Lady Anne Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (c. 1471–1520) was an English noblewoman who served as a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

to Queen consort

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

, the first wife 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 known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. Anne was the first wife of

George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, 4th Earl of Waterford, 10th Baron Talbot, Order of the Garter, KG, Order of the Bath, KB, Privy Counsellor, PC ( – 26 July 1538) was the son of John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, and Lady Catherine Sta ...

, by whom she had 11 children. Her maternal half-sister was

Cecily Bonville Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington, 2nd Baroness Bonville (30 June 1460 – 12 May 1529) was an English peer, who was also Marchioness of Dorset by her first marriage to Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, and Countess of Wiltshire by her s ...

, the wealthiest heiress in late 15th-century England. Anne was also the Baroness Furnivall, as her husband held the title of 9th

Baron Furnivall Baron Furnivall is an ancient title in the Peerage of England. It was originally created (by writ) when Thomas de Furnivall was summoned to the Model Parliament on 24 June 1295 as Lord Furnivall. The barony eventually passed to Thomas Nevill, who ...

Family and early years

Anne was born in about 1471, the youngest child of

William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (c. 1431 – 13 June 1483) was an English nobleman. A loyal follower of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses, he became a close friend and one of the most important courtiers of King Edward IV, ...

, and Katherine Neville, sister of

Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, 6th Earl of Salisbury (22 November 1428 – 14 April 1471), known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, landowner of the House of Neville fortune and military c ...

. Anne had four brothers, Sir

Edward Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings Edward Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings, KB PC (26 November 1466 – 8 November 1506) was an English peer. Origins Edward Hastings was born in Kirby Muxloe Castle, Leicestershire to Sir William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings and Katherine Neville ...

, Sir William, Sir Richard, and George, and a sister, Elizabeth. She had an older half-sister Cecily Bonville from her mother's first marriage to

William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington (1442 – 30 December 1460) was an English nobleman who was a loyal adherent of the House of York during the dynastic conflict in England in the 15th century now known as the Wars of the Roses. He was slain ...

who was executed by the command of Queen

Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou (; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Through marriage, she was also nominally Queen of France from 1445 to 1453. Born in the ...

after the

Battle of Wakefield The Battle of Wakefield took place in Sandal Magna near Wakefield in northern England, on 30 December 1460. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses. The opposing forces were an army led by nobles loyal to the captive King Henry VI o ...

where he fought on the side of the

Yorkists The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...

. Cecily was the wealthiest heiress in England as well as the ''suo jure'' Baroness Harington and Bonville. Anne grew up during the period in English history when the dynastic civil wars fought between the Houses of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

, known as the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

, broke out at intervals and resulted in the deaths of many combatants and supporters from both sides. Anne's father was a staunch Yorkist, and a close friend and

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

of King

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

. After the latter's death in April 1483, Hastings was persuaded by his mistress

Jane Shore Elizabeth "Jane" Shore (née Lambert; 1445 – c. 1527) was one of the many mistresses of King Edward IV of England. She became the best known in history by being later accused of conspiracy by the future King Richard III and compelled to do p ...

to enter into a conspiracy against the late king's youngest brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who had been made Lord Protector of the realm. Upon discovery of Hastings treachery, Gloucester gave the order for his execution, which was carried out at the

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

on 13 June 1483. Anne's father was not attainted, however, and her mother, Katherine was placed under Gloucester's protection following his ascension as King Richard III of England, which secured her privileges and rights. At the time of her father's execution, Anne was already married to Hastings' teenaged

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. Her mother, by royal permission, took over as legal guardian of Anne's husband until he came of age.

Marriage and issue

Sometime before 27 June 1481, at the age of about 10, Anne married her father's 13-year-old ward, George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, 9th Baron Furnivall. George was her second cousin. She was his first wife, and upon their marriage she was styled as Countess of Shrewsbury and Baroness Furnivall. Together George and Anne had 11 children: * Francis Talbot, later 11th Baron Talbot and 5th Earl of Shrewsbury (c. 1500-1560) * Elizabeth Talbot (c. 1507-aft. 6 May 1552), married aft. 18 May 1519

William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre William Dacre, 7th Baron Greystock, later 3rd Baron Dacre of Gilsland (c. 1493 – 18 November 1563) was an English peer, a Cumberland landowner, and the holder of important offices under the Crown, including many years' service as Warden of ...

of Gilsland, and had issue. * Margaret Talbot (dsp.), married, as his first wife,

Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland (1493 – 22 April 1542) was a member of The Cliffords, the Clifford family which was seated at Skipton Castle, Yorkshire from 1310 to 1676. Origins He was born at Skipton Castle, a son of Henry Clifford ...

* Mary Talbot (d. 16 April 1572), married c. January 1523/1524, to

Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, Order of the Garter, KG (c. 1502 – 1537) was an English nobleman, active as a military officer in the north. He is now primarily remembered as the betrothed of Anne Boleyn, whom he was forced to give u ...

. * Henry Talbot, styled Lord Talbot (d. young) * John Talbot (d. young) * John Talbot (d. young) * William Talbot, Marshal of Ireland * Richard Talbot * Anne Talbot * Dorothy Talbot

At the royal court

Early in the reign of King

, Anne came to court where she served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen consort Catherine of Aragon.Emerson It is not known how long she served in this capacity.

Death

Anne died on an unknown date in 1520. She was buried in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, which is now the

Sheffield Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield, also known as Sheffield Cathedral, is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral status when ...

. Her husband married secondly Elizabeth Walden (died July 1567), by whom he had a daughter, Anne (d.18 July 1588). George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury had a chapel added to the church in 1520 to serve as a family chapel; and after his own death, a monument was built in Shrewsbury Chapel where his effigy can be seen flanked by those of Anne and his second wife, Elizabeth.

Ancestry

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shrewsbury, Anne Hastings, Countess of 1470s births 1520 deaths English countesses

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

English ladies-in-waiting Anne Hastings, Countess of Shrewsbury Anne Hastings, Countess of Shrewsbury Daughters of barons Wives of knights 15th-century English women 16th-century English women 15th-century English people 16th-century English nobility

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

Household of Catherine of Aragon