Douglas Sheffield | |
|---|---|
| Lady Sheffield | |
| Born | 1542/1543 |
| Died | 1608 Westminster |
| Noble family | Howard |
| Spouse(s) | John Sheffield, 2nd Baron Sheffield Sir Edward Stafford |
| Issue | Elizabeth Butler, Countess of Ormonde Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave Sir Robert Dudley (illegitimate) |
| Father | William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham |
| Mother | Margaret Gamage |
Douglas, Lady Sheffield (née Howard; 1542/1543[1] – 1608), was an English noblewoman, the lover of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester and mother by him of explorer/cartographer Sir Robert Dudley, an illegitimate son.
Seventeen years after Leicester's death she claimed in litigation that she had secretly been his wife, although she had herself remarried while Leicester was still alive.[citation needed]