Mary de Vere

Mary was the daughter of John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford, and his second wife, Margery Golding. Her mother was the half-sister of translator Arthur Golding. Mary's brother was Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, who married Anne Cecil, the daughter of Lord Burghley.

In 1577 Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, successfully courted Mary. His mother, Katherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, was opposed to the match, partly because of the conduct of Mary's brother, who had accused his wife Anne of adultery in 1575; but eventually her father, Burghley, acted as a go between to obtain the permission of Queen Elizabeth I for the marriage to go ahead.[1] Mary de Vere and Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, had seven children:[2] They were married in 1578 and made their home at Grimsthorpe Castle, while Peregrine's parents moved to London.[1]

The couple's children included:[1]

• Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey (16 December 1582 – 23 October 1642)
• Sir Peregrine Bertie, MP (c.1584–1639)
• Henry Bertie of Lound (d. 1655)[3]

After Lord Willoughby's death in 1601, she married Sir Eustace Hart.