Lady Douglas Sheffield
Encyclopedia
Douglas Sheffield Baroness Sheffield, née Howard, (1542/1543 – 1608) was an English noblewoman and the mother of the explorer and cartographer Sir Robert Dudley, illegitimate son of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
. Seventeen years after the Earl's death she claimed in a court case that she had been his secret wife, notwithstanding she had herself remarried while Leicester was still alive.
and his second wife Margaret Gamage. Douglas Howard was probably named in honour of her godmother Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox. One of Douglas Howard's brothers was Lord Admiral Charles Howard of Effingham.
Douglas Howard was at court in c. 1559, probably as a maid of honour. In 1560 she married a wealthy peer, John Sheffield, 2nd Baron Sheffield. They had a son and a daughter: Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave
, who was born in 1565, and Elizabeth Sheffield, who married Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormonde and died in November 1600.
, Queen Elizabeth's favourite
, not long after the death of John Lord Sheffield in December 1568. At some point in the following years, Leicester wrote her a remarkable letter, pondering on the history of their love, and explaining to her the reasons why he could not marry, not even to beget a legitimate heir; it would result in his "utter overthrow":
In May 1573, it was observed by the court correspondent, Gilbert Talbot
, that the Earl of Leicester was pursued by Lady Douglas and her sister:
It is unclear how long Leicester's affair with Lady Sheffield continued, but nearly thirty years later her version was that Leicester wanted to end the relationship around 1578, before his marriage to Lettice Knollys
, the widowed Countess of Essex. They had a meeting at Greenwich
in the garden, where according to her later claims, he wanted her to "disavow the marriage", offering her 700 pounds a year. She passionately rejected the offer. Leicester also became furious, saying he could as well part from her, leaving her penniless. Upon some reflection, she accepted the offer at last. Leicester, newly married, kept a portrait of Lady Douglas Sheffield in his country house at Wanstead
until his death.
In 1604 Lady Sheffield also claimed that she had refused to surrender the custody of their son, Robert, for fear that his father, the Earl, would have him killed. However, there is no trace of any disagreement over young Robert's upbringing and whereabouts. He grew up in Leicester's and his friends' houses, having "leave to see" his mother whenever she wished.
On 29 November 1579 Douglas Sheffield married Sir Edward Stafford
, whose mother, Dorothy Stafford
, was very influential with the Queen. From 1583 till 1591 Edward Stafford served as English ambassador to the court of Henry III of France
; his wife accompanied him to Paris. There Lady Sheffield became a prominent society figure and a special friend of Catherine de' Medici
, whom she advised about a reform of the French royal household. By Stafford she had two sons who died young. The ambassador honoured his wife greatly, but had to cope with the fact that she was still emotionally agitated by remembrances of the Earl of Leicester. Stafford was politically opposed to Leicester, the personal component only aggravating this.
After the death of Elizabeth I, in May 1603, Lady Sheffield's son, Sir Robert Dudley, began trying to claim his father's and his uncle's
extinct titles of Earl of Leicester
and Earl of Warwick
. He had been apparently told by a shadowy adventurer called Thomas Drury that his parents had been secretly married. The case ended up in the Star Chamber
and aroused great public interest in 1604–1605. The court heard ninety witnesses for Dudley and fifty-seven for Leicester's widow, Lettice Knollys
. Lady Sheffield declared in writing (she did not attend the trial personally) that Leicester had solemnly contracted to marry her in Cannon Row, Westminster
in 1571, and that they were married at Esher
, Surrey
, "in wintertime" in 1573. Yet all of the ten putative witnesses ("besides others") to the ceremony were long dead since. Neither could she remember who the "minister" was, nor the exact date of the marriage. As an explanation for marrying Edward Stafford, she asserted that Leicester had tried to poison her and, "life being sweet", she had determined to marry "for safeguard of her life". The Star Chamber rejected the evidence and fined several of the witnesses. It was concluded that Sir Robert Dudley had been duped by Thomas Drury, who in his turn had sought "his own private gains".
Sir Edward Stafford died while the proceedings were in progress. Required to answer questions for the case, he maintained that Dudley had "terrified" his mother into supporting him against her deep reservations. Stafford wrote that he had asked his wife in December 1579, on the Queen's command, if she had been contracted to Leicester, to which "she answered with great vows, grief and passion that she had trusted the said earl too much to have anything to show to constrain him to marry her."
Douglas Sheffield died in early December 1608 at Westminster
. In her will she left a black velvet bed among other things to her "honourable and beloved son Sir Robert Dudley".
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...
. Seventeen years after the Earl's death she claimed in a court case that she had been his secret wife, notwithstanding she had herself remarried while Leicester was still alive.
Family and first marriage
Douglas Howard was the eldest daughter of William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of EffinghamWilliam Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham
William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham , was the eldest son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk by his second wife, Agnes Tilney...
and his second wife Margaret Gamage. Douglas Howard was probably named in honour of her godmother Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox. One of Douglas Howard's brothers was Lord Admiral Charles Howard of Effingham.
Douglas Howard was at court in c. 1559, probably as a maid of honour. In 1560 she married a wealthy peer, John Sheffield, 2nd Baron Sheffield. They had a son and a daughter: Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave
Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave
Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave KG was a British peer and Member of Parliament, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire from 1603 to 1619 and Vice-Admiral of Yorkshire from 1604 to 1646...
, who was born in 1565, and Elizabeth Sheffield, who married Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormonde and died in November 1600.
Love affair
Lady Douglas Sheffield began an affair with Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of LeicesterRobert 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...
, Queen Elizabeth's favourite
Favourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
, not long after the death of John Lord Sheffield in December 1568. At some point in the following years, Leicester wrote her a remarkable letter, pondering on the history of their love, and explaining to her the reasons why he could not marry, not even to beget a legitimate heir; it would result in his "utter overthrow":
You must think it is some marvellous cause, and toucheth my present state very near, that forceth me thus to be cause almost of the ruin of mine own house ... my brother you see long married and not like to have children, it resteth so now in myself; and yet such occasions is there ... as if I should marry I am sure never to have [the queen's] favour.He continues, proposing that she accept one of the suitors for her hand, who she had so far declined for his sake: "The choice falls not oft, and yet I know you may have now of the best; and it is not my part to bid you take them ... so it were not mine honesty to bid you refuse them." However, he says, he still loves her as he did in the beginning. Yet he would help her, in case she wanted to marry elsewhere for reasons of respectability: "for when you have made your election you shall find me a most willing and ready friend to perform all good offices toward you".
In May 1573, it was observed by the court correspondent, Gilbert Talbot
Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury
Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, 7th Earl of Waterford, KG was was a peer in the peerage of England.He was the eldest surviving son of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, by the latter's first marriage to Gertrude Manners, daughter of the first Earl of Rutland.In 1568, Gilbert was...
, that the Earl of Leicester was pursued by Lady Douglas and her sister:
In August 1574, Douglas' son Robert was born. Leicester acknowledged paternity of his "base son", and was very fond of him, caring much for his well-being and education.
There are two sisters now in the court that are very far in love with him, as they have long been; my Lady Sheffield and Frances Howard. They (of like striving who shall love him better) are at great wars together and the queen thinketh not well of them, and not the better of him.
It is unclear how long Leicester's affair with Lady Sheffield continued, but nearly thirty years later her version was that Leicester wanted to end the relationship around 1578, before his marriage to 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...
, the widowed Countess of Essex. They had a meeting at Greenwich
Palace of Placentia
The Palace of Placentia was an English Royal Palace built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in 1447, in Greenwich, on the banks of the River Thames, downstream from London...
in the garden, where according to her later claims, he wanted her to "disavow the marriage", offering her 700 pounds a year. She passionately rejected the offer. Leicester also became furious, saying he could as well part from her, leaving her penniless. Upon some reflection, she accepted the offer at last. Leicester, newly married, kept a portrait of Lady Douglas Sheffield in his country house at Wanstead
Wanstead
Wanstead is a suburban area in the London Borough of Redbridge, North-East London. The main road going through Wanstead is the A12. The name is from the Anglo-Saxon words wænn and stede, meaning "settlement on a small hill"....
until his death.
In 1604 Lady Sheffield also claimed that she had refused to surrender the custody of their son, Robert, for fear that his father, the Earl, would have him killed. However, there is no trace of any disagreement over young Robert's upbringing and whereabouts. He grew up in Leicester's and his friends' houses, having "leave to see" his mother whenever she wished.
Second marriage and Star Chamber trial
Edward Stafford (diplomat)
Sir Edward Stafford was an English MP, courtier and diplomat to France during the time of Elizabeth I.He was involved in abortive negotiations for a proposed marriage between Elizabeth and Francis, Duke of Anjou....
, whose mother, Dorothy Stafford
Dorothy Stafford
Dorothy Stafford, Lady Stafford was an English noblewoman, and an influential person at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England, to whom Dorothy served as Mistress of the Robes. Dorothy was the second wife of Sir William Stafford, widower of Mary Boleyn...
, was very influential with the Queen. From 1583 till 1591 Edward Stafford served as English ambassador to the court of Henry III of France
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
; his wife accompanied him to Paris. There Lady Sheffield became a prominent society figure and a special friend of Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
, whom she advised about a reform of the French royal household. By Stafford she had two sons who died young. The ambassador honoured his wife greatly, but had to cope with the fact that she was still emotionally agitated by remembrances of the Earl of Leicester. Stafford was politically opposed to Leicester, the personal component only aggravating this.
After the death of Elizabeth I, in May 1603, Lady Sheffield's son, Sir Robert Dudley, began trying to claim his father's and his uncle's
Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick
Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, KG was an English nobleman and general, and an elder brother of Queen Elizabeth I's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester...
extinct titles of Earl of Leicester
Earl of Leicester
The title Earl of Leicester was created in the 12th century in the Peerage of England , and is currently a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1837.-Early creations:...
and Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
. He had been apparently told by a shadowy adventurer called Thomas Drury that his parents had been secretly married. The case ended up in the Star Chamber
Star Chamber
The Star Chamber was an English court of law that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster until 1641. It was made up of Privy Counsellors, as well as common-law judges and supplemented the activities of the common-law and equity courts in both civil and criminal matters...
and aroused great public interest in 1604–1605. The court heard ninety witnesses for Dudley and fifty-seven for Leicester's widow, 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...
. Lady Sheffield declared in writing (she did not attend the trial personally) that Leicester had solemnly contracted to marry her in Cannon Row, Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
in 1571, and that they were married at Esher
Esher
Esher is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. It is a very prosperous part of the Greater London Urban Area, largely suburban in character, and is situated 14.1 miles south west of Charing Cross....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, "in wintertime" in 1573. Yet all of the ten putative witnesses ("besides others") to the ceremony were long dead since. Neither could she remember who the "minister" was, nor the exact date of the marriage. As an explanation for marrying Edward Stafford, she asserted that Leicester had tried to poison her and, "life being sweet", she had determined to marry "for safeguard of her life". The Star Chamber rejected the evidence and fined several of the witnesses. It was concluded that Sir Robert Dudley had been duped by Thomas Drury, who in his turn had sought "his own private gains".
Sir Edward Stafford died while the proceedings were in progress. Required to answer questions for the case, he maintained that Dudley had "terrified" his mother into supporting him against her deep reservations. Stafford wrote that he had asked his wife in December 1579, on the Queen's command, if she had been contracted to Leicester, to which "she answered with great vows, grief and passion that she had trusted the said earl too much to have anything to show to constrain him to marry her."
Douglas Sheffield died in early December 1608 at Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
. In her will she left a black velvet bed among other things to her "honourable and beloved son Sir Robert Dudley".