Charlie Fenton > Recent Status Updates

‘Through her numerous grandchildren and relatives, Lettice’s bloodline continues to this day. Thus her inheritance has proved to be enduring. Her story provides a unique example of a woman who witnessed the highs and lows of the Tudor and early Stuart court, who was once lover and then loathed by Queen Elizabeth, and whose family were involved in some of the most monumental events of the day.’

‘Two years after the death of her brother, Lettice’s health had begun to fail fast. In November 1634, she reached the extraordinary age of ninety-one, but it quickly became apparent that it would be the last year she would celebrate. The precise nature of her final illness is unknown, but it was ‘upon Christmas Day in the morning’, that Lettice closed her eyes on the world for the final time’

‘Lettice was delighted by the change in her family’s fortune that James I’s accession brought, and she was grateful that his magnanimity also extended to her. James bore her none of the ill will so frequently demonstrated by his predecessor, and in a gracious move, he generously cancelled out all of the debts that had been owed to the Crown since Leicester’s death in 1588.’

‘Lettice - wisely - was at Drayton Bassett at this time. She was aware of her son’s dissatisfaction at the Queen’s treatment of him, and fully supported him in his indignation. But a rebellion against the monarch was another matter altogether. Such action was treasonous, and if it were not successful, her son risked the safety of his entire family.’

‘Lettice discovered that marrying Blount did not help to ease her financial woes. He worsened matters when, in an attempt to improve their circumstances, he began selling off pieces from her extensive jewel collection... Before long, Blount had even resorted to selling off some of Lettice’s properties that he had got ‘into his own hands’. Later, Lettice complained bitterly about his handling of her estates’

‘by her husband’s side when Leicester passed away at Cornbury. Commissioned on her orders, his epitaph describes her as his ‘most sorrowful wife’, and his death came as a devastating blow to her. They had only been married for ten years, and theirs had been a marriage that was based on friendship, love and mutual respect. With Leicester now gone, Lettice had not only lost her husband but also her protector.’

‘Denbigh had just passed his third birthday, and although Lettice was present, Leicester was with the court at Nonsuch Palace. A message was immediately sent to him, conveying the devastating news. When it reached him, Leicester’s first thoughts were for Lettice - for once, the Queen was not his first priority, and he fled the court without waiting for her permission.’

‘Leicester was immediately told to absent himself from court... Ultimately, though, it was Lettice who bore the brunt of Elizabeth’s anger. Was it because she was a woman? This almost certainly was a significant factor in the affair for Elizabeth was notoriously jealous of younger members of her own sex. This was exacerbated by Lettice’s personal qualities: she was both strikingly beautiful and ten years younger’

‘Leicester was immediately told to absent himself from court... Ultimately, though, it was Lettice who bore the brunt of Elizabeth’s anger. Was it because she was a woman? This almost certainly was a significant factor in the affair for Elizabeth was notoriously jealous of younger members of her own sex. This was exacerbated by Lettice’s personal qualities: she was both strikingly beautiful and ten years younger’

‘there was no longer any question of them continuing their relationship under the guise of friendship, or arranging clandestine meetings. They both wanted more, and only marriage would do. It was a momentous decision for Leicester, who had avoided such a commitment for almost two decades following the death of his first wife - all on the Queen’s behalf. Though the Queen did not know it, she now had a rival.’

‘Unsurprisingly, Walter had died deeply in debt, and it was not long before his creditors came knocking at Lettice’s door. Not only did he owe £6,190 (£1,000,000) to the Queen, but he had also accrued large debts elsewhere. Besides this, Lettice already had enough to deal with, for she and her children had lost their home and she resented the small jointure which Walter had assigned to her.’

‘though Lettice certainly had once loved her husband and probably still did in many ways, their enforced separation meant that for several years they had spent very little tome together. As such, it is perfectly plausible that they had grown apart, and that Lettice had become lonely. Leicester may even have become her confidant.’

Trying to read more of the classics, especially as a few books like this one has recently been in Audible’s Daily Deal.

‘The son, named Robin Sheffield, was born on 7 August 1574, but Douglas herself would later insist that he was her only child by Leicester, and no further mention is made of this rumour. Leicester duly acknowledged and accepted young Robin as his son, and was eager to make provision for him. The baby remained with his mother for no more than two years, when his father made other plans for the boy’

‘Trockmorton had advised Leicester to pretend ‘to fall in love himself with one of the ladies in the palace and watch how the Queen took it’. Eager to ascertain Elizabeth’s feelings once and for all, ‘The Earl took his advice and showed attention to the Viscountess of Hereford, who is one of the best-looking ladies of the court and daughter of a first cousin to the Queen, with whom she is a favourite.’’

Oh my god. Finding out who Katherine’s father is... I didn’t expect that. A great end to the series :)

‘She was at Chartley when, in January 1563, she gave birth to her first child. The baby was not the male heir that both she and her husband had hoped for, but a healthy daughter. All the same, she was Lettice and Walter’s first child, and her parents’ first grandchild, and as such she was a welcome addition to the family. The Queen was asked to stand as the baby’s godmother, a role that she graciously accepted’

‘Bourchier Devereux describes how Walter ‘soon became captive to the charms of Lettice Knollys, a fair maiden of the court, celebrated for her beauty and spirit’. We have no information about the couple’s courtship; we do not know when it started or how it was conducted, but what is clear is that Walter fell in love with Lettice, and she in turn fell in love with him.’

‘As Lettice was Katherine Knolly’s daughter, the Queen was naturally inclined to look favourably upon her, and the two shared a great deal in common. Not only did they resemble one another in looks - like Elizabeth, Lettice had the flame-red hair of the Tudors - but they also had a similar temperament. As time would reveal, both could be arrogant and stubborn’

‘The identities of the five children who joined their parents in exile abroad are unknown, but it is unlikely that Lettice was one of them... If Lettice did not accompany her parents, where was she? In November 1556 she turned thirteen, and it is possible that, having almost certainly remained in England, she joined the household of her twenty-three-year-old cousin, the Lady Elizabeth, at Hatfield.’

‘As Edward VI’s reign progressed, so too did Francis’s career. In his home county of Oxfordshire he was particularly well renowned, and in 1547 he became a Justice of the Peace. He was also given other posts in the country, including the constableship of Wallingford Castle in 1551, not far from Greys, and the stewardship of nearby Ewelme. Such posts would have kept Francis busy in Oxfordshire’

‘Unlike Bessie, Mary was a married woman at the time of her affair, and there were her husband’s feelings to consider. If the King were to acknowledge Katherine, then it would have been a source of public humiliation for William Carey, who would have been ridiculed as a cuckold. Likewise, Katherine’s sex rendered her of no political use to the King’

‘Edward understood that he was in charge. True, he was not yet eighteen. But his voice mattered. He took advice but he was neither bound nor limited by that advice. It was he who gave commands. With all this in mind, we might perhaps imagine Edward reading his ‘Device’ out loud to himself, intelligent and resolute, knowing his own mind, looking to the future of his people without emotion, compelled by duty’

‘Probably Edward began the ‘Device’ in the early spring of 1553 when he was ill but not apparently dying. He had finished it by early June, by which time some thoughts and possibilities set out on paper had become a matter of life-or-death political urgency. At first Edward proposed to leave the crown to a male heir of the family of Lady Frances Grey and her daughters Jane, Katherine and Mary.’

‘In October the Duke of Somerset’s protectorate fell to pieces. His colleagues in the council simply refused any longer to accept his authority; his credibility was spent. Paget’s analysis had been correct: Edward Seymour had broken the trust given to him as Protector... a fantastic misjudgement, Edward Seymour seized the king and took him from Hampton Court to the security of Windsor Castle.’

‘Attainted by Parliament for offences within the compass of high treason, Thomas Seymour was beheaded on Tower Hill on 20 March 1549. In his ‘Chronicle’ Edward made a short and simple entry: ‘the Lord Sudeley, admiral of England, was condemned to death and died the March ensuing.’ Here there was no emotion and no obvious regret.’

‘Edward was not a kind of half-forgotten prince pushed to one side by his uncle... True, if anyone wanted to get something done in government or fancied a piece of royal patronage they would speak to Somerset through his officials. Protector Somerset got on with the business of running the country, as he was supposed to do, leaving his nephew free to live as a young king in a busy and lively court.’

‘In July 1544 the household that had cared for Prince Edward since 1538 was broken up on the orders of his father the king... Edward was now six years and eight months old, no longer an infant, and it was time for him to enter the world of men. Sir William Sidney, who had been Edward’s chamberlain for nearly six years, became the prince’s steward.’