Catherine Sheffield, Duchess of Buckingham and Normanby (''née'' Lady Catherine Darnley; c. 1681 – 13 March 1743) was an illegitimate daughter of King
James II of England
James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...
, and was married to two English noblemen in succession.
Lady Catherine was the king's daughter by his mistress
Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, and was given the surname Darnley with reference to her father's ancestor,
Lord Darnley. There was some doubt about her paternity, as Catherine Sedley was thought to have other lovers. By royal warrant, Lady Catherine Darnley was given the status of a duke's daughter in the order of precedence.
Her arms granted by James II are incorporated today in those of the
Marquess of Normanby, indicating that King James accepted her as his natural child.
Lady Catherine's first husband was
James Annesley, 3rd Earl of Anglesey, whom she married on 28 October 1699 at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
. The couple were separated in 1701 by Act of Parliament, on the grounds of the earl's cruelty,
with the countess claiming that he had tried to murder her. She left him while he was defending himself from her claim in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
.
The earl contracted tuberculosis and died early in 1702.
They had one daughter, Lady Catherine Annesley (c. 1700–1736), who married, first, William Phipps, and second, John Sheldon (or Skelton).
On 16 March 1706, the widowed countess married, as his third wife,
John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby
John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby (7 April 164824 February 1721) was an English poet and Tory politician of the late Stuart period who served as Lord Privy Seal and Lord President of the Council. He was also known by his o ...
; the wedding took place at
St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...
. The duke, a great supporter of King James, was more than thirty years older than his new duchess, and they had three children, two of whom died in infancy:
*John Sheffield, Marquess of Normanby (1710)
*Robert Sheffield, Marquess of Normanby (1711–1715)
*
Edmund Sheffield, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Normanby (1716–1735), who died unmarried.
The duke's previous marriages were said to have been unhappy, but he doted on Catherine, with their friend
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...
claiming that "whenever they have had any difference... he could never stay till suppertime... nor till she returned back of herself into his room, but constantly left his books or business to come after her, and said, "Child, you and I should never fall out; and though I still think myself in the right, yet you shall have it in your way." When the duke died in 1721, she called on Pope and
Francis Atterbury to produce a memorial edition of his poems and other works.
As all of Catherine's children pre-deceased her, the dukedom became extinct and her late husband's estates passed to his illegitimate son,
Sir Charles Herbert Sheffield, 1st Baronet. The descendants of her daughter, Lady Catherine Annesley, included
Constantine Phipps, 1st Baron Mulgrave,
Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave,
the Hon. Charles Phipps, MP and
General the Hon. Edmund Phipps.
References
{{reflist
1680s births
1743 deaths
Buckingham and Normanby
Anglesey
Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...
Daughters of British earls
Burials at Westminster Abbey
Illegitimate children of James II of England
Daughters of kings
Catherine