Anne Vavasour

Anne Vavasour
Portrait of Anne Vavasour, attributed to John de Critz, c.1605
Born	c.1560 Tadcaster, Copmanthorpe, Yorkshire, England
Died	c.1650
Occupation	Maid of Honour
Known for	Mistress of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, and later Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley Protagonist of Earl of Oxford's poem, Anne Vavasour's Echo
Spouse(s)	John Finch John Richardson
Children	Edward de Vere (illegitimate) Thomas Lee (illegitimate)
Parent(s)	Henry Vavasour Margaret Knyvet

Anne Vavasour (c. 1560 – c. 1650) was a Maid of Honour (1580–81) to Queen Elizabeth I of England, and the mistress of two aristocratic men. Her first lover was Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, by whom she had an illegitimate son – Edward. For that offence, both she and the earl were sent to the Tower of London by the orders of the Queen. She later became the mistress of Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley, by whom she had another illegitimate son.

By 1590, she had married a sea captain by the name of John Finch. She later married John Richardson, while her first husband was still alive; and as a consequence, she was brought up before the High Commission on a charge of bigamy, for which she had to pay a fine of £2000; however, she was spared having to perform a public penance.

She was the inspiration, protagonist, and possibly the actual author, of the poem, , though her lover the Earl of Oxford is more commonly identified as its author.

Anne was born circa 1560, the daughter of Henry Vavasour of Tadcaster, Copmanthorpe, Yorkshire, and Margaret Knyvet. Anne's maternal uncle was Sir Thomas Knyvet, 1st Baron Knyvet. It was this family connection which likely secured her a place at court as one of Queen Elizabeth's Ladies of the Bedchamber. Her younger sister, Frances (1568 – c.1606), was also at court as a Maid of Honour to the Queen (1590–91), and who in 1591, secretly married Sir Thomas Shirley. Her younger brother, Thomas, also made a career at court and became embroiled in her scandals, at one point challenging the Earl of Oxford to a duel (which does not appear to have taken place).

Shortly after her arrival at court, she became the mistress of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, who was married to Anne Cecil, the daughter of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, the Queen's most trusted advisor. Oxford had separated from his wife in 1576.