Elizabeth Knollys | |
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Lady Leighton | |
![]() Portrait of Elizabeth Knollys by an unknown painter after George Gower, 1577 | |
Born | 15 June 1549 England |
Died | c. 1605 (aged about 56) |
Noble family | Knollys (by birth) Leighton (by marriage) |
Spouse(s) | Sir Thomas Leighton |
Issue | Thomas Leighton Elizabeth Talbot Anne, Lady St John |
Father | Sir Francis Knollys |
Mother | Catherine Carey |
Occupation | Maid of Honour Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber |
Elizabeth Knollys, Lady Leighton (15 June 1549 – c.1605),[1] was an English courtier who served Queen Elizabeth I of England, first as a Maid of Honour and secondly, after 1566, as a Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber.[1][2] Knollys was the grand-niece of Queen consort Anne Boleyn, which made her a cousin once removed of the Queen. Elizabeth married Sir Thomas Leighton of Feckenham in Worcestershire in 1578.[1] He served as Governor of Jersey and Guernsey.[citation needed]
She is sometimes mistakenly referred to in documents as "Cecilia", which was the name of her youngest sister.[3]