Knollys, Richard (1548–1596)
Lettice’s brother Richard was one of the witnesses at her wedding to Robert Dudley. He was an MP for Wallingford, and married Joan Heigham.
Knollys, Robert (1550–1619)
Affectionately known by the Queen as Robin, Robert was another of Lettice’s brothers. He was an MP for Reading and Breconshire, and Keeper of Syon House from 1584–87. Robert was also a part of the entourage of his nephew, Robert Devereux, but avoided implication in the 1601 rebellion. He frequently participated in tournaments, and died in 1619.
Knollys, Thomas (1558–c. 1596)
A portrait of Lettice’s brother Thomas once hung in Leicester House. He became Governor of Ostend in 1586, and married Odelia de Morada. She was the daughter of the Marquess of Bergen, and together the couple had a daughter, Penelope. Thomas died in late 1596.
Knollys, William (1544–1632)
Lettice’s brother was a favourite at court, and served under Robert Dudley in the Netherlands. He also became an MP, and was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. At the time of his father’s death, William was his eldest surviving son, so inherited most of Sir Francis’s estate. He was held hostage by his nephew during his 1601 rebellion, and later testified against him. William was married twice, but fell in love with one of the Queen’s ladies, Mary Fitton, who was also the Earl of Pembroke’s mistress.
Leighton, Thomas (c. 1530–1610)
Thomas was the husband of Lettice’s sister, Elizabeth. He was knighted in May 1579, and was a close associate of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Leighton had vast military experience, and was appointed Governor of Guernsey. He did not have as much influence under James I, and died in Guernsey in 1610. He was laid to rest there, in the church of St Peter Port.
Percy, Henry (1564–1632)
The second husband of Lettice’s daughter Dorothy, Henry Percy was the ninth Earl of Northumberland. Nicknamed the ‘Wizard Earl’ because of his scientific interests, Percy was arrested in 1605 for alleged conspiracy in the Gunpowder Plot. He was fined and condemned to imprisonment at the King’s pleasure. He was released in 1621, and spent much of the remainder of his life in peaceful retirement and obscurity. He died on 5 November 1632 at Petworth, where he was laid to rest beside his wife.
Rich, Robert (1559?–1619)
Robert Rich, third Baron Rich, became the first husband of Lettice’s daughter, Penelope Devereux. He was an unpleasant character who was unhappily married, but for many years tolerated his wife’s adultery. Following his divorce from Penelope, Rich later remarried, taking as his second bride Frances, daughter of Sir Christopher Wray. She was a widow, and they were married in 1616. Two years later Rich was created Earl of Warwick, but he did not live to enjoy his new title for long. He died on 24 March 1619, and was buried at Felsted with his second wife.
TIMELINE
7 September 1533
Future Elizabeth I is born
26 April 1540
Francis Knollys marries Katherine Carey
6 November 1543
Lettice Knollys is born
28 January 1547
Henry VIII dies at the Palace of Whitehall
September 1547
Francis Knollys is knighted
6 July 1553
Edward VI dies at Greenwich Palace
12 February 1554
Lady Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley are executed
4 February 1555
First Protestant burning of Mary I’s reign takes place
10 June 1557
Francis and Katherine Knollys are in Frankfurt
17 November 1558
Mary I dies and Elizabeth I succeeds
1560?–1562?
Lettice marries Walter Devereux
January 1563
Penelope Devereux is born
17 September 1564?
Dorothy Devereux is born
10 November 1565
Robert Devereux is born
15 January 1569
Katherine Knollys dies
31 October 1569
Walter Devereux ‘the younger’ is born
4 May 1572
Walter Devereux is created Earl of Essex
Summer 1573
Walter sails for Ireland
Summer 1574
Lettice travels to Buxton
July 1575
The Princely Pleasures at Kenilworth are staged
22 September 1576
Walter Devereux dies in Dublin
21 September 1578
Lettice marries the Earl of Leicester at Wanstead
July 1579
Elizabeth I is informed of Lettice’s secret marriage
6 June 1581
‘The Noble Imp’ is born at Leicester House
19 July 1584
‘The Noble Imp’ dies at Wanstead
10 December 1585
Leicester lands at Flushing in the Netherlands
22 September 1586
Battle of Zutphen is fought
8 February 1587
Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed
July–August 1588
The English fleet engages with the Spanish Armada
4 September 1588
Leicester dies at Cornbury Park
July 1589
Lettice marries Sir Christopher Blount
8 September 1591
Lettice’s son Walter is killed in Rouen
19 July 1596
Sir Francis Knollys dies
8 February 1601
The Essex Rebellion takes place in London
25 February 1601
Robert Devereux is executed
18 March 1601
Sir Christopher Blount is executed
24 March 1603
Elizabeth I dies at Richmond Palace
10 February 1604
Lettice files a case in the Star Chamber against Robin Sheffield
10 May 1605
Star Chamber delivers a verdict in Lettice’s favour
7 July 1607
Penelope Devereux dies
August 1619
Dorothy Devereux dies
27 March 1625
James I dies, succeeded by Charles I
25 December 1634
Lettice Knollys dies
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I ALWAYS TAKE great pleasure in transcribing sixteenth-century material. It helps me to feel fully immersed in the period about which I’m writing. I have, however, modernized all of the spelling and punctuation from contemporary books and documents, in order to create a clearer narrative.
All monetary values have been presented with the contemporary amount, followed by the modern-day equivalent in parentheses. All conversions were done according to the National Archives Currency Convertor (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency), and are approximate values. Please also be aware that they may be subject to change.
Finally, for clarity, all dates have been calculated using the modern-day Gregorian calendar, under which the year turns on 1 January.
INTRODUCTION
OF THE MANY intriguing women who are scattered throughout the Tudor period, all with their own unique tale to tell, why Lettice Knollys? The simple answer is ‘why not?’ She was a striking and spirited Early Modern woman, whose long life interplayed with the great dramas of the age, and her full story has been overlooked for too long. Though there have been short pieces about her, and she has featured in books about her kinswoman Elizabeth I, and her second husband, Robert Dudley, Lettice has never been the subject of a full-scale biography. Yet hers was a life that was as turbulent and intriguing as it was long. It is its length that makes it all the more remarkable, for she lived to the extraordinary age of ninety-one – a staggering rarity in an age when the average life span was around forty.
In his Romance of the Peerage, the Victorian writer George L. Craik stated that ‘the very name of Lettice Knollys will probably be new’, but he duly acknowledged that ‘she was one of Queen Elizab
eth’s relations’.1 She was nearer, in fact, than many people realized, but Lettice’s claim to fame and right to a dedicated biography goes much further than that.
For many years Lettice was close to her kinswoman Elizabeth I, but she spent the larger part of the Queen’s reign living in disgrace. The reason for this was that she became the Queen’s rival, and it was a circumstance that Elizabeth would never forgive. Lettice was not, however, a political rival in the same way as Mary, Queen of Scots, or Lady Katherine Grey, who, like Lettice, were also Elizabeth’s kinswomen; indeed, the rivalry between Lettice and Elizabeth was of a far more personal nature, unmuddied by politics, and one that was completely unique. It struck to the very heart of Elizabeth and wounded her deeply. For a woman so powerful, who could mete out the most severe punishments on her political enemies, the fact that she could not destroy Lettice must have been all the more bitter.
Over the centuries Lettice’s reputation has become blackened, thanks largely to material that was written and published during her own lifetime. In 1584, a scandalous anonymous tract known as Leicester’s Commonwealth appeared in England. Its full title was The Copy of a Letter Written by a Master of Art of Cambridge, and the piece, which was aimed at Lettice’s husband the Earl of Leicester, was incredibly hostile – not least because the authors had an axe to grind. Written by Catholics who were pleading for religious toleration – and whose beliefs were completely at odds with Leicester’s own Protestant views – it is hardly surprising that they viewed him with such animosity.
Both Leicester and the Queen tried desperately to suppress its circulation, but with little effect, and in any case, the damage had been done. The authors were clearly well informed on gossip that was circulating at the time, and as such were able to put their own spin on it. The work had a profound effect on shaping later writers’ views on the Earl, and his reputation. Walter Scott’s famous 1821 novel, Kenilworth, paints him as an ambitious individual who is desperate to win the Queen’s favour – to such an extent that his steward arranges the murder of Leicester’s first wife, Amy Robsart. In turn, Leicester’s Commonwealth was also derogatory about Lettice, and it is this that has contributed to her image as both an overtly sexual seductress and, more shockingly, a murderess. Most of the claims made by the authors of the Commonwealth can be discredited, but this did not stop others from jumping to similar conclusions. The chronicler William Camden, for example, drew much of the material for his Historie of the Most Renowned and Victorious Princess Elizabeth, better known as the Annales, from Leicester’s Commonwealth, and he too presented a negative view of Lettice, one that has had great influence and endurance through the centuries. It was at the suggestion of the Queen’s advisor, Lord Burghley, in 1597 that Camden began to think of compiling a history of Elizabeth’s reign, but he did not start writing it until 1607 – four years after the Queen’s death. Though he gleaned some of the information for his narrative from people who were close to the Queen and her courtiers, Camden’s work was intended to highlight Elizabeth’s achievements. It was consequently highly critical of anything and anyone at odds with this. The trend of casting Lettice in a bad light has largely continued to the present day. Robert Lacey, the biographer of Lettice’s son the Earl of Essex, related that she was ‘Wilful and impetuous, she insisted always on having her own way, dominating her son Robert in his youth and then dogging his footsteps at Court.’2 This image has also been highlighted in popular culture. In the 1971 Elizabeth R television series, in which Angela Thorne adopted the role of Lettice, she is portrayed as a highly spirited woman who, following her fall from grace, was eager to antagonize Elizabeth I, played by Glenda Jackson. She is outspoken, haughty, arrogant and unrepentant. Although at various points in her life Lettice did display some of these traits, it is by no means the whole story.
What makes Lettice all the more remarkable is her longevity: her life spanned the reigns of seven monarchs (including Lady Jane Grey), and two dynasties; she was born during the kingship of Henry VIII and witnessed the Tudor monarchy in all its glory, before its ultimate demise following the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. In its place the Scottish Stuart dynasty established itself firmly on the English throne, uniting the kingdoms of England and Scotland for the first time. Lettice lived through all of this and more, for hers was a period during which the country underwent significant change, ravaged by war, political upheaval and religious turmoil. Many of these changes and the events they brought with them impacted upon Lettice and her family, who also faced their own challenges. Although Lettice herself was not always actively involved in, or a witness to, all of the tumultuous happenings, those closest to her often were. Husbands, children, kin; Lettice’s family were always at the very centre of events, watching and participating as the plots, politics and wars of the era unfolded. As such, Lettice experienced the theatre of her day in a very different way; her life offers us an extraordinarily personal lens through which to view the turbulent world of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Her story is not just one of melodrama, but rather a tapestry of episodes and intrigue that wove its way through the centuries and the lives of her family. Ultimately, it was only Lettice who survived them all.
A friend suggested the subject of this book to me, but I did accidentally stumble across it some time before. In September 2015, I was visiting the magnificent St Mary’s Church in Warwick in order to check a source for my first book. While I was there, I stopped to take a look at the double tomb Lettice shares with her second husband, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. It struck me that I’d never read a biography of Lettice, and that I didn’t actually know much about her. At that time I delved no further, but when I came back to it a couple of months later I was astonished to find that there was no full-scale biography of her. Even more interestingly, what had been written about her primarily painted her in a less than favourable light. I was intrigued to know how much of this – if any – was justified, and to learn more about why Lettice earned Elizabeth’s loathing.
Additionally, having spent years researching and writing about Lady Jane Grey and her family for my first book, Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey, in many ways this felt like the next part of the story for some of those who were involved. Jane’s husband, Guildford Dudley, was the younger brother of Robert, Lettice’s second husband, and he too had played a role in the tragedy of the Tudor queen: unlike his brother, however, Robert would survive the disaster that engulfed his family. In some respects this narrative picks up the threads from that fatal moment, and continues to weave them together to form the next intriguing part of the tale. Lettice, who had never met the ill-fated queen and was only nine years old at the time of Jane’s execution, could never have known that she would in time have become Jane’s sister-in-law.
As is always the case when working with the past, there are frustrating gaps in the sources. For example, aside from her date of birth, virtually nothing of Lettice’s early life is known. Despite this, I was pleasantly surprised by the quantity and quality of surviving material relating to Lettice’s life: here were all of the ingredients that were needed to piece together a compelling narrative. The Dudley and Devereux Papers, preserved at Longleat House, are a crucial source. They provide us with an assortment of details that relate to Lettice’s own life, and those of her husbands and family. They were once in Lettice’s custody, kept at her Staffordshire residence of Drayton Bassett. At her death the papers passed first to her grandson, the third Earl of Essex, and at his death in 1646 to his sister, Lettice’s granddaughter, the Duchess of Somerset. When she died she left all of the family papers to her grandson, Thomas Thynne, who also purchased Drayton Bassett at his grandmother’s request. When Thynne inherited Longleat House in 1682, he brought all of the family papers with him and they have been at Longleat ever since.
A number of Lettice’s own letters also survive, largely dating from the later years of her life, and primarily addressed to her eldest son, the Earl of Essex. These provide
fascinating insights into her character and the relationships she shared with her children, on whom she evidently doted. Letters to her friend Lord Burghley also survive, revealing the way in which Lettice approached her business affairs, and demonstrating a stubborn streak in her character that she passed on to her children. What is sadly missing are her letters to her husbands – only one letter, addressed to her third husband, Sir Christopher Blount, survives, and this is short. This means that we have to look elsewhere for clues about the relationships she shared with them. According to The Complete Peerage, Lettice is also ‘the little western flower’ on whom ‘the bolt of Cupid fell’ in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.3 Lettice’s son, the Earl of Essex, is likely to have been an early patron of Shakespeare, and it has also been suggested that his story and that of his mother were the inspiration behind Hamlet.4
Lettice left behind a whole host of descendants, and few people realize that she is the ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II through her mother.5 Similarly, it is from the descendants of Lettice’s younger sister Elizabeth and her husband Sir Thomas Leighton that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are commonly descended. Her unusually advanced age at the time of her death meant that she outlived many of her contemporaries, and was thus the last of the great Elizabethans. There is, though, something even more intriguing about her, something which was never openly acknowledged during her own lifetime: it is highly likely that she was also Henry VIII’s illegitimate granddaughter. If this is indeed true, then although Henry’s direct legitimate descendants became extinct following the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, the line of his illegitimate ones lives on to this day.
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