Lady in Waiting

During our latest session with Sharon we were told about our final fundamentals of makeup project. We were shown each of Elizabeth I’s ladies in waiting and asked to choose who we would like to base our design upon. There were various different girls who had quite interesting backgrounds that I probably could have created designs for. However Bess of Hardwick stood out most to me personally. I’m not sure whether I was drawn to her because I thought she was quite a remarkable woman, the Tyra Banks of the Tudors, working from having next to nothing to be a very respected woman in her field. Sharon asked us to research our chosen lady in waiting and create a background story for them in order to build the character. 

Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury - (1521 - 1607)

Elizabeth Hardwick started her life relatively poor, having married four times she became a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth and was the second most powerful Elizabethan woman, next to the Queen herself, I already knew this much. What I wanted to know is if there was any scandal involved in her climb to the top, with four marriages under her belt I was sure there had to be. 

At the age of 12 she was sent to be a lady in waiting to a couple who worked in court. This is where she met her first husband Robert Barlow who she married at fifteen, their marriage was very short lived as he died no less than a year later. This wasn't all bad news for her though, as he left her with a substantial inheritance meaning she was able to survive without him. In the few years that followed she began working for Henry VIII’s niece, still as a lady in waiting. Through this placement she met her second husband, who at the time was 20 years older than her, William Cavendish. She had 8 children with Cavendish who did when she was still only 30 years old. She was left a very wealthy widow when she entered into her third marriage to Sir William Loe, who was recognised by the Queen. This is how Bess became a lady of the queens privy chamber, moving her into the royal circle and bonding with the Queen herself. Bess’s third husband died after 6 years leaving everything he had to her, making her a very very wealthy woman. However this wasn’t quite enough for her, as it wasn't just wealth that she sought but also status. She achieved this status when she was married off to her fourth and final husband the Earl of Shrewsbury who was one of the most rich and powerful men in the whole of England. 

Their marriage wasn’t a happy one in the end as Bess accused her husband of having an affair with the Scottish queen and many others. Their arguments became so bad that Queen Elizabeth stepped in but even she couldn’t not stop their arguing. Bess was so persistent that the word ‘shrew' (short for Shrewsbury) was often used to mean “​unpleasant woman who is ​easily​ annoyed and who ​argues a lot”. She stayed away from her husband until his death a few years later. After this event she returned to her childhood home and began the erection of a house to show off her new status and wealth. During Elizabethan times glass was a very extortionate commodity to possess and most windows weren't paned, instead they were covered with shutters. Bess wanted to show just how rich she had become since leaving the small village many years before, so she built her house almost entirely out of diamond shaped glass panels. 

She marked her territory by having her initials calved in stone on each of the towers. Her decedents include many of the titled families of Great Britain currently including Prince William and Prince Harry on both their father and their mother’s side. Bess and queen continued to be close friends until their passing and it is said that in some of Elizabeths portraits he is wearing a gown that was given o her by Bess of Hardwick herself as a gift. 

I imagine that there was more to her story than what I had researched, those are just the facts. I feel that by the end of her four marriages she was a cold and bitter woman. During her first marriage she was probably a young and naive soul who was open to the idea of being in love. She was too young to understand true love but she was still heart broken when Robert passed. It was when she was with Cavendish that she truly fell in love, he gave her 8 beautiful children and she imagined spending the rest of her life with him. When he died she was mortified, distraught and devastated and swore never to marry again.  It was only when she met Loe that she thought maybe there was hope for her to love again. Although its well known that it was the Earl of Shrewsbury that she openly accused of cheating on her I believe that it was Loe who damaged her the most.  I image that it was actually him cheated on her and she was too scared of being alone again to leave him. She bottled up her emotions which left her a cold and closed off person. When he died she was relieved and began to enjoy the money that was left to her after his passing. One night after enjoying a banquet and a play, she was walking and was attacked by a man who tried to rape and rob her. He got away with her money but with nothing else. She was shaken by the attack and grew to hate men after everything that she had been through with Loe and now this, they were all animals.  She decided that she wasn't going to be treated like a second class citizen just because she was a women and thats why she married the Earl.  She never loved him she just needed the status that came alone with the marriage. She used the accusations of him being a cheat to keep him away from he until he died and went on to use the money he left her to seclude herself in Hardwick Hall until her demise. 

This research and the story that I have created has given me a few ideas as to the colours and shapes that I plan on using in my final design, I'm inspired and excited to create some face charts.