Kat Ashley

Catherine Ashley née Champernowne (? - 1565) was governess to Elizabeth I and was a close friend in later life, known to the Queen as 'Kat'. She should not be confused with her niece Catherine Champernowne, Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Humphrey Gilbert's mother.

Early life

Catherine (or Katherine) Champernowne was the daughter of Sir John Champernowne and his wife, Margaret Courtenay. The International Genealogical Index shows that her parents married between 1478 and 1485. Sir John died in 1503 in Modbury, Devon and so Catherine's birth would have been before this date and probably in Modbury (another of Sir John's children was christened there.) The name derives from the village of Cambernon in Normandy, France, the former feudal holding of the Cambernon family.

Appointment as governess

After Edward VI's birth, Elizabeth lost her nurse, Lady Bryan, who was transferred to the young Prince's household. Catherine Champernowne was appointed as a waiting gentlewoman to the then Lady Elizabeth in July 1536. In 1537, when Elizabeth I was four, Catherine became her governess, and was known to her as 'Kat'.

Evidently Catherine Champernowne had been well educated for she taught Elizabeth astronomy, geography, history, mathematics, French, Flemish, Italian and Spanish. In addition she taught Elizabeth pursuits such as needlework, embroidery, dancing, riding, and deportment. By the age of six, Elizabeth was able to sew a beautiful cambric shirt as a gift for Edward VI. Sources state that Kat accustomed Elizabeth to the “elaborate code of politeness and subservience to her elders”. Elizabeth herself praised Kat’s early devotion to her studies by stating that Kat took “great labour and pain in bringing of me up in learning and honesty”.

Middle and later years

In 1545 Catherine married Sir John Ashley, Princess Elizabeth's senior gentleman attendant. Sir John Ashley was a cousin of Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn. Catherine was over 40 years old at this date.

In 1543 Henry VIII had married Catherine Parr. Parr gave Elizabeth a more stable family life and brought Elizabeth to Court. However Henry died in 1547 and was succeeded by his son, Edward VI. Edward's uncles, Edward Seymour and Thomas Seymour tried to get control of him. Shortly after Henry VIII died, Thomas Seymour investigated whether he could be permitted to marry either the Lady Mary, or Elizabeth and was refused. Seymour immediately began courting Catherine Parr. (They had been romantically linked before she became Queen). In her early 30s and still childless, Parr agreed to marry Seymour almost at once, only two months after Henry's death. Seymour and Parr were able to secure royal approval and lived in Chelsea with Kat and the young Elizabeth.

When Thomas Seymour began a flirtation with the 14-year-old Elizabeth, Kat Ashley first thought this amusing. However he entered Elizabeth's bedroom in the morning in his nightshirt and tried to tickle her while she was still in bed. Kat became concerned and advised Catherine Parr. Eventually there was a major incident in which Kat said that Queen Catherine had caught Elizabeth in Seymour's arms. Elizabeth was lectured about the need to protect her reputation. However, gossip spread.

The rumours about Thomas Seymour's flirtation with Elizabeth emerged in 1549 as his other political manoeuvres were revealed. On January 21, 1549, Kat Ashley was arrested and taken to the Tower, for possible involvement in Seymour's activities. She told her story and was found to have done nothing treasonous and was released thirteen days before Seymour's execution. Despite detailed questioning, Catherine did not implicate Elizabeth in Seymour's schemes. By August 1549, she had returned to Hatfield and stayed with Elizabeth until Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower by Queen Mary in 1554. Kat was allowed to rejoin Elizabeth in October 1555, but she was arrested in May 1556 following the discovery of seditious books. Kat spent three months in Fleet Prison and after her release, she was forbidden to see Elizabeth again. When Mary I of England died in 1558, the order was revoked, and Kat was made First Lady of the Bedchamber. She became influential as a source of information for the Queen and as a means of asking favours of the Queen. She died in the summer of 1565 to Elizabeth's great distress.

External links

* [http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Bios/KateAshley.htm Brief biography 1]
* [http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/katashley.htm Brief biography 2]