Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby
| Elizabeth de Vere | |
|---|---|
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Countess of Derby Lord of Mann |
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Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby, by an unknown artist
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| Spouse(s) | William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby, Lord of Mann |
| Issue | |
| Noble family | de Vere |
| Father | Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford |
| Mother | Anne Cecil |
| Born | 2 July 1575 Theobalds House, Hertfordshire |
| Died | 10 March 1627 (aged 51) Richmond, Surrey |
| Buried | Westminster Abbey, London |
| Occupation |
Maid of Honour Head of state and government administrator of the Isle of Man |
Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby, Lord of Mann (2 July 1575 – 10 March 1627), was an English noblewoman and the eldest daughter of the Elizabethan courtier, poet, and playwright Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.
She was the Lord of Mann from 1612 to 1627, and prior to holding the title, she had taken over many administrative duties appertaining to the Isle of Man's affairs. Elizabeth was the first female to rule as the island's head of state.
She served as a Maid of Honour to Queen Elizabeth I of England before her marriage to William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby. Their wedding is one of eleven that have been suggested as the inspiration for William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the occasion of the play's first performance.
Elizabeth Vere was born on 2 July 1575 at Theobalds House, Hertfordshire, the eldest surviving daughter of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, and Anne Cecil, the daughter of statesman William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, Queen Elizabeth I's chief advisor and leading member of her Privy Council. Anne's mother was Mildred Cooke, Burghley's second wife, and Elizabeth was baptised on 10 July.
As Elizabeth's birth had occurred while her father was abroad touring the Continent, upon his return to England he suspected her mother of adultery, and separated from her. They were later reconciled in January 1582, when Elizabeth was acknowledged as her father's child.
Elizabeth had two younger sisters, Bridget and Susan. Her brother, Lord Bulbecke, died in 1583 as an infant, and she had another sister, Frances, who died in 1587. She also had an illegitimate half-brother, Edward Vere, by her father's notorious affair with Anne Vavasour, the Queen's Lady of the Bedchamber. The birth of this child in March 1581 caused the arrest of both her father and his mistress.
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