Elizabeth Knollys
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Knollys, Lady Leighton (15 June 1549 – c.1605), was an English courtier
who served Queen Elizabeth I of England
, first as a Maid of Honour and secondly, after 1566, as a Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber. Knollys was the grand-niece of Queen consort Anne Boleyn
, which made her a cousin once removed of the Queen. Lettice Knollys
was her eldest sister. Elizabeth married Sir Thomas Leighton
of Feckenham
in Worcestershire
in 1578. He served as Governor of Jersey
and Guernsey
.
She is sometimes mistakenly referred to in documents as "Cecilia", which was the name of her youngest sister.
and Catherine Carey
, the daughter of Sir William Carey and Mary Boleyn
. This made Elizabeth the grand-niece of Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII
. She had 11 surviving siblings, the eldest of whom, Lettice Knollys, would later be banished from court after secretly marrying Queen Elizabeth's favourite, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
.
She was brought up in a staunchly Protestant household at Greys Court
at Rotherfield Greys
in Oxfordshire
and Abbey House at Reading
in Berkshire
. In 1556, three years after the Catholic
Princess Mary Tudor
had become queen, Sir Francis Knollys and his wife were compelled to seek refuge in Frankfurt, Germany to escape the relentless Marian persecutions
against known Protestants. It is not known if Elizabeth accompanied them as her parents took only five of their children abroad, leaving the others behind in England.
Knollys went to court as a Maid of Honour to Queen Elizabeth shortly after the latter ascended the English throne in 1558. Her mother was Chief Lady of the Bedchamber
and her sister Lettice was a Maid of the Privy Chamber. Another sister, Anne
would later join the royal court. On 5 January 1566, Elizabeth Knollys was appointed a Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber receiving an annual salary of £33 6s 8d.
, Worcestershire
, son of John Leighton of Wattlesborough in Shropshire
and his wife, Joyce Sutton, in 1578. Leighton (who is sometimes called Layton) was a diplomat and soldier, and shared with her father the same strong Puritan
beliefs. Following her marriage, Knollys, now styled Lady Leighton, continued to serve Queen Elizabeth in the same capacity as a Gentlewoman
of the Privy Chamber
, despite her sister Lettice's banishment from court. Her husband held the office of Governor of Jersey
and Guernsey
in the Channel Islands
. Lady Leighton, however, did not spend much time on either island, much preferring life at court. Sir Walter Raleigh
was her admirer, and had written her a poem.
An unknown artist after George Gower
painted her portrait in 1577. It shows her with curled hair; she is wearing a black hat with a feather, and an elaborate, ornamented gown, which are likely indications that she did not share her husband's dour Puritan sympathies. Her black hat was displayed at the National Maritime Museum in an exhibition in 2003 which was curated by noted Tudor historian, David Starkey
. Knollys had given Queen Elizabeth a similar black hat as a gift in 1578/9. In turn, Knollys is listed as having been the recipient of many New Year's presents from the Queen.
, is probably based on Lady Elizabeth Knollys. In the books, she is a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth I and friend to the central character Lady Grace Cavendish
. Her fictional father is given as Sir John Knollys and, in 1570, she marries Thomas Penn (rather than Thomas Leighton) at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Penelope was the name of the real Lady Elizabeth's niece, the daughter of her brother, Sir Thomas Knollys, the Governor of Ostend.
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
who served Queen Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, first as a Maid of Honour and secondly, after 1566, as a Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber. Knollys was the grand-niece of Queen consort Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
, which made her a cousin once removed of the Queen. Lettice Knollys
Lettice Knollys
Lettice Knollys , Countess of Essex and Countess of Leicester , was an English noblewoman and mother to the courtiers Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex and Lady Penelope Rich; through her marriage to Elizabeth I's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, she incurred the Queen's undying...
was her eldest sister. Elizabeth married Sir Thomas Leighton
Thomas Leighton (Governor)
Sir Thomas Leighton was the Governor of Guernsey and Jersey from 1570 to 1609. Sir Thomas was knighted in 1579 during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. He was from Feckenham, Worcestershire, England, born to John Leighton of Watlesburgh and Joyce Sutton of Worcestershire.He married Elizabeth...
of Feckenham
Feckenham
Feckenham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Redditch in Worcestershire, England. It lies some three miles south-west of the town of Redditch and is around twelve miles north-east of the ancient city of Worcester...
in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
in 1578. He served as Governor of Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
and Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
.
She is sometimes mistakenly referred to in documents as "Cecilia", which was the name of her youngest sister.
Family and early years
Elizabeth Knollys was born on 15 June 1549, the second daughter and one of the 15 children of Sir Francis KnollysFrancis Knollys (the elder)
Sir Francis Knollys , of Greys Court, in Oxfordshire, KG was an English courtier in the service and favour of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Elizabeth I of England, and was a Member of Parliament for a number of constituencies....
and Catherine Carey
Catherine Carey
Katherine Carey, often spelt Catherine Carey, after her marriage Katherine Knollys and later Lady Knollys, pronounced "Noles" Katherine Carey, often spelt Catherine Carey, after her marriage Katherine Knollys and later Lady Knollys, pronounced "Noles" Katherine Carey, often spelt Catherine Carey,...
, the daughter of Sir William Carey and Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...
. This made Elizabeth the grand-niece of Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. She had 11 surviving siblings, the eldest of whom, Lettice Knollys, would later be banished from court after secretly marrying Queen Elizabeth's favourite, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
.
She was brought up in a staunchly Protestant household at Greys Court
Greys Court
Greys Court is a Tudor country house and associated gardens, located at , at the southern end of the Chiltern Hills at Rotherfield Greys, near Henley-on-Thames in the English county of Oxfordshire. It is owned by the National Trust and is open to the public....
at Rotherfield Greys
Rotherfield Greys
Rotherfield Greys is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is west of Henley-on-Thames and just over east of the village of Rotherfield Peppard....
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
and Abbey House at Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. In 1556, three years after the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Princess Mary Tudor
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
had become queen, Sir Francis Knollys and his wife were compelled to seek refuge in Frankfurt, Germany to escape the relentless Marian persecutions
Marian Persecutions
The Marian Persecutions were carried out against religious reformers, Protestants, and other dissenters for their heretical beliefs during the reign of Mary I of England. The excesses of this period were mythologized in the historical record of Foxe's Book of Martyrs...
against known Protestants. It is not known if Elizabeth accompanied them as her parents took only five of their children abroad, leaving the others behind in England.
Knollys went to court as a Maid of Honour to Queen Elizabeth shortly after the latter ascended the English throne in 1558. Her mother was Chief Lady of the Bedchamber
Lady of the Bedchamber
This is an incomplete list of those who have served as Lady of the Bedchamber in the British Royal Household...
and her sister Lettice was a Maid of the Privy Chamber. Another sister, Anne
Anne Knollys
Anne West, Lady De La Warr was a lady at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England.-Biography:...
would later join the royal court. On 5 January 1566, Elizabeth Knollys was appointed a Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber receiving an annual salary of £33 6s 8d.
Marriage
Elizabeth Knollys married Sir Thomas Leighton of FeckenhamFeckenham
Feckenham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Redditch in Worcestershire, England. It lies some three miles south-west of the town of Redditch and is around twelve miles north-east of the ancient city of Worcester...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, son of John Leighton of Wattlesborough in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and his wife, Joyce Sutton, in 1578. Leighton (who is sometimes called Layton) was a diplomat and soldier, and shared with her father the same strong Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
beliefs. Following her marriage, Knollys, now styled Lady Leighton, continued to serve Queen Elizabeth in the same capacity as a Gentlewoman
Gentlewoman
A gentlewoman in the original and strict sense is a woman of good family, analogous to the Latin generosus and generosa...
of the Privy Chamber
Privy chamber
A Privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The gentlemen of the Privy chamber were servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King and Queen at court during their various activities, functions and entertainments....
, despite her sister Lettice's banishment from court. Her husband held the office of Governor of Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
and Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
in the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
. Lady Leighton, however, did not spend much time on either island, much preferring life at court. Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
was her admirer, and had written her a poem.
An unknown artist after George Gower
George Gower
George Gower was an English portrait painter who became Serjeant Painter to Queen Elizabeth I in 1581.-Life:Little is known about his early life except that he was a grandson of Sir John Gower of Stettenham, Yorkshire....
painted her portrait in 1577. It shows her with curled hair; she is wearing a black hat with a feather, and an elaborate, ornamented gown, which are likely indications that she did not share her husband's dour Puritan sympathies. Her black hat was displayed at the National Maritime Museum in an exhibition in 2003 which was curated by noted Tudor historian, David Starkey
David Starkey
David Starkey, CBE, FSA is a British constitutional historian, and a radio and television presenter.He was born the only child of Quaker parents, and attended Kendal Grammar School before entering Cambridge through a scholarship. There he specialised in Tudor history, writing a thesis on King...
. Knollys had given Queen Elizabeth a similar black hat as a gift in 1578/9. In turn, Knollys is listed as having been the recipient of many New Year's presents from the Queen.
Issue
Together Lady Leighton and her husband had three children:- Thomas (born 1584), married Mary Zouche
- Elizabeth (died 12 January 1633), married Sherington Talbot, by whom she had issue.
- Anne (died July 1628 in childbirth), married Sir John St John, 1st Baronet, by whom she had 13 children in 14 years.
Death
She died in 1605. On 10 June 1605, her £200 annuity was granted to Elizabeth Howard, Lady Carrick.Ancestry
In fiction
The character of Lady Penelope Knollys in the children's mystery novels, the Lady Grace MysteriesLady Grace Mysteries
The Lady Grace Mysteries is a detective fiction series about the escapades of Lady Grace Cavendish, a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth I. The books are written in the style of a diary. Each book sees her trying to solve a mystery of the royal court...
, is probably based on Lady Elizabeth Knollys. In the books, she is a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth I and friend to the central character Lady Grace Cavendish
Grace Cavendish
Lady Grace Cavendish is a fictional detective and the central character in the "Lady Grace Mysteries"; a series of historical novels for younger readers. The author of the series is "Grace Cavendish", a pseudonym for three female authors: Patricia Finney, Sara Vogler and Jan...
. Her fictional father is given as Sir John Knollys and, in 1570, she marries Thomas Penn (rather than Thomas Leighton) at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Penelope was the name of the real Lady Elizabeth's niece, the daughter of her brother, Sir Thomas Knollys, the Governor of Ostend.