Elizabeth Wriothesley, Countess of Southampton
Encyclopedia
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to 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...
in the later years of her reign.
Family
She was born in HodnetHodnet, Shropshire
Hodnet is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. To the northeast of the village is the nearby town of Market Drayton.-Attractions and facilities:...
, 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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to Sir John Vernon of Hodnet and Elizabeth Devereux. By her mother, Elizabeth was the great-granddaughter of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, KG played a major role in Richard III of England's rise and fall. He is also one of the primary suspects in the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower...
, and also of Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford
Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford
Walter Devereux, 9th Baron Ferrers of Chartley, created 1st Viscount Hereford was an English Peer.-Family:...
, and a great-great-granddaughter of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset
Thomas Grey, 7th Baron Ferrers of Groby, 1st Earl of Huntingdon and 1st Marquess of Dorset, KG , was an English nobleman, courtier and a man of mediocre abilities pushed into prominence by his mother Elizabeth Woodville's second marriage to the king, Edward IV.-Family:Thomas was born about 1455,...
and his wife Cecily Bonville. By her father, Elizabeth was the descendant of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and 1st Earl of Waterford KG , known as "Old Talbot" was an important English military commander during the Hundred Years' War, as well as the only Lancastrian Constable of France.-Origins:He was descended from Richard Talbot, a tenant in 1086 of Walter Giffard...
, William de Ros, 7th Baron de Ros
William de Ros, 7th Baron de Ros
William de Ros, 7th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG was Lord Treasurer of England.He was a son of Thomas de Ros, 5th Baron de Ros and Beatrice Stafford, daughter of Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford. He was also a younger brother of John de Ros, 6th Baron de Ros.-Career:His older brother died...
, and the Barons Touchet
Baron Tuchet
The title Baron Tuchet has twice been created in the Peerage of England.-Baron Tuchet, first creation :*William Tuchet, 1st Baron Tuchet , title extinct.-Baron Tuchet, second creation :...
.
Marriage and children
On 30 August 1598 Elizabeth married Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of SouthamptonHenry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
Henry Wriothesley , 3rd Earl of Southampton , was the second son of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, and his wife Mary Browne, Countess of Southampton, daughter of the 1st Viscount Montagu...
, the dedicatee of Shakespeare's sonnets
Shakespeare's sonnets
Shakespeare's sonnets are 154 poems in sonnet form written by William Shakespeare, dealing with themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. All but two of the poems were first published in a 1609 quarto entitled SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS.: Never before imprinted. Sonnets 138 and 144...
. The marriage occurred after Elizabeth discovered she was pregnant. Upon discovering this, the Queen had both Elizabeth and her husband locked in Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the Fleet River in London. The prison was built in 1197 and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846.- History :...
and, after their release, were never again received into her favour.
Elizabeth and Henry had several children, including:
- Lady Penelope Wriothesley (18 November 1598 – 16 July 1667) who married William Spencer, 2nd Baron SpencerWilliam Spencer, 2nd Baron SpencerWilliam Spencer, 2nd Baron Spencer of Wormleighton was an English peer.Spencer was the son of Robert Spencer, 1st Baron Spencer of Wormleighton and his wife, Margaret Willoughby, and was baptised on 4 January 1591 at Brington, Northamptonshire...
, by whom she had issue. - Lady Anne Wriothesley (born 1600) who married Robert WallopRobert WallopRobert Wallop was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times from 1621 to 1660. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War and was one of the regicides of King Charles I of England....
of Farley Wallop. - James Wriothesley, Lord WriothesleyJames Wriothesley, Lord WriothesleyJames Wriothesley, Lord Wriothesley was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1622....
(1605-1624) - Thomas WriothesleyThomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of SouthamptonSir Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, KG , styled Lord Wriothesley before 1624, was a 17th century English statesman, a staunch supporter of Charles II who would rise to the position of Lord High Treasurer after the English Restoration...
(10 March 1607 – 16 May 1667) who became the 4th Earl of Southampton and married firstly Rachel de Massue, daughter of Daniel de Massue, Seigneur de Ruvigny, by whom he had two daughters, Elizabeth, Viscountess Campden (died 1679) and Rachel, Lady Russell.
Shakespeare connection theory
A German professor of EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel
Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel
Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel is a German Professor of English, literary critic, Shakespeare scholar and writer. For the first time, she applied truly trans-disciplinary research methods to study Shakespeare’s time, life, work, portraits, religion and the ‘Dark Lady’ of his sonnets on the basis...
, has proposed a theory, mainly based on an apocryphic sonnet
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
, she claims was written by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, and evidence from portraits, that Elizabeth Wriothesley was a lover of the poet. Her eldest daughter Penelope is, according to this theory, a child of Shakespeare. The author stresses that in this way, Lady Diana Spencer would be a descendant of William Shakespeare. Questions have been raised about this theory, namely why the Earl of Southampton would have risked certain royal displeasure from the Queen by marrying Elizabeth if she was pregnant with somebody else's illegitimate child.