Elizabeth Norris, 3rd Baroness Norreys of Rycote, '' suo jure'' (c. 1603 – November 1645) was an English noblewoman. She was the wife of

Edward Wray Edward Wray (1589 - 21 March 1658) was an English courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1625. Early life Wray was the third son of Sir William Wray, 1st Baronet, of Glentworth and was baptised at Louth, Lincolnshire on 9 Nov ...

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

to King

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...

, with whom she eloped in 1622, and incurred the king's displeasure as she was his ward. Elizabeth and her elopement was allegedly the inspiration for

Orlando Gibbons Orlando Gibbons ( bapt. 25 December 1583 – 5 June 1625) was an English composer and keyboard player who was one of the last masters of the English Virginalist School and English Madrigal School. The best known member of a musical famil ...

''Fantazies''.Kathy Lynn Emerson, ''A Who's Who of Tudor Women''

Family

Elizabeth was born around 1603, the only child of

Francis Norris, 1st Earl of Berkshire Francis Norris, 1st Earl of Berkshire (6 July 1579 – 31 January 1622) was an English nobleman with the title of Earl of Berkshire. He was the son of Captain Sir William Norreys (d. 1579) and Elizabeth Morison, daughter of Sir Richard Morriso ...

, and

Bridget de Vere Bridget Norris (née de Vere), Countess of Berkshire (6 April 1584 – December 1630/March 1631) was an English noblewoman, the daughter of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. Bridget was brought up by her maternal grandfather, the powerful sta ...

, daughter of

Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (; 12 April 155024 June 1604) was an English peer and courtier of the Elizabethan era. Oxford was heir to the second oldest earldom in the kingdom, a court favourite for a time, a sought-after patron of ...

, by

Anne Cecil Anne de Vere (née Cecil), Countess of Oxford (5 December 1556 – 5 June 1588) was the daughter of the statesman William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, chief adviser to Queen Elizabeth I of England, and the translator Mildred Cooke. In 1571 she be ...

. Elizabeth's aunt was

Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby Elizabeth Stanley (née de Vere), Countess of Derby, Lord of Mann (2 July 1575 – 10 March 1627), was an English noblewoman and the eldest daughter of the Elizabethan courtier and poet Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. She was the Lord of Ma ...

and Lord of Mann. Elizabeth had another aunt Lady Susan de Vere, whose husband

Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery, (10 October 158423 January 1650) was an English courtier, nobleman, and politician active during the reigns of James I and Charles I. Philip and his older brother William were ...

was rumoured to have been Elizabeth's lover prior to her marriage.

Elopement

In 1621, Elizabeth was being courted by Edward Wray, a Groom of the Bedchamber to King James. In January 1622, her father, who was estranged from her mother and had just been released from Fleet Prison (where he had been sent after a scuffle with another courtier in the presence of

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

), committed suicide. His estates thereby became forfeit to the crown, and Elizabeth became the King's ward. Elizabeth gained the ''suo jure'' title of Baroness Norris of Rycote, and the King wished for her to marry Christopher Villiers, the brother of his favourite,

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at the ...

. She was living with the Herberts, which gave rise to the rumour that she was the mistress of her aunt's husband, the Earl; and from there she eloped with Edward Wray on 27 March 1622. They were married at St Mary Aldermary's Church. Following the ceremony, Elizabeth, fearful of the King's anger, went to the

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

house of her half-uncle Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford for protection. When their elopement was discovered, Wray was placed under house arrest until February 1623, and lost his position at court. The Earl of Oxford was sent to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

. It was alleged that Elizabeth's elopement with Wray inspired composer Orlando Gibbons to write his ''Fantazies''.

Issue and succession

Eventually, Elizabeth and her husband were reunited. Together they had a daughter, Bridget Wray (12 May 1627- March 1657), who succeeded Elizabeth as ''suo jure'' Baroness Norris of Rycote. Bridget married Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey, by whom she had issue (including

James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon (16 June 1653 – 22 May 1699), styled Hon. James Bertie until 1657 and known as the 5th Baron Norreys from 1657 until 1682, was an English nobleman. Early life and relations Bertie was the eldest son of Montag ...

, also 5th Baron Norreys of Rycote). She was treated by the court physician

Théodore de Mayerne Sir Théodore Turquet de Mayerne (28 September 1573 – 22 March 1655) was a Genevan-born physician who treated kings of France and England and advanced the theories of Paracelsus. The Young Doctor Mayerne was born in a Huguenot family in Gen ...

in October 1635. Elizabeth died in November 1645, aged about 42. She was buried on 28 November 1645.Profile
thepeerage.com; accessed 27 March 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norreys of Rycote, Elizabeth Wray, 3rd Baroness Daughters of British earls English baronesses 1600s births 1645 deaths Hereditary women peers 17th-century English women Suo jure peeresses 3 Norris family De Vere family