Katherine Hastings (née Dudley), Countess of Huntingdon (c. 1538 or 1543–1545 – 14 August 1620) was an English noblewoman. She was the youngest surviving daughter of

John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504Loades 2008 – 22 August 1553) was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane ...

and his wife, Jane Guildford, and a sister of

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ove ...

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 ...

favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...

Marriage

Katherine Dudley was betrothed or married on 25 May 1553 at a very young age to Henry Hastings, the heir of

Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon (151420 June 1561) was the eldest son of George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford, Countess of Huntingdon, the ex-mistress of Henry VIII. His maternal first cousins included Henry S ...

.Adams 1995 p. 44 From her mother's will it appears that she was still under 12 years of age in January 1555, and a clause regarding her marriage implies that the match could still be dissolved: "if it so chance that my Lord Hastings do refuse her or she him". By the spring of 1559 Katherine Hastings was definitely married, and on the death of her father-in-law in 1560 became Countess of Huntingdon. She remained childless, though she may have suffered a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

in the spring of 1566.

Frog jewel

The Countess of Huntingdon gave

a jewel in the form of a frog set with emeralds as a New Year's Day gift in 1581. The jewel seems to have been an allusion to the Anjou courtship (Elizabeth called

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France ** Du ...

her frog), and attests to the friendly relationship between Katherine and the queen at this time. Similarly,

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

gave Elizabeth a diamond-set frog jewel when she visited his ship the

Golden Hind ''Golden Hind'' was a galleon captained by Francis Drake in his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580. She was originally known as ''Pelican,'' but Drake renamed her mid-voyage in 1578, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Ha ...

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

in April 1581.

Career as an educator

For many years she lived with her husband in the

English Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshi ...

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, where she dedicated herself to the education of young women of the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

and

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

.Cross 2008 Among her pupils were the

diarist A diary is a writing, written or audiovisual Memorabilia, memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by Calendar date, date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwriti ...

Margaret Hoby, memoirist Dionys Fitzherbert, and her brother Robert's stepdaughters, the sisters

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius (Spartan), Icarius and ...

and

Dorothy Devereux Dorothy Percy, Countess of Northumberland (formerly Perrot, née Devereux; c. 1564 – 3 August 1619) was the younger daughter of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex by Lettice Knollys, and the wife of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland. ...

. Like her husband, the Countess was a convinced

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

with

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

leanings.

Courtier

After the Earl of Huntingdon died at

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 ...

in December 1595, she lived at court and became one of the closest friends of the old Queen. When young, she had suffered from Elizabeth's distrust of her husband's loyalty, which was nourished by his descent from the

House of Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet (Help:IPA/English, /plænˈtædʒənət/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the Medieval France, French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by mo ...

. She was in debt by £2400 and asked the Queen to help realise her jointure property in March 1597. She was attending the queen privately twice a day in February 1598. Her differences with the new earl,

George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon (1540 – 30 December 1604) was an English nobleman. He was a son of Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole, daughter of Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu and Jane Neville. He was a youn ...

, over her jointure and her husband's debts were settled on 15 February, and he would have the

Savoy House The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

.Michael Brennan, Noel Kinnamon, Margaret Hannay, ''The Letters of Rowland Whyte to Sir Robert Sidney'' (Philadelphia, 2013), pp. 284, 294.

Death

Katherine, Countess of Huntingdon died at

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

on 14 August 1620, and was buried in her mother's tomb at

Chelsea Old Church Chelsea Old Church, also known as All Saints, is an Anglican church, on Old Church Street, Chelsea, London SW3, England, near Albert Bridge. It is the church for a parish in the Diocese of London, part of the Church of England. Inside the Grad ...

Ancestry

Citations

References

*Adams, Simon (ed.) (1995): ''Household Accounts and Disbursement Books of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, 1558–1561, 1584–1586'' Cambridge University Press; *Adams, Simon (2002): ''Leicester and the Court: Essays in Elizabethan Politics'' Manchester University Press; *Cross, Claire (2008)
"Hastings, Katherine, countess of Huntingdon (c.1538–1620)"
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' online edn. Jan 2008 (subscription required) Retrieved 04-04-2010 *Freedman, Sylvia (1983): ''Poor Penelope: Lady Penelope Rich. An Elizabethan Woman'' The Kensal Press; {{DEFAULTSORT:Huntingdon, Katherine Hastings, Countess Of 16th-century births 1620 deaths 16th-century English women 16th-century English nobility 17th-century English women 17th-century English nobility 16th-century English educators English countesses Daughters of English dukes

Katherine Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon Katherine Hastings (née Dudley), Countess of Huntingdon (c. 1538 or 1543–1545 – 14 August 1620) was an English noblewoman. She was the youngest surviving daughter of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and his wife, ...

Burials at Chelsea Old Church Wives of knights Children of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland Court of Elizabeth I