Lady Douglas Sheffield
Lady Douglas (or alternatively,
Douglass) Sheffield is most widely known as the mother of
Robert Dudley, styled Earl of Warwick, the illegitimate son of
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, a favorite of Queen
Elizabeth I of England.
She was born
Douglas Howard in approximately
1545, the daughter of
William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham and Margaret Gamage, daughter of Sir Thomas Gamage and Margaret St. John. Her father was brother of
Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire, uncle to
Anne Boleyn and great-uncle of Elizabeth I.
Douglas was herself a first cousin to Anne Boleyn,
Lady Mary Boleyn and
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford.
Douglas married the wealthy, older
John Sheffield, 2nd Baron Sheffield (c.
1538 -
10 December,
1568) around
1562. They had two children:
*Elizabeth Sheffield (d. November,
1600). She married
Thomas Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde.
*
Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave (
7 December,
1565 -
6 October,
1646).
However Douglas began an affair with Leicester either shortly before the death of John Sheffield or shortly after. One version is that Sheffield died on the way to London to sue for
divorce, having found a letter to his wife from Leicester, one she may have left lying around on purpose.
Leicester may have been conducting an affair with Frances Howard, wife of
Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford and sister of Douglas at the same time. But Douglas claimed Leicester married her in
Esher in secret.
In August, 1574 she bore Robert Dudley. Leicester acknowledged paternity but denied the marriage. He married
Lettice Knollys,
widow of
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex in
1578.
Leicester offered Douglas one thousand pounds to relinquish the child, which she refused. He then offered her seven hundred pounds a year to repudiate the claim of marriage, but she refused that as well. Douglas then accused Leicester of attempting to poison her and brought a suit of
breach of promise against him in the
Star Chamber, but her suit was dismissed.
On
29 November,
1579, Douglas married Edward Stafford, whose mother Dorothy served Mistress of the Robe to the Queen. Stafford was appointed English ambassador to the court of
Henry III of France and Douglas and son Robert accompanied him to Paris. They would have two sons who are considered to have died young.
Edward Stafford died in
1604. Douglas was left a widow. She died herself in
1608. She is known to have been burried on
11 December,
1608.
