Anne Sutton (1589 – 1615) was an English

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom ...

who was a companion of

Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia Elizabeth Stuart (19 August 159613 February 1662) was Electress of the Palatinate and briefly Queen of Bohemia as the wife of Frederick V of the Palatinate. Since her husband's reign in Bohemia lasted for just one winter, she is called the Wi ...

. She was the daughter of

Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (baptised 17 September 1567 – 23 June 1643) was a major landowner, mainly in Staffordshire and Worcestershire, and briefly a Member of the House of Commons of England. Through his intemperate behaviour he won w ...

and

Theodosia Harington Theodosia Harington, Lady Dudley (died 1649) was an English aristocrat who was abandoned by her husband, but maintained connections at court through her extensive family networks. Early life She was the eighth daughter of Sir James Harington of ...

. Sutton was known as "Mrs Anne Dudley" or "Mistress Dudley" although "Sutton" was the family surname. Elizabeth of Bohemia called her "Nan Duddlie".

Early life

Her father abandoned Theodosia, Lady Harington for his mistress, Elizabeth Tomlinson. According to a bill produced in the

Star Chamber The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an Kingdom of England, English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Council of England, Privy Counsellors ...

by his political rival in Staffordshire,

Gilbert Lyttelton Gilbert Lyttelton MP (c. 1540 – 1 June 1599) was an English politician and landowner from the Lyttelton family. He was the eldest son of Sir John Lyttelton (died 1590). He was Member of Parliament for Worcestershire in 1570 and in 15 ...

, in 1592 he had "left that virtuous lady his wife in London without sustenance, and took to his home a lewd and infamous woman, a base collier's daughter". In 1597, Anne and her brother,

Ferdinando Sutton Sir Ferdinando Sutton (1588-1621) was an English aristocrat. Family and early life The son of Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (1567-1643) and Theodosia Harington (died 1649). The Sutton family used their title "Dudley" as a surname, and so he was ...

, were lodged in Clerkenwell with Euseby Paget, rector of

St Anne and St Agnes St Anne and St Agnes is a church located at Gresham Street in the City of London, near the Barbican. While St Anne's is an Anglican foundation, from 1966 to 2013 it was let to a congregation of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain. History The ...

, and Mrs Percy, as wards of their aunt and uncle Elizabeth and

Edward Montagu of Boughton Sir Edward Montagu (c. 1530 – 26 January 1602) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1559. Career Montagu was the eldest surviving son of Sir Edward Montagu of Boughton House, near Kettering and his third ...

Career in a royal household

Anne Dudley became a member of the household of Princess Elizabeth at

Coombe Abbey Coombe Abbey is a hotel which has been developed from a historic grade I listed building and former country house. It is located at Combe Fields in the Borough of Rugby, roughly midway between Coventry and Brinklow in the countryside of Warwic ...

with other young women including her cousin Elizabeth Dudley, with

Anne Livingstone Anne Livingstone, Countess of Eglinton (died 1632) was a Scottish courtier and aristocrat, and lady-in-waiting to Princess Elizabeth and Anne of Denmark. Anne Livingstone was a daughter of Alexander Livingstone, 1st Earl of Linlithgow and Helenor ...

, Frances Bourchier, and

Philadelphia Carey Philadelphia Carey (died 1654) was an English courtier. Philadelphia Carey was a daughter of Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth and Elizabeth Trevannion. Namesake aunt She was the niece of another " Philadelphia Carey" (1552–1627), who was a ...

. Her older sister, Mary, married

Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home Sir Alexander Home of that Ilk, 1st Lord Home ( – ) was in 1448 Sheriff Deputy for Berwickshire, and was made a Lord of Parliament on 2 August 1473. He is an ancestor of the Earls of Home. Family Alexander Home's father, Sir Alexander Home o ...

in 1605. After Elizabeth married

Frederick V of the Palatinate Frederick V (german: link=no, Friedrich; 26 August 1596 – 29 November 1632) was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire from 1610 to 1623, and reigned as King of Bohemia from 1619 to 1620. He was forced to abdicate both r ...

in 1613 she went with her to

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. In 1612, an emblem published in Henry Peacham's ''Minerva Brittana'' alluded to her steadfast qualities as alike to Diana the huntress, with a picture of

Diana and Actaeon The myth of Diana and Actaeon can be found in Ovid’s '' Metamorphoses''. The tale recounts the unfortunate fate of a young hunter named Actaeon, who was a grandson of Cadmus, and his encounter with chaste Artemis, known to the Romans as Diana, ...

, a verse, and an anagram on her name in Italian "e l'nuda Diana". The intended allusion is to her labour and skills as a household administrator. The concept was derived from an emblem devised by Laurens van Haecht Goidtsenhoven. Anne with seven other ladies put their names in a hat to award kisses to winners at a tournament for

Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to: People * Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father * Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) * Henry, Duke of Cornwall ...

in April 1612. The others included the Countess of Essex, Lady Cranbourne, Lady Windsor, and Lady Stanhope. As a New Year gift in January 1613, Anne Dudley received from

a chain of pearls and a diamond worth 1,000 marks, (£666-13s-8d). John Chamberlain noted this gift as a single item, a chain of pearls and diamonds worth £500. She travelled to Heidelberg after the

wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate The wedding of Princess Elizabeth (1596–1662), daughter of James VI and I, and Frederick V of the Palatinate (1596–1632) was celebrated in London in February 1613. There were fireworks, masques (small, choreography-based plays), tourna ...

. Princess Elizabeth's female attendants on her arrival at

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river ...

on 29 April 1613 were listed as the Countess of Arundel, Lady Harington, Lady Cecil, Mistress Anne Dudley, Mistress Elizabeth Dudley, Mistress Apsley, and Mistress (Mary) Mayerne. At the christening of

Henry Frederick, Hereditary Prince of the Palatinate Frederick Henry, Electoral Prince of the Palatinate, (german: Heinrich Friedrich; 1 January 1614 – 7 January 1629 in the Netherlands) was the eldest son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine and so-called "Winter King" of Bohemia, and his wife, ...

in March 1614 she received jewels worth £200. Anne married

Hans Meinhard von Schönberg Count Hans Meinhard von Schönberg auf Wesel (German: ''Graf Hans Meinhard von Schönberg auf Wesel'') (28 August 1582 – 3 August 1616) was a German nobleman and soldier, who served as '' hofmeister'' of Frederick V, Elector Palatine. Biography ...

, the

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.

Ambassador to England, and resident diplomat at Heidelberg, in London on 22 March 1615. The wedding was celebrated with a masque of ballet planned by Elizabeth and

Salomon de Caus Salomon de Caus (1576, Dieppe – 1626, Paris) was a French Huguenot engineer, once (falsely) credited with the development of the steam engine. Biography Caus was the elder brother of Isaac de Caus. Being a Huguenot, Caus spent his life moving ...

, whose wife seems have been involved in supplying fabrics for costumes.

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England and Wales in the Early modern Europe, early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion an ...

had designed a banqueting hall for the castle. Their romance was well-known. It was said in London in December 1613 that Schönberg came to England in part to entreat King James and

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and En ...

not to recall Dudley from Heidelberg. They were betrothed before 5 April 1614, and this was publicly known in June 1614. In July it was known abroad they were in love. She quarrelled with

Elizabeth Apsley Elizabeth Apsley, Lady Morton (died 1626) was an English courtier and a companion to Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia. Family and early life She was the eldest daughter of Sir Edward Apsley (died 1620) of Thakeham and Warminghurst, Sussex and ...

, a maid of honour and a distant cousin of

Lucy Hutchinson Lucy Hutchinson (; 29 January 1620 – October 1681) was an English translator, poet, and biographer, and the first person to translate the complete text of Lucretius's ''De rerum natura'' (''On the Nature of Things'') into English verse, d ...

James VI and I 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 Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

wrote to ask if a maid of honour could be a married woman in German custom, and what royal jewels were in her care. Elizabeth, the Electress, replied that Dudley only kept some silver plate, and also that her husband, Frederick V and his council had favoured the marriage. Her son was

Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg, 1st Count of Mertola, (french: Frédéric-Armand; pt, Armando Frederico; 6 December 1615 – 1 July 1690) was a Marshal of France and a General in the English and Portuguese Army. He was ...

. Anne died of a fever after giving birth to Frederick. In her 1644 will her sister,

Mary (Dudley) Sutton, Countess of Home Mary (Dudley) Sutton, Countess of Home (1586–1644), was a landowner, living in England and Scotland. Early years and marriage Mary (Dudley) Sutton, born 2 October 1586, was the eldest daughter of Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (d. 1643) and ...

, left her nephew, Frederick Schomberg, a purse of gold coins.See the Countess of Home's will, "Will of Maria Soton, Countess of Home", The National Archives Prob/11/272/611 ff. 403-6, and National Library of Scotland MS. 14547: A receipt for the purse is among the papers of the Earls of Moray.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, Anne 1589 births 1615 deaths

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

English ladies-in-waiting Household of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia 16th-century English women 17th-century English women Court of James VI and I Deaths in childbirth