- Catherine Grey Elopes and Honeymoons in The Tower.
- Lord John Gray to Sir William Cecil, November 7, 1563.
- An Anonymous Account of Lady Catherine Grey's Final days.
All the night she continued in prayer, saying of psalms and hearing them read of others, sometimes saying them after others, and as soon as one Psalm was done she would call for another to be said; divers times she would rehearse the prayers appointed for the Visitation of the Sick, and five or six times the
same night she said the prayers appointed to be said at the hours of death, and when she was comforted by those that were about her, saying ' Madam be of good comfort, with God's help you shall live and do well many years,' she would answer ' No, no, no life in this worlde, but in the world to come I hope to live ever; for here is nothing but care and misery, and there is life everlasting:' and then seeing herself faint, she said 'Lord be merciful unto me, for now I begin to faint,' and all the time of her fainting, when any about her would chafe or rub her to comfort her, she would lift up her hands and eyes unto heaven and say 'Father of Heaven, for thy son Christ's sake, have mercy upon me.' Then said the Lady Hopton unto her, 'Madam be of good comfort, for with God his favour you shall live and escape this; for Mrs. Cousen saith you have escaped many dangers, when you were as like to die as you be nowe.' 'No, no my Ladie my time is come, and it is not God's will that I should live any longer, and his will be done, and not mine;' then, looking upon those that were about her, 'As I am, so shall you be, behold the picture of yourselves.' And about vi. or vij. of the clocke in the morning she desired those that were about her to cause Sir Owen Hoptone to come unto her, and when he came he said unto her, 'Good Madam how do you,' and she said, 'Even now going to God, Sir Owen, even as fast as I can; and I pray you and the rest that be about me to bear witness with me that I die a true Christian, and that I believe to be saved by the death of Christ, and that I am one that he hath shed his most precious blood for; and I ask God and all the world forgiveness, and I forgive all the world.' Then she said unto Sir Owen Hoptone 'I beseech you promise me one thing, that you yourself with your own mouth will make this request unto the Queen's Majesty, which shall be the last suit and request that ever I shall make unto her Highness, even from the mouth of a dead woman; that
she would forgive her displeasure towards me as my hope is she hath done; I must needs confess I have greatly offended her, in that I made my choice without her knowledge, otherwise I take God to witness I had never the heart to think any evil against her Majesty; and that she would be good unto my children, and not to impute my fault unto them, whom I give wholly unto Her Majesty: for in my life they have had few friends, and fewer shall they have when I am dead, except Her Majesty be gracious unto them: and I desire her Highness to be good unto my Lord, for I know this my death will be heavy news unto him, that her Grace will be so good as to send liberty to glad his sorrowful heart withall.'" Then she said unto Sir Owen, 'I shall further desire you to deliver from me certain commendations and Tokens unto my Lord,' and calling unto her woman, she said, 'Give me the box wherein my wedding Ring is,' and when she had it she opened it, and took out a Ring with a pointed diamond in it, and said, 'Here Sir Owen, deliver this unto my Lord, this is the Ring that I received of him when I gave myself unto him and gave him my faith.' 'What say you, Madam,' said Sir 'Owen, 'was this your Wedding Ring?' 'No, Sir Owen,' she said, 'this was the Ring of my assurance unto my Lord, and there is my Wedding Ring,' taking another Ring all of gold out of the box, saying, 'Deliver this also unto my Lord,2 and pray him even as I have been to him, as I take God to witness I have been, a true and a faithful Wife, that he would be a loving and a natural Father unto my children, unto whom I give the same blessing that God gave unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' And then took she out another Ring with a Death's head, and said 'This shall be the last Token unto my Lord that ever I shall send him; it is the picture of myself.' The words about the Death's head were these 'While I lyve yours,' and so, looking down upon her hands, and perceiving the nails to look purple, said, 'Lo here he is come,' and then as it were with a joyful countenance she said 'welcome Death,' and embracing herself with her arms, and lifting up her eyes and hands unto heaven,
knocking her hands upon her breast, she brake forth and said 'O Lord! for thy manyfold mercies, blot out of thy Book all mine offenses!' Whereby Sir Owen perceiving her to draw towards her end, said to Mr. Bockeham were it not best to send to the Church that the bell may be rung, and she herself hearing him, 'Good Sir Owen let it be so.' Then immediately perceiving her end to be near, she entered into Prayer, and said, 'O Lord ! into thy hands I commend my soul, Lord Jesus receive my spirit:' and so putting down her eyes with her own hands she yielded unto God her meek spirit at nine of the clock in the Morning the 27th of January, 1567.
History has concluded that Lady Catherine died of consumption.
1 Ellis, Henry. Original Letters, Illustrative of English History (1827). II.288-90.
2 [Ellis's note] This Ring had been exhibited by Lady Catherine to the Commission of Inquiry. It consisted of five links, the four inner ones containing the following posie of the Earl's making:
As circles five by art compact shewe but one Ring in sight,
So trust uniteth faithfull mindes with knott of secret might ;
Whose force to breake but greedie Death noe wight possesseth power.
As time and sequels well shall prove. My Ringe can say no more."
Also at Virtual Grub Street:
- A Triple Wedding and Surprise Visit from the King (1536). July 31, 2023. “History was rushing onward at that point toward many fateful events”
The Decline of William Cecil, Baron of Burghley. July 22, 2023. “He found it necessary to do his work remotely more often as the years went on.”
- Queen Elizabeth at Kenilworth Castle: Sunday, July 17, 1575. July 16, 2022. “History has been particularly generous and has preserved an eyewitness letter describing the events…”.
Shakespeare’s Character Names: Shylock, Ophelia, etc. July 13, 2021. “The name Ophelia was, by all indications, quite rare in the 16th century.”
A 1572 Oxford Letter and the Player’s Speech in Hamlet. August 11, 2020. “The player’s speech has been a source of consternation among Shakespeare scholars for above 200 years. Why was Aeneas’ tale chosen as the subject?”
Check out the English Renaissance Article Index for many more articles and reviews about this fascinating time and about the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
- Check out the Queen Elizabeth I Biography Page for many other articles.
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