Jane Dormer
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Jane Dormer (1538 - 1612) was lady in waiting to Queen Mary and later Duchess of Feria.
Born during the reign of Henry VIII Jane's family were to be split down the middle by the religious controversy caused by the King's break with Rome. On the one side, her father Sir William Dormer's family (moderately prosperous landowners and wool merchants) remained staunchly Catholic, her mother Mary Sidney's family embraced the new religion of Protestantism. Jane was raised broadly outside this latter influence from the death of her mother in 1542 but she spent her youth not only in the household of her paternal grandmother but also as a playmate of the young Edward VI (and by extension Elizabeth I).
Jane's faith and royal connections would take her to the heart of power. Despite an age gap of over twenty years and at the age of just sixteen, Jane became one of Queen Mary's closest friends and confidantes.
Despite interest from several English grandees she made her own Spanish match by marrying Don Gomez Suarez de Figueroa of Cordova, Duke of Feria, a close confidante of Phillip II and his first ambassador to Elizabeth I's court. Jane and the Don had first met on Phillip's arrival in England in 1554 and Mary had strongly encouraged the match but it had been postponed to await Phillip's return to the country after campaigns abroad. This never occurred and the two were not married until after Mary's death in 1558.
Feria was quick to perceive how Elizabeth's accession would change the religious tide in England and, despite his formal role as Spanish ambassador, refused to attend Elizabeth's coronation in a public rejection of expected Protestant elements in the sevice. When he was replaced in 1559 he and Jane returned to the continent (with a collection of assorted monks and nuns) where she became a lightning rod for exiled English Catholics. On her husband's death in 1571 she took over the management of his estates.
Jane's interest in the cause of Catholicism in England did not cause her to cease a correspondence with Elizabeth but she also received letters from four Popes and numerous other contacts. Within Spain she was a champion of exiled English fallen on hard times and in 1592 was a strong candidate to take up the Governorship of Flanders.
Her health never recovered from an accident in 1609 and she was bedridden from the start of 1611 - planning ahead she had already prepared a coffin she kept in the house. At her death on 13 January 1612, she was attended by seven priests.
[edit] In fiction
Jane Dormer is a prominent character in Philippa Gregory's The Queen's Fool, which emphasizes her role as a close personal friend and a completely devoted and loyal follower of Queen Mary, both before Mary's accession to the throne and throughout the ups and downs of her reign. The book depicts Jane Dormer as having a dour character, vindictive towards the Queen's enemies even when Mary herself was inclined to show them clemency.
