but it is interesting to note that both Anne and her sister Katherine had been attracted to dashing men of action who were slightly disreputable.[3] The Herbert’s, due to King Henry’s newly found infatuation for Anne’s sister Katherine, appeared to be in the King’s favour; as for the next few years Anne and her husband received a succession of Royal grants which included the Abbey of Wilton in Wiltshire (pulled down and built over for Wilton House in the 1540s), Remesbury (north Wiltshire), and Cardiff Castle. They also used Baynard’s Castle as their London residence.

Anne had three children by her husband: Henry, who succeeded his father; Edward Herbert; and Anne Herbert.[7]

The Queen’s sister

King Henry VIII and Queen Katherine

Anne was a witness to the wedding ceremony performed at Hampton Court Palace on 12 July 1543, when King Henry married her sister Katherine, the Dowager Lady Latimer.

In June 1544, the Queen lent her sister her manor, Hanworth for the lying-in for her second child. It was there that Anne gave birth to another son, Edward (his elder brother was named Henry, was this a coincidence?). The Queen sent regular messengers to Hanworth to inquire on the health of her sister. For the christening, the queen provided a large delegation (five yeo-men, two grooms, and Henry Webbe) from her household to attend. Letters continued well into July between the two sisters while Anne remained at Hanworth. After the birth, Anne visited Lady Hertford, who had also just given birth, at Syon House near Richmond.[19]

In August 1544, the queen paid for a barge to bring Anne by river from Syon House (home to the Hertford’s) to Westminster. The queen’s involvement in the birth and christening of her nephew would eventually lead her to take him in as part of her household after the death of King Henry.[19]

In September 1544, William Herbert was knighted on the battlefield at the Siege of Boulogne during the King’s campaign against the French. Anne, now Lady Herbert, was her sister’s principal lady-in-waiting and the sisters were close. Anne was also part of the circle of Protestants who surrounded the new Queen. In 1546, fellow Protestant Anne Askew was arrested for heresy. Those who opposed the Queen tried to gain a confession from Askew that the Queen, her sister, and the other women were Protestants. Queen Katherine and some of her closest friends had previously shown favour to the arrested woman. Bishop Stephen Gardiner, Thomas Wriothesley, and Sir Richard Rich were involved in torturing Anne Askew and interrogating her about her supposed connections to the ladies at court who were suspected to be Protestants. Askew was asked particularly about the Queen, her sister Lady Herbert, the Duchess of Suffolk [Katherine Willoughby], Lady Hertford [Anne Stanhope, wife of Edward, later Lord Protector], and the Countess of Sussex [Anne Calthorpe].

The warrant for the arrest of Queen Katherine from “The Tudors”

Gardiner and Wriothesley obtained the King’s permission to arrest and question the Queen about her religious beliefs.[3] Luckily Katherine intercepted the warrant and/or was warned by the King’s doctor that she was to be arrested and questioned. Katherine visited the King in his bedchamber and adroitly managed to persuade the King that her interest in the new religion had been undertaken solely as a means to provide stimulating conversation to distract the King from the pain caused by his ulcerous leg. Henry was appeased, and before the arrests were due to take place, he was reconciled to Katherine. Wriothesley, who had not been informed of the reconciliation, came for the queen while the King was with her. The King burst into an angry fit calling Wriothesley names such as “Knave”, etc. Katherine had escaped the wrath of the King and on 28 January 1547, the King died leaving Katherine the Dowager Queen.

After Henry VIII’s death, when the queen dowager’s household was at Chelsea, both Anne and her son Edward were part of the household there. The Dowager queen, as always, was keen to have her family close to her. Anne’s husband, William Herbert was appointed as one of the guardians to the new king, Edward VI. Katherine shortly afterward married Thomas Seymour, Lord of Sudeley, Lord High Admiral of England, who was an uncle of King Edward. In September 1548, following the birth of a daughter, Lady Mary Seymour [named after the queen’s step-daughter], Katherine Parr died of puerperal fever.

Arms of Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (10th creation)

Arms of Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (10th creation)

Later life

Drawing by Holbein thought to be Anne Parr

On 10 October 1551, Anne’s husband was raised to the peerage as Baron Herbert of Cardiff and Earl of Pembroke on 11 October 1551. He received the disgraced Duke of Somerset’s Wiltshire estates, including Ramsbury and a newly built mansion at Bedwin Broil, and much woodland on the borders of the New Forest in 1553. The relationship between the Herbert’s and Edward Seymour had been one of friendship until Seymour fell from favour.[3] Herbert was also granted, one Sir Thomas Arundel’s attainder, Wardour Castle and park, and obtained some property belonging to the see of Winchester. The Wardour property subsequently reverted to the Arundel family by exchange and purchase, but Pembroke’s increase of wealth exceeded that of any of his colleagues.[8]

Anne died on 20 February 1552 at Baynard’s Castle in London.[17] At the time of her death, Anne was one of Lady Mary Tudor’s [the future Queen Mary I] ladies.

William married as his second wife Lady Anne Talbot, daughter of George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury and Elizabeth Walden, but the marriage produced no children.

Anne was buried with huge pomp in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London next to her ancestor John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster on 28 February 1552. Her husband died on 17 March 1570 and by his wishes was also buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral. Her memorial there reads: “a most faithful wife, a woman of the greatest piety and discretion” and “Her banners were set up over her arms set on divers pillars.“[17] Pembroke obviously loved his wife for when he wrote his will, despite being married again, he wanted nothing more than to be buried “near the place where Anne my late wife doth lie buried” in St. Paul’s.[17]

Monument of William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, in old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London, 1656. Artist: Wenceslaus Hollar. the tomb on a tall base on which lie a man and wife, in ermine robes, heads to left; eleven columns support a double arch above and obelisk topped extensions at the sides; two cartouches at top, to the left with coat of arms and to the right with dedication by 'Ioh Herbert'.

Monument of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and his first wife Lady Anne (Parr), in old St Paul’s Cathedral, City of London, 1656. Artist: Wenceslaus Hollar. the tomb on a tall base on which lie a man and wife, in ermine robes, heads to left; eleven columns support a double arch above and obelisk topped extensions at the sides; two cartouches at top, to the left with coat of arms and to the right with dedication by ‘Ioh Herbert’.[21]

Issue

Lord and Lady Pembroke had three children:

Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke

  1. Henry Herbert, later 2nd Earl of Pembroke (c.1539-1601), who married three times:
  • On 25 May 1553,[22] he married Lady Katherine Grey (1540-1568), granddaughter of Mary Tudor, Dowager Queen of France. On the same day, her sister Lady Jane married Lord Guildford Dudley. The two couples were married at Durham House in London. After the wedding, Katherine went to live with her husband at Baynard’s Castle on the Thames.[18] When Lord Herbert’s sister-in-law, Jane, failed to ascend to the throne of England due to a lack of popular support, the Earl of Pembroke sought to distance himself from the Grey family. Pembroke separated his son from Katherine and sought the annulment of the marriage.[18] With this smart move, Pembroke secured Queen Mary’s favour and the marriage was annulled in 1554.
  • His second wife was Lady Catherine Talbot (c.1552-1575) [a favorite of Queen Elizabeth], daughter of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and Lady Gertrude Manners. Catherine was the sister of Lord Francis Talbot who married his younger sister, Lady Anne.
  • His third wife was Mary Sidney, daughter of Sir Henry Sidney and Lady Mary Dudley, daughter of the executed John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. By her, the couple had children including William [3rd Earl] and Philip [4th Earl], both of whom would accede to the Earldom of Pembroke.

2. Sir Edward Herbert (June 1544-1595), married Mary Stanley, by whom he had issue including William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis. Their descendants would become Marquess’s and then later Earls of Powis which is still in existence to this day.[9] According to Susan James, biographer of Katherine Parr, the queen was invested in Edward’s birth and christening. She took in young Edward as a toddler about the time of her marriage to Seymour. They are also supposedly ancestors to Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York through their granddaughter, Hon. Catherine Herbert, Lady Palmer. The paternity of Lady Palmer’s granddaughter, Lady Anne, is questioned as her mother was Lady Barbara Villiers, mistress to King Charles II of Great Britain. At the time of Lady Anne Palmer’s birth Barbara was married to Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine, but the King recognized Anne as his and she adopted the name “Fitzroy.”

3. Lady Anne Herbert (1550-1592), married Francis, Lord Talbot, son of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and Lady Gertrude Manners. There is no known issue from this marriage.[8]

Legacy

The arms of the 2nd Earl of Pembroke

William Herbert’s career started after a recommendation from King Francis I of France. He shortly became esquire of the body to King Henry VIII. Two years later he was granted arms. The year before Katherine Parr married the king, grants and advancement started for Herbert and his wife. The first grants dated March and April, 1542, include the site of the late monastery, the manor of Washerne adjoining also the manors of Chalke. These were given to “William Herbert, Esquire and Anne his wife for the term of their lives with certain reserved rents to King Henry VIII.“[20] When Edward VI re-granted the manors to the family, it was explicitly “to the aforenamed Earl, by the name of Sir William Herbert, knight, and the Lady Anne his wife and the heirs male of their bodies between them lawfully begotten.“[17] Anne had been the joint creator of this extraordinary enterprise.[17] Lady Anne had brought legitimacy to the Herberts. Anne also gave the family grace and courage.

A stained glass window in Wilton Church shows Anne kneeling before a prayer book or Bible; there is no evidence of religious imagery. In a long armorial mantle are embroidered the many quarterings of the arms of her distinguished ancestry [see below]. It was the Parr-inheritance which gave the Herbert family any legitimate claim to ancient nobility; and she knew it. On her tomb in St. Paul’s her epitath reads that she had been “very jealous of the fame of a long line of ancestors.“[17]

Stained glass window of the Pembroke’s in Wilton Parish Church

Through her sons, Anne Parr has many descendants, including the Earls of Pembroke, Earls of Montgomery, and the Earls of Carnarvon.[8]

Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke with his family by Anthony van Dyck. Notice the coat of arms above them which continue to incorporate Anne’s lineage. The painting is on display in Wilton House.

Several of the homes of her descendants have been used in movies and major television shows. In 2005, Wilton House substituted for “Pemberley”, home to Mr. Darcy in “Pride & Prejudice” (starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFayden). The impressive portrait by Van Dyke, of the 4th Earl of Pembroke [grandson of the 1st Earl and Lady Anne] and his family, was most likely painted at their home in London, Durham House. It is the largest canvas which upon Van Dyke has ever painted, measuring 17×11 feet. A great deal of care went into transferring the painting to their estate in Wilton once the double cube room was finished being renovated by Inigo Jones.[23]

Wilton House Pride and Prejudice (2005) Pemberley_periodpieces_blogspot

“Pride and Prejudice” (2005). The painting can be seen during Lizzie’s visit to “Pemberley”. [Photo courtesy of Period Pieces]

The popular BBC/PBS series “Downton Abbey” is filmed at Highclere Castle in Hampshire where Anne’s descendants, the Earls of Carnarvon, have been seated since 1793. In 1684, the castle came into the possession of the Herbert’s through the marriage of Margaret Sawyer of Highclere to the 8th Earl of Pembroke; their second son Robert inherited the castle but died without issue. Robert’s nephew and heir, Henry Herbert, inherited the castle in 1769. Henry was created 1st Earl of Carnarvon in 1793 by King George III.

Saloon of Highclere Castle which features the coat of arms of the lineage of the Carnarvon branch of the Herbert family, from the 1st Earl of Pembroke; the first one on the left is that of William, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Anne Parr.

Titles and Styles

  • Mistress Anne Parr
  • Lady Anne Herbert, Lady Herbert of Cardiff
  • Lady Anne Herbert, Countess of Pembroke

  • References:

    1. ^ Note: Katherine Parr’s biographer, Susan E. James is of the opinion that the subject of this Holbein drawing is Anne Parr
    2. ^ Besant, Sir Walter (1903), The Thames, London: A. & C. Black, pp. 84–7
    3. ^ a b c d e f Linda Porter. Katherine the Queen. Macmillan, 2010.
    4. ^ Anthony Martienssen “Queen Katherine Parr”, page 21
    5. ^ Martienssen, pages 64-5
    6. ^ Martienssen, page 137
    7. ^ Martienssen, page 137
    8. ^ a b c Dictionary of National Biography. Vol XXVI. Sidney Lee, Ed. London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1891. 220-223.
    9. ^ George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, Vol. X, p. 643.
    10. ^ “thePeerage”. http://thepeerage.com/p10151.htm#i101510. Retrieved 2010-04-09
    11. ^ Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 565.
    12. ^ “thePeerage”. http://thepeerage.com/p10152.htm#i101511. Retrieved 2010-04-09
    13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k The Lineage and Ancestry of H.R.H. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, by Gerald Paget, Vol. I, p. 95.
    14. ^ The Family Chronicle of Richard Fogge, Archaelogica Cantiana, Vol 5, 1863.
    15. ^ E.W. Allen. The Antiquary, Volume 3. 1873. (Google eBook)
    16. ^ “thePeerage”. http://thepeerage.com/p338.htm#i3376. Retrieved 2010-04-09
    17. Anthony Nicolson, Quarrel with the King: The Story of an English Family on the High Road to Civil War, Harper Collins, 3 November 2009. pg 63-4. (Google eBook)
    18. Chapman, Hester, Two Tudor Portraits: Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and Lady Katherine Grey, Jonathan Cape 1960. pg 165; 166-167; 169.
    19. Susan James. “Catherine Parr: Henry VIII’s Last Love,”The History Press, 2009. pg 275-76.
    20. Sir Nevile Rodwell Wilkinson. ”Wilton House Guide: A Handbook for Visitors,” Chiswick Press, 1908. pg 80.
    21. “Tomb of William Herbert,” Heritage Images.
    22. Leanda de Lisle says “The date is almost always given as the 21st but this is drawn from Commendone writing after the event. It was booked to take place on a Thursday (see Albert Feuillerat, Documents Relating to the Revels at Court, p 306) and when I calculated the day from other known dates – e.g. Jane’s entry to the Tower – it confirmed my suspicion that it was the 25th.” p 328 in Notes of “The Sisters Who Would be Queen”, by Leanda de Lisle.
    23. Pembroke, Sidney Charles. A Catalogue of the Paintings & Drawings in the Collection at Wilton House, Salisbury, 
      Wiltshire. London: Phaidon, 1968.

    Researched by Meg McGath

    © 4 March 2011