Mary Fitton - Life at Court

Life At Court

About 1595 Mary Fitton became a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth. Her father recommended her to the care of Sir William Knollys, comptroller of the Queen's household. Sir William promised, "I will be as careful of her well doing as if I were her own true father." But Knollys, though fifty and already married, soon became suitor to Mary Fitton, in hope of the speedy death of the actual Lady Knollys. He wrote of his passion to her sister and even named Mary's niece, who he was sponsoring as godfather, "Mary". His infatuation was well known and mocked in court.

In 1599, Mary had to quit the court because she was suffering from a mixture of physical and mental symptoms that Elizabethans called "suffocation of the mother", probably a form of hysteria. When she returned to court, she refused Knollys.

In June 1600 Mary led a dance in the masque celebrating the fashionable wedding of Lady Anne Russell, granddaughter of the Earl of Bedford, with Henry Somerset, later created Marquess of Worcester, at Lord Cobham's residence in Blackfriars. Led by Mary, the maids performed an allegorical dance and afterwards chose substitutes from the audience. Mary boldly chose the queen, telling her that she represented Affection (which then meant passionate love), to which the queen replied "Affection? Affection's false."

William Herbert, later Earl of Pembroke, is known to have been present at this affair. Mary was a couple of years older than he, but she pursued him ardently. She became his mistress, and was soon pregnant. In February 1601 Pembroke was sent to the Fleet Prison after admitting paternity but refusing to marry his mistress. Mary Fitton was placed with Lady Margaret Hawkins, the widow of Sir John Hopkins, for her confinement. In March 1601 she gave birth to a baby boy who died immediately (perhaps from syphilis, which it is believed Pembroke may have suffered from).

Both Mary and Pembroke were dismissed from court.