Elizabeth Harcourt (fl. c. 1590–1610), was an Englishwoman who was a courtier to

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

. She was a daughter of Sir Walter Harcourt of

Stanton Harcourt Stanton Harcourt is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire about southeast of Witney and about west of Oxford. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlet of Sutton, north of the village. The United Kingdom C ...

and Ellenhall, and Dorothy Robinson, who was Harcourt's step-sister and daughter of William Robinson of

Drayton Bassett Drayton Bassett is a village and civil parish since 1974 in Lichfield (district), Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England. The village is on the Heart of England Way, a footpath. Much of the housing is nucleated village, clustered together ...

. Elizabeth Harcourt was appointed a

Maid of Honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Tudors and Stuarts Traditi ...

to the queen in 1607, her companions appointed in 1604 were Anne Carey,

Mary Gargrave Mary Gargrave (1576 – c. 1640) was a courtier to Anne of Denmark. Career Gargrave was appointed a maid of honour to the queen in 1603 or 1604 in time for her coronation. These positions at court were established by a household ordinance of 20 ...

(b. 1576),

Mary Middlemore Mary Middlemore (died 1618) was a Courtier and Maid of Honour to Anne of Denmark, subject of poems, and treasure hunter. Family background Mary Middlemore was the eldest daughter of Henry Middlemore of Enfield, a groom of the privy chamber to Que ...

, Elizabeth Roper, and

Mary Woodhouse Mary Woodhouse, Lady Killigrew (d. 1656), musician and correspondent of Constantijn Huygens, was the daughter of Henry Woodhouse (MP) of Hickling and Waxham, and Anne Bacon, daughter of Nicholas Bacon (Lord Keeper), Sir Nicholas Bacon. (Without su ...

. These positions were established by a household ordinance of 20 July 1603, with places for six maids of honour and four chamberers.

Rowland Whyte Rowland Whyte (died after 1626) was an Elizabethan official and businessman, whose letters provide important evidence about the latter stages of the life of Queen Elizabeth I and the transition to the rule of James I. The letters were first publis ...

the maids of honour and others dancing at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

in the presence chamber of Anne of Denmark in October 1607, with a French visitor, the Count of Vaudémont. On 20 August 1613 Anne of Denmark was received at

Wells, Somerset Wells () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, located on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, south-east of Weston-super-Mare, south-west of Bath, Somerset, Bath a ...

. The mayor William Bull hosted a dinner for members of her household including the four maids of honour. She was the sister of Sir Robert Harcourt of Staunton Harcourt (1574 - 20 May 1631) author of ''A Relation of Voyage to Guiana'' (1613), and of Vere Harcourt DD

Archdeacon of Nottingham The Archdeacon of Nottingham is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, who exercises supervision of clergy and has responsibility for church buildings within the Archdeaconry of Nottingham. ...

. Her nephew Sir Simon Harcourt was a soldier with

Horace Vere Horace Vere, 1st Baron Vere of Tilbury (1565 – 2 May 1635) was an English army officer who served in the Eighty Years' War and the Thirty Years' War. A brother of Francis Vere, he was sent to the Electoral Palatinate by James VI and I in 1620. ...

, fought in Scotland, and was shot in Ireland on 26 March 1642, while besieging the castle of Carrickmaine or Kilgobbin near Dublin and was taken to House of Mirian where he died. Those remaining in the castle were massacred.Edward William Harcourt, ''The Harcourt papers'', vol. 1 (Oxford, 1880), pp. 104, 107-118. A sister Grace died young. Another sister, also called Elizabeth, is said to have married Sir

William Essex Sir William Essex (c. 1477–1548) of Lambourn, Berkshire was an English soldier and courtier who served as High Sheriff and Member of Parliament. Origins He was the son of Thomas Essex of Lambourn in Berkshire by his wife, Elizabeth Babt ...

Lambourn Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of r ...

, but his wife was Elizabeth Rogers of

Beckett Hall Beckett Hall (or Beckett House) is a country house at Shrivenham in the English county of Oxfordshire (formerly in Berkshire). The present house dates from 1831. History This manor is first mentioned in the Domesday survey, and was acquired ...

. Elizabeth Harcourt died unmarried. The family portraits were at

Nuneham Courtenay Nuneham Courtenay is a village and civil parish about SSE of Oxford. It occupies several miles close to the east bank of the River Thames. Geography The parish is bounded to the west by the River Thames and on other sides by field boundaries. ...

and the family papers are held by the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harcourt, Elizabeth 17th-century English women Court of James VI and I English maids of honour Ladies of the Bedchamber English courtiers Household of Anne of Denmark