Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham

Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham

Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham (née Beaumont; c. 1570 – 19 April 1632) is perhaps best known as the mother of the royal favourite Sir George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. She was the daughter of Anthony Beaumont of Glenfield, Leicestershire, a direct descendant of Henry de Beaumont.^[1]

After his first wife died 1 May 1587, she became the second wife of Sir George Villiers. They had four children:

• John (c. 1590-1657), later created Viscount Purbeck.
• George (1592-1628), later created Duke of Buckingham.
• Christopher (died 1630), later created Earl of Anglesey.
• Susan (died 1651), married William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh.

Following the death of her husband, she was created Countess of Buckingham in her own right in 1618. She became a Roman Catholic convert in the early 1620s, under the influence of the Jesuit John Percy.^[2]

See also

• Villiers family

Notes