Elizabeth Raleigh | |
|---|---|
 1595 portrait | |
| Born | Elizabeth Throckmorton 16 April 1565 |
| Died | c. 1647 |
| Spouse | Sir Walter Raleigh |
| Children | Damerei Walter "Wat" Carew |
| Parent(s) | Sir Nicholas Throckmorton Anne Carew |
Elizabeth, Lady Raleigh (néeThrockmorton; 16 April 1565 – c. 1647), was an English courtier, a Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Her secret marriage to Sir Walter Raleigh precipitated a long period of royal disfavour for both her and her husband.
Elizabeth, known also as "Bess", was the daughter of the diplomat Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and Anne Carew. Her father, Nicholas, was the nephew of Sir Thomas Parr making him a cousin to the late Queen, Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII, to whom he served in her household. Her mother, Anne, was the daughter of Elizabeth Bryan who is reputed to have been a mistress of King Henry. That made Anne a niece of Sir Francis Bryan who had been a close confidant to King Henry. Both Elizabeth and Francis had been a first half-cousin of both Queen consorts Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard and a second half-cousin of Jane Seymour, so Bess was well connected at court.
Bess and her brother Arthur were cousins and courtiers to Elizabeth I.
In her book, The Life of Elizabeth I (1998), British author and historian Alison Weir states Throckmorton and Raleigh's first child was conceived by July 1591, the couple were married "in great secrecy" in the autumn of 1591, and their son was born in March 1592. The boy was christened Damerei, after Sir Walter's claimed ancestors, the D'Ameries. Damerei is believed to have died during infancy. [1]
Weir states that Queen Elizabeth first became aware in May 1592 of the secret marriage and of Damerei's birth, despite Bess and Sir Walter's denials. The couple had married without royal permission, but, significantly, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, was in on the secret and acting as godfather to the Raleighs' son. Once the queen found out, she first placed Bess and Raleigh under house arrest, then sent them to the Tower of London, in June 1592. Raleigh was released from the Tower in August 1592 and Bess in December 1592, at which time she joined her husband at Sherborne Castle, his Dorset estate. The couple remained devoted to each other, although, according to Weir, Bess proved to be a domineering wife. Anna Beer, Lady Raleigh's biographer, offers a different perspective, pointing out that due to Raleigh's frequent absences, whether on expeditions, diplomatic duties, or in prison, Bess had to shoulder an unusual level of responsibility for a woman of her time. The Raleighs' second son, Walter, was born in 1593 at Sherborne. [2]
After the Union of Crowns in 1603, many courtiers travelled to Northamptonshire to greet the new queen, Anne of Denmark, and her children, and to seek royal favour. Lord Buckhurst wrote on 21 June 1603 that he and the Lord Keeper Thomas Egerton were travelling "to do our duties to the Queen, the Prince, and Princess, all the world flying beforehand to see her". [3] Bess made the same trip, but was disappointed. Sir Robert Crosse wrote that she had persuaded him to make an "idle journey" to meet the queen and she had received "but idle graces". [4]
The couple's third son was born in January 1605, by which time Raleigh was again a prisoner in the Tower of London. Named Carew, which was both Bess's mother's maiden name and the name of one of Raleigh's brothers, he was christened within the walls of the Tower in the church of St Peter ad Vincula. After Raleigh's execution in 1618, Bess worked tirelessly to re-establish her late husband's reputation and, in 1628, saw a Bill of Restitution restore the Raleigh name 'in blood', which allowed her one surviving son to inherit. [5]
Bess is said to have had her husband's head embalmed and to have carried it around with her for the rest of her life, although the only documented reference to Raleigh's head is from the day of his execution, when it was noted that Lady Raleigh and her ladies left the scene carrying Sir Walter's head in a red bag. An account from 1740 claims that, after Bess's death, Raleigh's head was returned to his tomb in St Margaret's, Westminster. [6]
Through both her parents, Bess had connections to Henry VIII. Her father, Nicholas Throckmorton, was the cousin of Henry's sixth wife, Queen Catherine Parr. Anne Carew, Elizabeth's mother, was the daughter of Nicholas Carew and Elizabeth Carew née Bryan. Nicholas had been a close friend of Henry, from childhood until his execution in 1539.
Bessie Throckmorton is a major character in Edward German's operetta Merrie England (1902).
Norah Lofts in her 1936 fictionalized biography of Walter Raleigh, Here Was a Man, depicted a full-fledged love triangle, with the two Elizabeths - the Queen and the much younger Lady in Waiting - fiercely vying for Walter Raleigh's love and deeply hating each other. There is no clear historical evidence that things went that far. In later parts of the book, Elizabeth Raleigh is depicted as trying to get Walter to leave the court and live quietly with her at Sherborne, and feeling neglected and abandoned when he returned to the Queen's favor, and as loyally standing by him during his disgrace under King James and voluntarily sharing his twelve years of imprisonment in the Tower.
In the film The Virgin Queen (1955), Elizabeth Throckmorton (referred to as Beth Throgmorton in the film) is portrayed by Joan Collins, Queen Elizabeth by Bette Davis.
Elizabeth Throckmorton is the subject of Rosemary Sutcliff's novel Lady in Waiting (1956). Sutcliff usually refers to her as "Bess".
Elizabeth "Bess" Throckmorton, portrayed by Abbie Cornish, was a featured character in the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) as a blonde. This sequel to Elizabeth (1998) focuses on the relationships of Elizabeth I (Cate Blanchett) and Bess with Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen), and shows Bess and Raleigh marrying prior to the Spanish Armada (1588), though in fact the couple married in 1591. [7]
Elizabeth Throckmorton, played by actress Phoebe Thomas, appears in the BBC 2 three-part drama documentary series Armada: 12 Days to Save England (2015) as lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth (Anita Dobson), whom the Queen calls "Bes"'. One scene shows the Queen's jealousy of Bess when she realises, from seeing her wearing a brooch, that Bess has a male admirer unknown to the Queen. Another scene shows the Queen's paranoia about the great danger she feels she is in while the Armada is attacking England, with the Queen forcing Bess to taste her food to check for poison. [8]
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion in Ireland, helped defend England against the Spanish Armada and held political positions under Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a 2007 biographical historical drama film directed by Shekhar Kapur and produced by Universal Pictures and Working Title Films. It stars Cate Blanchett in the title role and is a loose but fact-based portrayal of events during the latter part of the reign of Elizabeth I, forming a sequel to Kapur's 1998 film Elizabeth. The film co-stars Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, Jordi Mollà, Abbie Cornish, and Samantha Morton. The screenplay was written by William Nicholson and Michael Hirst, and the music score was composed by Craig Armstrong and A. R. Rahman. Guy Hendrix Dyas was the film's production designer and co-visual effects supervisor, and the costumes were created by Alexandra Byrne. The film was shot at Shepperton Studios and various locations around the United Kingdom.
Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset was the second wife of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, who held the office of Lord Protector during the first part of the reign of their nephew King Edward VI. The Duchess was briefly the most powerful woman in England. During her husband's regency she unsuccessfully claimed precedence over the queen dowager, Catherine Parr.
Sir Francis Throckmorton was a conspirator against Queen Elizabeth I of England in the Throckmorton Plot.
Sir Nicholas Throckmorton was an English diplomat and politician, who was an ambassador to France and later Scotland, and played a key role in the relationship between Elizabeth I of England and Mary, Queen of Scots.
Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden was a soldier and courtier in England and an early member of the House of Commons. He was the son of Lancastrian loyalists Sir William Vaux of Harrowden and Katherine Penyson, a lady of the household of Queen Margaret of Anjou, wife of the Lancastrian king, Henry VI of England. Katherine was a daughter of Gregorio Panizzone of Courticelle, in Piedmont, Italy which was at that time subject to King René of Anjou, father of Queen Margaret of Anjou, as ruler of Provence. He grew up during the years of Yorkist rule and later served under the founder of the Tudor dynasty, Henry VII.
Katherine Ashley, also known as Kat Ashley or Astley, was the first close friend, governess, and Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England. She was the aunt of Catherine Champernowne, who was the mother of Sir Humphrey Gilbert from her first marriage and Walter Raleigh by her second marriage.
Thomas Vaux, 2nd Baron Vaux of Harrowden KB, English poet, was the eldest son of Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux and his second wife, Anne Green, daughter of Sir Thomas Green, Lord of Nortons Green, and Joan Fogge. He was educated at Cambridge University. His mother was the maternal aunt of Queen Consort Katherine Parr, while his wife, Elizabeth Cheney, was her paternal cousin through Katherine's father's sister, Anne Parr.
Sir Nicholas Carew KG, of Beddington in Surrey, was an English courtier and diplomat during the reign of King Henry VIII. He was executed for his alleged part in the Exeter Conspiracy.
Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal in Westmorland, England, was a courtier and is best known as the father of Queen Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII.
Elizabeth Carew was an English courtier and reputed mistress of King Henry VIII.
Sir George Throckmorton of Coughton Court in Warwickshire, England, was a Member of Parliament during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Anne Brooke, Baroness Cobham was the wife of Sir George Brooke, 9th Baron Cobham. She was the attendant horsewoman at Anne Boleyn's coronation as Queen Consort on 1 June 1533, and she was allegedly one of the first accusers of Queen Anne in 1536. Anne Braye was Baroness Cobham from 1529 until her death in 1558.
Anna Beer is a British author and lecturer, primarily known for her work as a biographer.
Sir Robert Throckmorton, KG, of Coughton Court in Warwickshire, was a Member of Parliament and a distinguished English courtier. His public career was impeded by remaining a Roman Catholic.
Elizabeth FitzHugh also known as Lady Elizabeth Parr. She was an English noblewoman and lady-in-waiting to her cousin, Anne Neville, queen consort of King Richard III. She was grandmother of Catherine Parr, sixth queen consort to King Henry VIII, and her siblings Anne Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, and William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton.
Lady in Waiting is a historical novel by Rosemary Sutcliff and first published in 1957.
Sir Nicholas Throckmorton or Carew was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two parliaments between 1601 and 1622.
Rushton Hall in Rushton, Northamptonshire, England, was the ancestral home of the Tresham family from 1438, when William Tresham, a veteran of the Battle of Agincourt and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster bought the estate. In the 20th century the house became a private school and it has now been converted to a luxury hotel. The estate is about 227 acres (92 ha) of which 30 acres (12 ha) are formal gardens. The River Ise flows from west to east south of the Hall.
Francis Carew (1530?–1611), of Beddington, Surrey was an English politician.
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