Biography of Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland 1564-1619

Around 1561 [her father] Walter Devereux 1st Earl Essex [aged 19] and [her mother] Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Viscountess Hereford. They were fourth cousins.

Around 1564 Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland was born to Walter Devereux 1st Earl Essex [aged 22] and Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester [aged 20].

On 28th January 1571 Anne Bourchier 7th Baroness Bourchier [aged 54] died from a fall from a horse at Benington, Hertfordshire. Her first cousin twice removed [her father] Walter [aged 29] succeeded 8th Baron Bourchier. [her mother] Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester [aged 27] by marriage Baroness Bourchier.

On 4th May 1572 [her father] Walter Devereux 1st Earl Essex [aged 30] was created 1st Earl Essex. [her mother] Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester [aged 28] by marriage Countess Essex.

On 22nd September 1576 [her father] Walter Devereux 1st Earl Essex [aged 35] died. His son [her brother] Robert [aged 10] succeeded 2nd Earl Essex, 3rd Viscount Hereford, 12th Baron Ferrers of Chartley, 9th Baron Bourchier.

On 21st September 1578 [her step-father] Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester [aged 46] and [her mother] Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester [aged 34] were married secretly much to the anguish of Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland [aged 45] who developed a deep hatred of Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester. She by marriage Countess of Leicester. Roger North 2nd Baron North [aged 48] was present. He the son of John Dudley 1st Duke Northumberland and Jane Guildford Duchess Northumberland. They were fifth cousins.

On 10th January 1581 [her brother-in-law] Robert Rich 1st Earl Warwick [aged 21] and [her sister] Penelope Devereux Countess Devonshire [aged 18] were married. She by marriage Baroness Rich of Leez. She the daughter of [her father] Walter Devereux 1st Earl Essex and [her mother] Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester [aged 37].

On 17th July 1583 Thomas Perrot [aged 30] and Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland [aged 19] were married. The marriage took place without the consent of the Queen to whom Dorothy was lady in Waiting for which Thomas was imprisoned in the Fleet Prison [Map]. She the daughter of Walter Devereux 1st Earl Essex and Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester [aged 39]. They were fifth cousins.

On 21st June 1585 Henry Percy 8th Earl of Northumberland [aged 53] committed suicide at Tower of London [Map]. He was found dead in his bed in his cell, having been shot through the heart. A jury was at once summoned, and returned a verdict of suicide. He was buried in St Peter ad Vincula Church, Tower of London [Map]. His son [her future husband] Henry [aged 21] succeeded 9th Earl of Northumberland, 12th Baron Percy of Alnwick, 20th Baron Percy of Topcliffe, 3rd Baron Percy of Alnwick, 11th Baron Poynings. Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland [aged 21] by marriage Countess of Northumberland.

Around April 1589 [her step-father] Christopher Blount [aged 24] and [her mother] Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester [aged 45] were married. The difference in their ages was 21 years; she, unusually, being older than him.

In 1590 [her brother] Robert Devereux 2nd Earl Essex [aged 24] and [her sister-in-law] Frances Walsingham Countess Essex [aged 23] were married. She by marriage Countess Essex. He the son of [her father] Walter Devereux 1st Earl Essex and [her mother] Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester [aged 46]. They were half fourth cousin once removed.

Around 1590 [her daughter] Penelepe Perrot was born to [her husband] Thomas Perrot [aged 37] and Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland [aged 26]. She married before 29th September 1619 Robert Naunton and had issue.

In 1594 Henry "Wizard Earl" Percy 9th Earl of Northumberland [aged 29] and Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland [aged 30] were married. She the daughter of Walter Devereux 1st Earl Essex and Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester [aged 50]. He the son of Henry Percy 8th Earl of Northumberland and Katherine Neville Countess Northumberland [aged 49]. They were third cousin once removed.

Before 15th February 1594 [her husband] Thomas Perrot [aged 41] died.

Around 1598 [her daughter] Dorothy Percy Countess Leicester was born to [her husband] Henry "Wizard Earl" Percy 9th Earl of Northumberland [aged 33] and Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland [aged 34]. She married 1615 her fifth cousin once removed Robert Sidney 2nd Earl of Leicester, son of Robert Sidney 1st Earl of Leicester and Barbara Gamage Countess Leicester, and had issue.

On 5th August 1599 Alexander Radclyffe of Ordsall Hall [aged 26] died of wounds and fever in Ulster while campaigning with the Robert Devereux 2nd Earl Essex [aged 33] during the unsuccessful attempt to bring Ireland under English control. The Queen [aged 65] herself informed his twin sister of her brother's death.

In 1600 [her daughter] Lucy Percy Countess Carlisle was born to [her husband] Henry "Wizard Earl" Percy 9th Earl of Northumberland [aged 35] and Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland [aged 36]. She was named for her mother's friend Lucy Harrington Countess Bedford [aged 20]. She married 6th November 1617 James Hay 1st Earl Carlisle.

On 29th September 1602 [her son] Algernon Percy 10th Earl of Northumberland was born to [her husband] Henry "Wizard Earl" Percy 9th Earl of Northumberland [aged 38] and Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland [aged 38]. He married (1) 1629 his fourth cousin once removed Anne Cecil, daughter of William Cecil 2nd Earl Salisbury and Catherine Howard Countess Salisbury, and had issue (2) 1st October 1642 his fourth cousin once removed Elizabeth Howard Countess Northumberland, daughter of Theophilus Howard 2nd Earl Suffolk and Elizabeth Home Countess Suffolk, and had issue.

In 1603 [her nephew] Robert Devereux 3rd Earl Essex [aged 11] and Frances Howard Countess Essex and Somerset [aged 12] were married. They were separated after the wedding given their young age. Essex went on a European tour from 1607 to 1609. When he returned she avoided him having fallen for Robert Carr 1st Earl Somerset [aged 16] whilst her husband was away. He was ill with smallpox. She sought an annulment with her father [her brother] Robert Devereux 2nd Earl Essex and uncle Henry Howard 1st Earl of Northampton [aged 62] acting for her. She maintained the marriage had not been consummated and was examined by ten matrons and two midwives who found her hymen intact. It was widely rumoured at the time that Sir Thomas Monson's [aged 38] daughter was a substitute, which is possible because she had requested to be veiled during the examination "for modesty's sake". He maintained he was capable with other women, but was unable to consummate his marriage blaming her. She the daughter of Thomas Howard 1st Earl Suffolk [aged 41] and Catherine Knyvet Countess Suffolk [aged 39]. He the son of Robert Devereux 2nd Earl Essex and [her former sister-in-law] Frances Walsingham Countess Essex [aged 36]. They were fourth cousins.

In 1604 [her son] Henry Percy was born to [her husband] Henry "Wizard Earl" Percy 9th Earl of Northumberland [aged 39] and Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland [aged 40].

In 1605 [her brother-in-law] Robert Rich 1st Earl Warwick [aged 45] and [her sister] Penelope Devereux Countess Devonshire [aged 41] were divorced.

On 26th December 1605 [her brother-in-law] Charles Blount 1st Earl Devonshire [aged 42] and [her sister] Penelope Devereux Countess Devonshire [aged 42] were married at Wansted House, Essex during a service conducted by Archbishop William Laud [aged 32] (future). The marriage was regarded as uncanonical and resulted in the disgrace of both parties, who were banished from King James I's court circles. She by marriage Countess Devonshire. She the daughter of [her father] Walter Devereux 1st Earl Essex and [her mother] Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester [aged 62]. They were third cousins.

On 7th July 1607 [her sister] Penelope Devereux Countess Devonshire [aged 44] died.

In 1615 [her son-in-law] Robert Sidney 2nd Earl of Leicester [aged 19] and Dorothy Percy Countess Leicester [aged 17] were married. She the daughter of Henry "Wizard Earl" Percy 9th Earl of Northumberland [aged 50] and Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland [aged 51]. He the son of Robert Sidney 1st Earl of Leicester [aged 51] and Barbara Gamage Countess Leicester [aged 52]. They were fifth cousin once removed.

On 6th November 1617 [her son-in-law] James Hay 1st Earl Carlisle [aged 37] and Lucy Percy Countess Carlisle [aged 17] were married. See Diary of Anne Clifford. The difference in their ages was 20 years. She the daughter of Henry "Wizard Earl" Percy 9th Earl of Northumberland [aged 53] and Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland [aged 53].

On 3rd August 1619 Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland [aged 55] died.

On 5th November 1632 [her former husband] Henry "Wizard Earl" Percy 9th Earl of Northumberland [aged 68] died. His son Algernon [aged 30] succeeded 10th Earl of Northumberland, 13th Baron Percy of Alnwick, 21st Baron Percy of Topcliffe, 4th Baron Percy of Alnwick, 12th Baron Poynings.

Before 9th December 1641 Anthony Van Dyck [aged 42]. Portrait of Dorothy Devereux Countess Northumberland.