Katherine Champernowne

Katherine Champernowne also "Kat" Ashley (* before 1503 ; † 1565 ) was the governess and first lady-in-waiting at the court of Queen Elizabeth I.

Life

Katherine was born to John Champernowne of Dartington and his wife Margaret Courteney. Her date of birth is not known to us, but the International Genealogical Index shows that her parents married between 1478 and 1485. Since Katherine's father John died in 1503, Katherine was probably born before that date, most likely in Modbury (another of Sir John's children was baptized there).

The young Elisabeth was looked after by Lady Bryan before the birth of her brother Eduard, who was then made available to the young heir to the throne. In July 1536, when Elisabeth was four, she was assigned a new governess. She called her educator "Kat", a shorthand nickname of Katherine. The highly educated Kat Champernowne taught Elisabeth in astronomy , geography , history , math , French , Italian and Spanish . To compensate for these studies, Elisabeth was also taught sewing, embroidery, dancing and riding.

In 1545 Kat married Sir John Ashley, a cousin of Elisabeth's mother Anne Boleyn . At the time of the wedding, Katherine was already over 40 years old. After King Henry VIII died, Elisabeth lived in the household of her last stepmother, Catherine Parr . In the year Heinrich died, she married Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley , but died a year later as a result of the birth of her daughter Mary. Seymour, who planned an uprising against his brother the Lord Protector Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset , was imprisoned in 1549 and executed that same year. Katherine Ashley was also taken to the Tower because of her possible involvement in the Seymour case. She was released in August 1549 and returned to Elisabeth until she was moved to the Tower in 1554 because it was believed she was plotting against her sister Queen Mary. After Elisabeth was released for lack of evidence, Kat Ashley was allowed to return to her in October 1555.

Katherine was arrested again, in May 1556, after a suitcase full of heretical books was found during a house search. The strict Catholic Mary Tudor sentenced her to three months in Fleet Prison, and after her release, Kat was not allowed to return to Elisabeth. After Mary Tudor died in 1558, this order was immediately revoked, Kat was allowed to return to Elisabeth, and was appointed by her first lady in waiting. Her death in the summer of 1565 plunged Elisabeth into great sadness.

Web links

• Family tree and information about Kat Ashley