Elizabeth Stuart, Countess of Lennox née Cavendish (31 March 1555 – 16 January 1582) was an English noblewoman and the wife of

Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

. She was the mother of

Arbella Stuart Lady Arbella Stuart (also Arabella, or Stewart; 1575 – 25 September 1615) was an English noblewoman who was considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I of England. During the reign of King James VI and I (her first cousin), she marrie ...

, a close relation to the English and Scottish thrones.

Family

Elizabeth Cavendish was born in

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the House of Cavendish, Cavendish family si ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, on 31 March 1555, the daughter of

Bess of Hardwick Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury ( Hardwick; 13 February 1608), known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series of well-made marri ...

and her second husband Sir William Cavendish. Catherine Grey was one of her godmothers. Bess was a

Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. A lady of the bedchamber would gi ...

to Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

and became one of the wealthiest women in England. Elizabeth Cavendish had seven siblings, two of whom died in early infancy.

Marriage to the Earl of Lennox

In 1574, Elizabeth Cavendish secretly married

, the younger brother of

Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1546 – 10 February 1567) was King of Scotland as the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, from 29 July 1565 until his murder in 1567. Lord Darnley had one child with Mary, the future James VI of Scotland and I ...

, and a claimant to the English throne. Queen

became enraged at the two mothers for arranging such a controversial marriage without her permission. The Queen sent Elizabeth's mother and mother-in-law,

Margaret Douglas Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (8 October 1515 – 7 March 1578), born Lady Margaret Douglas, was the daughter of the Scottish queen dowager Margaret Tudor and her second husband Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and thus the granddau ...

, to imprisonment in 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 ...

. In 1575, Elizabeth gave birth to her only child,

. Her husband died in 1576 of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Elizabeth herself died six years later on 21 January 1582 at age 26. The

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

wrote to William Cecil that his wife,

, "takes my daughter Lennox's death so greivously that she neither does nor can think of anything but of lamenting and weeping." Henry Ellis, ''Original Letters Illustrative of English History'', 2nd series vol. 3 (London, 1827), pp. 60-1.

References

* Antonia Fraser, ''Mary, Queen of Scots'', Dell Publishing Co., Inc. New York, 1971 * David N. Durant, ''Arbella Stuart: A Rival to the Queen'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1978 * Mary S. Lovell, ''Bess of Hardwick, First Lady of Chatsworth'', Little, Brown, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lennox, Elizabeth Stuart, Countess of 1555 births 1582 deaths Elizabeth Stuart, Countess of Lennox 16th-century English women Scottish countesses 16th-century English nobility Ladies of the Bedchamber Court of Elizabeth I