Shrewsbury, Elizabeth Talbot, countess of
Shrewsbury, Elizabeth Talbot, countess of
(shrōz`bərē, shro͞oz`–), 1520–1608, English noblewoman, known as Bess of Hardwick. At the age of 15 she married Robert Barlow, who died shortly afterward. She was married and widowed twice more, inheriting several large estates, before she was married in 1568 to George Talbot, 6th earl of Shrewsbury. The marriage (1574) of her daughter Elizabeth to Charles Stuart, brother of Lord DarnleyDarnley, Henry Stuart or Stewart, Lord,1545–67, second husband of Mary Queen of Scots and father of James I of England (James VI of Scotland).
..... Click the link for more information. , angered Queen Elizabeth IElizabeth I,
1533–1603, queen of England (1558–1603). Early Life
The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, she was declared illegitimate just before the execution of her mother in 1536, but in 1544 Parliament reestablished her in the succession after
..... Click the link for more information. because Stuart had a claim to the throne, and the countess was sent to the Tower of London for three months. The countess quarreled with her husband and accused (1584) him of a love affair with Mary Queen of ScotsMary Queen of Scots
(Mary Stuart), 1542–87, only child of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. Through her grandmother Margaret Tudor, Mary had the strongest claim to the throne of England after the children of Henry VIII.
..... Click the link for more information. , whose custodian he was (1569–84), but the couple was nominally reconciled before his death (1590). She built a number of great mansions, including Hardwick Hall.
Bibliography
See biography by M. W. Lovell (2007).