Frances Howard, Countess of Kildare facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frances Howard
Countess of Kildare
Frances Howard in 1601
Died	1628
Noble family	Howard
Spouse(s)	Henry FitzGerald, 12th Earl of Kildare Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham
Issue	Brighid Nic Gearailt Elizabeth Fitzgerald
Father	Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham
Mother	Catherine Carey

Frances Howard, Countess of Kildare (died 1628), was an important lady at the royal court. She was also a governess to Princess Elizabeth Stuart. Frances was a member of the powerful House of Howard family.

Life at Court and Marriages

Frances Howard was the daughter of Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham and Catherine Carey, Countess of Nottingham. She grew up in a noble family. As a young woman, she became a lady of the Privy Chamber for Queen Elizabeth. This meant she was a close helper and companion to the Queen.

Frances often gave gifts to Queen Elizabeth. For example, in 1589, she gave the Queen a beautiful scarf. In 1600, she gave seven gold buttons decorated with rubies and pearls.

Frances married twice. Her first husband was Henry FitzGerald, 12th Earl of Kildare, who died in 1597. In May 1601, she married Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham. Some reports say they secretly married in August 1600, and Queen Elizabeth approved their plan.

A writer named Rowland Whyte often wrote about Frances in his letters. In 1595, he mentioned how Frances, Lady Kildare, was asked to keep Barbara Sidney company at court. After her first husband died, Queen Elizabeth gave Frances £700. This money helped her because she lost her marriage income from Ireland.

In 1599, there was a story about Frances and another lady, Margaret Radclyffe. Margaret was sad because Frances was unkind to her. They both liked Lord Cobham. Margaret died later that year.

At a special event in 1602 called the Harefield Entertainment, Frances received a girdle (a type of belt). The verses with it said she could be happy by fortune's girdle, but those less happy were more free.

After her second marriage, Frances still used the title "Lady Kildare." She signed a list of Queen Elizabeth's clothes in 1602 as "Frauncis Cobham of Kildare." This was for a black velvet gown the Queen gave her. The gown was changed for Frances by the Queen's tailor.

Involvement in Royal Politics

Frances, Lady Kildare, became involved in secret letters between English courtiers and James VI of Scotland. This happened before James became King of England. In 1599, her servant said she spoke in favor of James becoming the next English king.

Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, tried to stop her from having connections with Scotland. He wanted to know about three letters she wrote to King James. In one letter, she asked for a secret code to write to the king. In another, she offered to cause trouble for important figures like Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Walter Raleigh with Queen Elizabeth. In the third, she warned James against Raleigh.

Northampton wanted to keep Lady Kildare out of important politics. He even said that other ladies at court were afraid to speak in front of her. This shows how important ladies-in-waiting could be in politics during Queen Elizabeth's time.

In 1601, Lady Kildare took a letter to the Queen for Lady Sandys. Lady Sandys' husband was pardoned for supporting the Earl of Essex. In 1602, Lady Raleigh complained that Frances was harming her reputation with the Queen.

It was also said that Lady Kildare told a bishop that Queen Elizabeth wore a ring given to her by the Earl of Essex when she died.

Journey to Meet the New Queen

After King James became King of England in 1603, many people traveled to meet him. Frances, Lady Kildare, went to Berwick upon Tweed with other important ladies to welcome Anne of Denmark, the new Queen. The group was chosen by the King's council. There were two countesses, two baronesses, and two other ladies, along with 200 horsemen.

Lady Kildare left the group in Berwick and traveled ahead to Edinburgh. She wanted to meet Queen Anne and gain her favor. Other ladies, like Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford, did the same. The Queen met these English ladies in Edinburgh. Some of them stayed in a house near Holyroodhouse, and the cost was paid by the Scottish chancellor.

Governess to Princess Elizabeth

On June 3, 1603, Queen Anne arrived in England. Soon after, Frances, Lady Kildare, was chosen to be the governess for Princess Elizabeth. This happened even though some people tried to stop her. Two weeks later, she was also made a Lady of the Queen's Privy Chamber.

A later story says that the King wrote to the Queen recommending Frances for the job. Princess Elizabeth was sad about the change in governess. The story also says that Frances loved her husband, Lord Cobham, very much, but he did not feel the same way.

On July 1, 1603, Princess Elizabeth arrived at Windsor Castle with Lady Kildare. Frances's father, the Earl of Nottingham, visited her and the royal children at Oatlands Palace in September 1603. Records show that Lady Kildare had her own servants, and she sent some male servants away when there was a fear of the plague.

Difficult Times

In September 1603, Frances lost her job as governess. This happened because her husband, Lord Cobham, was involved in plots against the King. It was said that Frances urged her husband to speak against Walter Raleigh to save himself. Frances wrote to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, blaming her brother-in-law, Sir George Brooke.

Arbella Stuart wrote that Lady Kildare was "discharged of her office." She also said Frances was "as near a free woman as may be and have a bad husband." The care of Cobham Hall, their home, was given to someone else.

A later story says that Frances became very sick with worry after her husband was arrested. This led to her being replaced as governess. She wrote to her husband in October 1603, saying she could not send a message to the court because the King and Queen were traveling. After his trial, Lord Cobham was not executed but stayed in the Tower of London for many years. He died in 1618.

Managing Family Papers

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, asked for her husband's papers. Frances wrote to him for more details. Lord Cobham later apologized to Cecil because Frances had sent the wrong papers. Lord Cobham felt that Frances had let him down on purpose.

Frances offered Cecil her husband's papers from their house in Blackfriars. She wrote that many of the letters were about foreign matters. She felt these papers were not suitable for women to see. She wanted to be cleared of any responsibility for keeping them. She wrote: "There are so many papers and writings scattered about that if it might please your lordship, I should be very glad to be wholly dispossessed of them. Many letters concern foreign cases, which could be used. They are unfit for women to see or men of little judgment, for they concern state causes. I should be much bound to your lordship if you would get a command from the King that I should be freely acquitted of them all. If any evidence concerns me, I trust in your honorable fairness to treat me well in all things."

Later Life

After her husband died, Frances, Lady Kildare, was an "assistant countess" at the funeral of Queen Anne in 1619. This showed that she was back in favor with the royal court.

Her daughter, Bridget, married Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, and later Nicholas Barnewall, 1st Viscount Barnewall. Her other daughter, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, married Luke Plunket, 1st Earl of Fingall. Lady Kildare lived at Cobham Hall and Deptford.

In 1623, she borrowed a house from the East India Company in Deptford. She used it to entertain the poor people of the neighborhood at Christmas. She had done some favors for the company.

In 1627, she visited Sir John Coke, an important official, to ask for a favor. The Earl of Dorset wrote to Coke, recommending her. He said she was a "lady out of date" but had "strains in her of the ancient nobility" and deserved courtesy.

Frances Howard, Countess of Kildare, died in 1627. Her will mentioned Anne Arundell of Wardour Castle as a special friend.