Today, she is over at TudorTimes, discussing the relationship of Francis Knollys, husband of Catherine Carey, and Queen Elizabeth I following the death of Catherine Carey, Francis’s wife. Francis and Catherine had been devoted to each other and sadly Francis had been denied permission to leave his duties and be with his dying wife. Catherine’s death was a huge blow for him, but it was also a blow for the Queen, who was Catherine’s cousin and great friend. As Adrienne says in her article at TudorTimes, “Francis was known for his unwavering loyalty and dedication to Elizabeth before his wife’s death and it’s possible that their shared grief united them even more.” Click here to read more about Francis’s service to the queen and their friendship, and to enter the book giveaway.
Catherine Carey in a Nutshell is available as a paperback and on kindle. Click here to find out more about it.
Iv often wondered if the main reason Elizabeth was so close to Catherine was the fact that she maybe knew she was her half sister, fascinating to consider, maybe Catherine’s true parentage was known to her close family but there was no need to divulge it, Elizabeth wasn’t close to Mary her other sister due to her mother being Anne Boleyn and of course her religion and she was treated mean by her when Mary was in power, they had been close when Elizabeth was a baby but as she grew older Mary came to mistrust and dislike her, and there was possibly an element of jealousy there for her more younger attractive flirty sibling, and so with Catherine she could give all her sisterly love to her cousin who could well have been her sister to, they could share confidences and giggle together the way sisters can and they were of an age so maybe the deep affection they shared was due to the fact that she was not only her relation on her mothers side, but also her fathers to? Francis Knollys must have been devastated when his wife died yet he appears not to have blamed Elizabeth for the fact he couldn’t be with her, and he no doubt drew strength from their shared affection for her, Elizabeth was known for being very close to all her Boleyn relatives and it was in marked difference to her fathers relatives who of course were considered a threat to her throne.
Early Modern European History has always been a passion of mine. I have always endeavored to read a vast list of both fiction and non fiction books in relation to European monarchies from 1150C- 1800C and would love to add this to the list. Catherine Carey was born into a fascinating family and was given many great opportunities for life through her mothers (and aunties) actions. I would love to learn what she did with her life and how she survived in both a powerful yet dangerous position, being the direct cousin of the Princess Elizabeth.