
Lady Mary Shelton Scudamore (COURTIER TO PRIVY CHAMBER of ELIZABETH I) (Ward of Queen Elizabeth I) (1st cousin 12x removed)
(1550-1555)–1603
BIRTH 1550-1555 • Shelton, Norfolk, , England
DEATH 16 AUG 1603 • England1st cousin 12x removed
Sir Robert Dudley (1532-1588) father, Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) mother
If Sir Robert Dudley was Mary Scudamore’s father, he was 18 years old when she was born, and Elizabeth was only 17.
Mary’s father was
Sir John Williams Shelton, 22nd Lord of Shelton (The Younger) III
1504–1558
BIRTH 1504 • Shelton, Norfolk, England
DEATH 15 NOVEMBER 1558 • Norfolk, England1st cousin 13x removed
Sir John Shelton was 46 years old in 1550 when his daughter, Mary, was born.
Mary’s mother was:
Lady Margaret (Madge) Parker, Baroness Shelton (12th GG Aunt)
1509–1558
BIRTH 1509 OR 1510 • Bletsoe (Bedford) England
DEATH 15 NOV 1558 • Shelton, Norfolk, England (12th great-grandaunt)
Lady Margaret Parker Shelton was 41 when Mary Scudamore was born.

Mary Scudamore (1550-1603)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Portrait thought to be Mary Scudamore by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, dated 1601.
Mary Scudamore (née Shelton) (c. 1550 – 1603) was a courtier and the daughter of Sir John Shelton of Shelton Hall, Norfolk and his wife, Margaret Parker. She was one of only six women who were appointed to the Privy chamber of Elizabeth I. When her close friend, Lady Dorothy Stafford, was ill, it was Mary Scudamore who was the Queen’s sleeping companion.[1]
Her family reached the zenith of their influence during the reign of Henry VIII, when Mary’s grandparents, Sir John Shelton and Anne Boleyn were entrusted with the custody of the future Mary I and Elizabeth I. This was partly as Anne was the aunt of Queen Anne Boleyn and Mary’s aunt, poet Mary Shelton, was the King’s mistress.[2]
She married a gentleman usher, Sir John Scudamore. When she married Scudamore of Holme Lacy, Herefordshire, it was done secretly but was revealed in early 1574. Elizabeth I was apparently extremely angry that this had been done without her consent and allegedly attacked Mary, breaking her finger.[3]
Mary’s grandfather was:
Sir John William II Shelton Baron, KB, 21st Baron (Governor to King’s Children) (12th GGF)
1476–1539
BIRTH 12 DEC 1476 • Shelton, Norfolk, England
DEATH 21 DEC 1539 • Shelton, Norfolk, England
Mary’s grandmother was:
Lady Anne Boleyn Shelton of Blicking, Paternal Aunt of Queen Anne Boleyn (wife of Henry VIII) (12th GG Aunt)
1479–1556
BIRTH 28 NOVEMBER 1479 • Norfolk, England
DEATH 6 JAN 1556 • (aged 77) Ormesby St Margaret, Norfolk, England12th great-grandaunt
She was Queen Anney Boleyn’s aunt and the great aunt of Queen Elizabeth I.
References[edit]
- ^ Scidmore, Warren. “Elizabeth Skydmore who died in 1614, a spinster of Marlwood Park in Thornbury, Cloucestershire”. Occasional Papers, No. 35.
- ^ p.120-128, The Mistresses of Henry VIII by Kelly Hart
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Simon Adams, ‘Scudamore, Mary, Lady Scudamore (c.1550–1603)’
External links[edit]
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Simon Adams, ‘Scudamore, Mary, Lady Scudamore (c.1550–1603)’ [1]
- Occasional Paper, no. 29. “Lady Mary Scudamore (c.1550-1603), courtier”