
On This Day (15 January) in 1569, Catherine Carey, Lady Knollys, Elizabeth I's cousin and Chief Lady of the Bedchamber, died at Hampton Court Palace, aged around 46 years old.
There had been the first signs of ill health the previous summer, documented in a letter written to her, by her husband Sir Francis Knollys. Francis, one of Elizabeth I's loyal Protestant courtiers had been sent north to Carlisle by the queen, to take up the role of custodian of the recently imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots in May 1568, The couple had been separated as Catherine had remained with her mistress Elizabeth I at court, in her role as the Chief Lady of the Bedchamber; Elizabeth had refused the requests from Francis for his wife to accompany him, not feeling that she could be separated from her cousin (Whitelock, 2013; Tallis, 2017).

In the letter written by Francis on 29 July, he writes that "I am very sorry to hear that you are fallen into a fever, I would to God I were so dispatched hence that I might only attend and care for your good recovery" and "I trust you shall shortly overcome this fever and recover good health again". His further requests for leave to attend court to attend to his wife of almost 20 years were again refused by Elizabeth. However, he received news from his servants at the beginning of August, following which he received further confirmation from his long-time friend and ally Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Dudley that Catherine had recovered from her illness. However, there were concerns about her long-term health, in particular the impact that multiple pregnancies (at least 15) over the past 18 years had had on Catherine. Once her health had slightly improved, Catherine herself reportedly requested to join her husband in the north; this request was also declined, with Elizabeth expressing concerns about the impact of the long journey on her weakened state (Whitelock, 2013; Tallis, 2017).

From October 1568, Mary, Queen of Scots reluctantly underwent an inquiry into the murder of her second husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, in a bid to clear her name, and pave the way for restoration to the Scottish throne. She had been moved down to Bolton Castle, Yorkshire for this trial to take place, and Francis Knollys accompanied her in his ongoing role as guardian (English Heritage, 2025).
On the background of this inquiry, the royal court gathered at Hampton Court Palace for the Christmas festivities, with Catherine accompanying the queen. Francis's ongoing requests to join his wife continued to be refused, which caused him to write grievously and bitterly to Catherine, expressing a wish for the pair of them to leave their roles in court, and retire to a quiet life in the country (Borman, 2009). Francis felt that the couple's kinship and loyalty to the queen had not been aptly rewarded. This appeared to be a pattern amongst those in the service of the queen, with Anne Russell, Countess of Warwick, and her husband Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick having similar complaints in the following decades. Francis also expressed his concerns that Catherine's ongoing service to the queen was having an overall detrimental impact to her health (Borman, 2009; Whitelock, 2013).

Catherine's health deteriorated once again during the Christmas; Elizabeth ordered that she would be nursed in a chamber next to hers, and was regularly visited by her. Whilst she remained separated from her husband, her 19 year old daughter Elizabeth, also being a member of Elizabeth's household as a Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber, was likely present during these final days (Whitelock, 2013). Catherine finally died on 15 January 1569, exactly ten years to the day when she and multiple family members had accompanied her kinswoman through the doors of Westminster Abbey, and observed her be crowned Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland (Tallis, 2017). News of Catherine's death took time to reach her family members, scattered throughout the country, including daughter Lettice, Viscountess Hereford, who was residing with her young family at the Devereux family seat of Chartley, Staffordshire. Francis had still not had news of her death by 19 January, as he was continuing to write to William Cecil, Elizabeth's Secretary of State, requesting his discharge from his post (Tallis, 2017).
Francis was eventually informed of Catherine's death on 20 January, when his brother Henry Knollys arrived at Bolton to inform him of the sad news in person. He was immediately grief-stricken, with Henry writing to Cecil the following day, describing him as "distracted with sorrow for his great loss". Francis himself wrote to the Privy Council on 29 January, describing a "melancholy humour grows daily on me since my wife’s death" (Tallis, 2017). Mary herself, having developed a relationship with her guardian, could see the impact Catherine's death had on him, and placed the blame at Elizabeth's door, highlighting their prolonged separation (Whitelock, 2013).
Elizabeth herself was significantly affected by Catherine's death, retiring to her Bedchamber, in a state of 'passionate grief' and mourning. Visitors to her court in the days following observed her grief for a woman "whom she had ‘loved better than all the women in the world”. But the queen was also overcome with remorse; only after Catherine's death, did she express regret in having kept her separate from Francis for so long, as well as acknowledging the impact of her long years of service had had on her health, when Catherine often put her needs before her own. Arrangements were soon made for Mary, Queen of Scots to be moved to Tutbury Castle, and placed under the custody George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, who would become her keeper and custodian for 14 years. Francis himself was finally discharged from his duties, and returned to London at the beginning of February (Borman, 2009; Whitelock, 2013).

Elizabeth ordered that Catherine be buried at Westminster Abbey; in April 1569, she charged the rivals Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester and Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk to organise the elaborate funeral. The total cost of the funeral was in excess of £640, funded fully by the queen, a larger amount spent in comparison to the funerals of other cousin or members of the royal family (Tallis, 2017). Whitelock (2013) comments that Catherine's hearse was so decorative and elaborate, that William Bill, the Dean of Westminster, and the heralds fought over the right to keep it, requiring William Cecil to mediate.
Catherine's funeral roll has recently been discovered at the Bodlein Library, Oxford; on this, details of her ceremony have been recorded, including those in attendance (including William Cecil and his wife, Mildred Cooke), and her Chief Mourner Frances Newtown Brooke, Baroness Cobham, another Lady of the Queen's Bedchamber. Whilst as according to tradition, her husband Francis was not present, Catherine was represented by many of her children, including sons Henry, William, Robert and Henry, and daughters Elizabeth, Anne and Maude Knollys (Bundesen, 2022). There is no evidence of Lettice attending the funeral; whether this was due to her location, as she was continuing to reside in Chartley, Staffordshire, three months pregnant, or potentially due to the demands placed on her husband Walter Devereux, Viscount Hereford, in providing support in ensuring the ongoing imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots at nearby Tutbury (Whitelock, 2013).

Following the elaborate ceremony, Catherine was buried in the floor of St Edmund's Chapel, and an alabaster and marble tablet was erected on the wall, above the spot, likely commissioned by Francis, given the inscriptions; one in English, the second in Latin. The English inscription focuses on her kinship with Elizabeth, specifically Catherine being the daughter of Lady Mary Boleyn, and the niece Anne Boleyn, 'Quene of England', reiterated by the coats of arms adorning the monument - Boleyn, Carey, Knollys and Beaufort. The second, in Latin, praises her roles as wife to Francis and mother to their many children, as well as highlighting Francis's own grief at her death (Westminster Abbey, 2025). A broadside epitaph was later published, which has been attributed to clergyman and poet Thomas Newton; in this, Catherine's virtues are highlighted, as well as her longstanding relationship and commitment to the queen (Whitelock, 2013).

![Tomb effigies of Sir Francis Knollys tomb, St Nicholas's Church, Rotherfield Greys © erichardyuk [Flickr]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ed9b82_2067deeda1e14be797aa0890094b5a1e~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_980,h_784,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/ed9b82_2067deeda1e14be797aa0890094b5a1e~mv2.png)
Comentarios