Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford was born to George Kirke.
On 7th August 1632 Robert de Vere 19th Earl of Oxford [aged 56] was killed at the Siege of Maastricht. His son [her future husband] Aubrey [aged 5] succeeded 20th Earl of Oxford.
Around 1647 [her future husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 19] and Anne Bayning Countess of Oxford [aged 9] were married. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. He the son of Robert de Vere 19th Earl of Oxford and Beatrice Van Hemmema Countess of Oxford [aged 67].
John Evelyn's Diary. 9th January 1662. I saw acted the Third Part of "The Siege of Rhodes". In this acted the fair and famous comedian called Roxalana [aged 19] from the part she performed; and I think it was the last, she being taken to be the [her future husband] Earl of Oxford's [aged 34] Miss [Note. Probably Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford] (as at this time they began to call lewd women). It was in recitative music.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 20th May 1662. Sir W. Pen [aged 41] and I did a little business at the office, and so home again. Then comes Dean Fuller [aged 54] after we had dined, but I got something for him, and very merry we were for an hour or two, and I am most pleased with his company and goodness. At last parted, and my wife and I by coach to the Opera, and there saw the 2nd part of "The Siege of Rhodes", but it is not so well done as when Roxalana [aged 20] was there, who, it is said, is now owned by my [her future husband] Lord of Oxford [aged 35]1.
Note 1. For note on Mrs. Davenport, who was deceived by a pretended marriage with the Earl of Oxford, see ante. Lord Oxford's first wife died in 1659. He married, in 1672, his second wife, Diana Kirke, of whom nothing more need be said than that she bore an inappropriate Christian name.
Around 1663 [her future husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 35] and Hester Davenport Countess of Oxford [aged 20] were married. When he subsequently married Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford in 1672 it transpired his marriage to Hester Davenport had been a sham with the service being performed by one of his servants. She lost the case making their son Aubrey de Vere illegitimate. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. It isn't entirely clear whether the marriage was legal and, consequently, whether she became Countess of Oxford. He the son of Robert de Vere 19th Earl of Oxford and Beatrice Van Hemmema Countess of Oxford.
Around 1667 Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford became the mistress of [her future husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 39].
On 12th April 1672 Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 45] and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford were married. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. He the son of Robert de Vere 19th Earl of Oxford and Beatrice Van Hemmema Countess of Oxford.
On 24th August 1673 [her daughter] Charlotte de Vere was born to [her husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 46] and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford. She was baptised 13th September 1673 at St Martin in the Fields Church [Map].
On 20th May 1675 [her father] George Kirke died.
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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On 22nd November 1675 [her son] Charles de Vere was born to [her husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 48] and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford. He was baptised on 9th December 1675 at St Martin in the Fields Church [Map]. Died as an infant.
In 1679 [her daughter] Diana Vere Duchess St Albans was born to [her husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 51] and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford. She married 17th April 1694 Charles Beauclerk 1st Duke St Albans, son of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland and Nell Gwyn, and had issue.
Before 7th December 1680 Peter Lely [aged 62]. Portrait of Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford.
Around 1682 [her daughter] Henrietta de Vere was born to [her husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 54] and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford.
On 17th April 1694 [her son-in-law] Charles Beauclerk 1st Duke St Albans [aged 23] and Diana Vere Duchess St Albans [aged 15] were married. She by marriage Duchess St Albans. She the daughter of Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 67] and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford. He the illegitmate son of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland and Nell Gwyn.
On 12th March 1703 [her husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 76] died. Earl of Oxford extinct.
In 1719 Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford died.
[her daughter] Mary de Vere was born to Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford.