Catherine Willoughby

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Catherine Willoughby, 12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby and Duchess of Suffolk (22 March 1519 - 19 September 1580) was a noblewoman living at the English courts of King Henry VIII, Edward VI and later, Elizabeth I. Noted for her Protestant reformist views, she fled abroad to Poland during the reign of Mary I, though her son Peregrine was born in Wesel.

Catherine was born, probably at court, to Maria de Salinas, a close friend and lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon. Her father, William Willoughby, 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, was a courtier of King Henry VIII. When she was only seven years old in 1526, he died, and Catherine, the only surviving child of the Willoughbys' marriage, inherited the barony and an income of 15,000 ducats a year.

It is noted that Henry VIII favoured the marriage between her parents, naming one of his warships after her mother, the Mary Willoughby. Such matches were crucial at the time when Henry was about to marry Catherine, therefore they needed strong Spanish alliances. One example were the parents of Catherine Willoughby.

Upon her father's death, wardship of the girl, i.e. guardianship and provision of her person, fell to the King, who sold it to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. However, a nasty battle over her inheritance ensued with her uncle, who declared the money and title pass to his family. After this issue was resolved, Catherine was betrothed to the duke's son and heir, Henry Brandon, 1st Earl of Lincoln. However, on the death in 1533 of the duke's wife, Mary Tudor (sister of Henry VIII and Queen Dowager of France), Brandon chose to marry Catherine himself, since she was a rich heiress and he was short of money (the Earl of Lincoln died the following year). Despite about 35 years' difference in their ages, the duke and his new duchess subsequently had two sons, Henry and Charles. This marriage brought Catherine into the extended royal family, as Henry VIII's will made his sister Mary's descendants the next heirs to the throne after his own children. The Duke and Duchess of Suffolk officially greeted Anne of Cleves when she arrived in England in 1539 to marry Henry VIII, and subsequently a few years later housed Catherine Howard whilst she had an ongoing affair with Thomas Culpepper. She was later beheaded. Brandon died in 1545, and both his sons by Catherine died within an hour of each other in 1551. This deeply affected Catherine for the rest of her life.

Catherine subsequently married Richard Bertie, a member of her household, for love, but she continued to be known as the Duchess of Suffolk, and her efforts to have her husband named Lord Willoughby were unsuccessful. Noted for her wit, sharp tongue, and devotion to learning, she became a close friend of Henry VIII's last queen, Catherine Parr, influencing the queen's Protestant beliefs and helping fund the publication of one of her books, The Lamentation of a Sinner. Upon Catherine Parr's death in childbirth, the Duchess of Suffolk took custody of her child, Mary Seymour. She was, however, not equipped to dealing with a young child and wrote to her good friend William Cecil, telling him she did not have enough to support the royal child and the staff that she required. It is a mystery, still today, as to how the little Mary Seymour dissappeared beneath the eyes of the entire country. Some historians say she died, whilst some have found evidence linking the baby girl towards a family that claimed inheritance in the 17th century.

Years later, she also became the custodian of one of her Brandon step-granddaughters, Lady Mary Grey, when the latter was placed under house arrest after marrying without royal consent.

In 1555, the Berties were among the Protestants who went into exile on the Continent. Their persecution by Bishop Stephen Gardiner, the lord chancellor, and subsequent wanderings were recounted in Foxe's Book of Martyrs. After their return to England, they lived at Catherine's estate, Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire, and at court. By Richard Bertie, Catherine was the mother of Peregrine Bertie, who married a sister of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, and of Susan Bertie, who married 1st Reginald Grey, Earl of Kent, and 2nd Sir John Wingfield, a nephew of Catherine's friend Bess of Hardwick. Advocates of Oxford as the real author of Shakespeare's plays have suggested that Catherine's strong personality may have served as a model for Paulina in The Winter's Tale.

Peerage of England
Preceded by William Willoughby	Baroness Willoughby de Eresby 1526-1580	Succeeded by Peregrine Bertie