Eleanor Manners, Countess of Rutland (née Paston; c. 1495 – 1551), was

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

to five wives of King

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke of ...

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the s ...

, and

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...

Marriage

The daughter of Sir William Paston (son of Sir John Paston) and Bridget Heydon (daughter of Sir Henry Heydon), she married Thomas Manners, 12th Baron de Ros, by 1523, and became known as Countess of Rutland when he was elevated to the earldom few years later. The first of the couple's eleven or more children, a daughter named Anne, was born the same year or soon thereafter. Lady Rutland's continuous pregnancies did not hinder her career at court and she continued bearing children until 1539, the last child, a daughter named Katherine, being born weeks after the wedding of another daughter, Gertrude. Katherine was named in honour of the Duchess of Suffolk, whom Lady Rutland admired.

Life at court

Lady Rutland's earliest recorded appearance at court was at the investiture of

with the Marquessate of Pembroke in 1532. The next month, Lady Rutland and her husband accompanied

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

and Anne to Calais, where the latter was to be introduced to King

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

. Despite their support for Henry's reform, Lord and Lady Rutland remained conservative Catholics. It is likely that she became Anne Boleyn's lady-in-waiting after she married Henry, a position she held under the next three queens -

and

. She was a senior lady-in-waiting to Anne of Cleves, the King's fourth wife, and knew that the marriage was unconsummated. In February 1540, Anne praised the King as a kind husband, saying to Lady Rutland: "When he comes to bed he kisseth me, and he taketh me by the hand, and biddeth me 'Good night, sweetheart'; and in the morning kisseth me and biddeth 'Farewell, darling'." Lady Rutland responded: "Madam, there must be more than this, or it will be long ere we have a duke of York, which all this realm most desireth."

Widowhood

Lady Rutland remained in close contact with her father after her marriage. He comforted her in 1543 when Lord Rutland died and helped her probate and perform his will. Upon her death in 1550, Lady Rutland was buried in

St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bottesford St Mary the Virgin's Church is in the village of Bottesford, Leicestershire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Framland, the archdeaconry of Leicester and the diocese of Leicester. Its benefice is united with thos ...

.see photo of tomb

Issue

* Anne Manners, wife of

Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland (1525–Aug 1563) was an English peer, member of the House of Lords and Knight of the Garter. Life He was born in 1525, the eldest son of Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland and his wife, Katherine Staf ...

* Gertrude Manners, wife of

George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot, KG, Earl Marshal (c. 1522/1528 – 18 November 1590) was an English magnate and military commander. He also held the subsidiary titles of 15th Baron Strange o ...

Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, 13th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG (23 September 152617 September 1563) was an English nobleman. Origins He was the son and heir of Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland and his wife Eleanor Paston. Career Li ...

* Roger Manners (died 1607), a squire of the body to

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, unmarried * Elizabeth Manners (c. 1530 – 8 August 1570) married Sir John Savage of

Rocksavage Rocksavage or Rock Savage was an Elizabethan mansion, which served as the primary seat of the Savage family. The house now lies in ruins, at in Clifton (now a district of Runcorn), Cheshire, England. Built for Sir John Savage, MP in 1565–156 ...

* Oliver Manners * Frances Manners, married

Henry Nevill, 6th Baron Bergavenny Henry Nevill, 6th and ''de jure'' 4th Baron Abergavenny KB (between 1527 and 153510 February 1587) was an English peer. He was the son of Sir George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny, and Mary Stafford (daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buck ...

; grandmother of

Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland (1 February 158023 March 1629), (styled Sir Francis Fane between 1603 and 1624) of Mereworth in Kent and of Apethorpe in Northamptonshire was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Comm ...

* Sir Thomas Manners, grandfather of Thomas Vavasour, 1st Baronet *

Sir John Manners ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of the incumbent Duke) and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it ...

(c. 1534 – 4 June 1611), husband of

Dorothy Vernon Dorothy Vernon (1544 – 24 June 1584), the younger daughter of Sir George Vernon and Margaret ''nee'' Talbois (or Tailboys), was the heiress of Haddon Hall, an English country house in Derbyshire with its origins in the 12th century. She marr ...

* Isabel Manners, died young * Katherine Manners, married Sir Henry Capell,

Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutland, Eleanor Paston, Countess of 1490s births 1551 deaths English countesses

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

16th-century English women English ladies-in-waiting Ladies of the Privy Chamber Household of Anne Boleyn Household of Jane Seymour Household of Anne of Cleves Household of Catherine Howard