Bess of Hardwick, Elizabethan power player

Who was Bess of Hardwick, you may ask? She was the other famous Bess in Elizabethan England, after “Good Queen Bess,” aka Queen Elizabeth. Bess of Hardwick was fabulously wealthy, powerful, and savvy. She outlived four husbands, rising in status with each one, and made sure that her children and grandchildren married as strategically as she had. She was a natural businesswoman with keen accounting skills and a healthy portfolio of properties that provided her with a massive income. Besides the queen, she was the wealthiest woman in England.

She was born Elizabeth Hardwick, and successively became known as Elizabeth Barlow (until her husband Robert died in 1544), Lady Cavendish (until her husband Sir William died in 1557), Lady St. Loe (until her husband, another Sir William, died in 1565), and finally Countess of Shrewsbury (George Talbot, the 6th Earl, died in 1590). Our collection includes letters from the last three husbands (the first one died when they were both teenagers, after a very short marriage).

Bess was so powerful that after the death of her last husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury, she became widely known as Bess of Hardwick (Hardwick was her maiden name and Hardwick Hall is where she settled after the Earl of Shrewsbury’s death).

In the Folger exhibition How to be a Power Player: Tudor Edition, which is framed as a playbook for aspiring courtiers, I dedicated an entire case to Bess of Hardwick, Rule #10: Lean In. Bess knew better than anyone how to navigate the intrigues at court, build alliances, and stay on Queen Elizabeth’s good side.

Put simply, Bess was a bad ass who fought for what was hers and didn’t let her husbands control her. She was the nerve center of a sprawling network of family and friends who regularly sought her advice and counsel. It was in Queen Elizabeth’s best interest to maintain a good relationship with her, especially since the queen had tasked Bess and her last husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury, with keeping Queen Elizabeth’s rival, Mary, Queen of Scots, under house arrest for 15 years.

Let’s look at the evolution of her power through her last three husbands’ letters to her. All three letters are on display, along with one of Bess’s account books, until August 10, 2025.

Husband #2: Sir William Cavendish

Three years after the death of her teenage first husband, Bess married Sir William Cavendish (ca. 1505–1557) in 1547. This power couple bought the Chatsworth estate in 1549 and began building a lavish new house on the property in 1552. Cavendish, who was more than twice her age, died in 1557, leaving Bess a widow once again. Six of their eight children survived into adulthood. 

In this ca. 1550 letter (transcription), Cavendish addresses her as “Good Bess” and reminds her to pay the bill for “oats that we have bought” from a London acquaintance. He closes the short letter, “All yours as most worthy, WC.”

Look at all the ways her husband defers to her in this letter. He treats Bess, in her early twenties, as an equal financial partner, referencing the oats that “we” purchased. His trust in her is evidenced by his reference to her familiarity with their accounts: “you know my store and therefore I have appointed him to have it at your hands.” He signs off the letter as an entirely devoted husband (“all yours most worthy”) and with just his initials, WC, for William Cavendish. The address on the outside of the letter packet reads, simply, “To Bess Cavendish my wife.” He addresses her with both familiarity and respect. They are lock-step in their desire to build an empire together.

Husband #3: Sir William St. Loe

After her first marriage to another teenager and her second marriage to a much older man, husband number three Sir William St. Loe (1518–1565), whom she married in 1559, may have felt slightly more age appropriate, just nine or so years older than her. Their marriage was solid, but William’s younger brother became their enemy, angry that any potential children that the couple had would ruin his chances of inheritance. Sir William died suddenly in 1565, and is thought that he was poisoned by this jealous brother. He left everything to Bess, which officially made her one of the wealthiest women in England. 

Sir William St. Loe addresses this ca. 1560 letter (transcription) to Bess sweetly, familiarly, and with urgency: “To my loving wife at Chatsworth give these with speed.” His command to deliver the letter “with speed” demonstrates that her husband prioritizes her need for the freshest news, directly from his pen. The letter contains one of the sweetest and most teasing greetings I’ve ever seen: “My honest sweet Chatsworth.” This is in reference to her ongoing building project begun in her previous marriage, Chatsworth House. She was a bit obsessed with Chatsworth, and he respected this obsession. He closes the letter romantically, even passionately: “Your loving husband with aching heart until we meet, William Saint Lo.”

The letter itself sounds like a phone conversation between partners today, when one of them is on a work trip. He tells her that he’s with Queen Elizabeth in London, and that he hates the price and quality of his rented sheets and towels. He asks Bess to send him linens from home, along with some extra shirts for his entourage. He frets over what horses and men she should use for the delivery, and what and how much the horses should eat on the journey.

After taking care of the logistics, he provides an update on Queen Elizabeth. The queen had chastised him for his long absence from court, to which he replied to the queen that when she “understood the truth and the cause she would not be offended,” to which she replied, “Very well, Sir, very well.” Despite the queen’s seeming forgiveness, she did not offer her hand for him to kiss.

He then gives an update on their shared business, a case involving vast sums of money, and describes the “extreme pain” in his teeth. This intermingling of business news and the intimacies of everyday married life reveals the ease with which they share information and confidences, an ease built on trust and respect.

Husband #4: George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury

Bess took a beat before marrying her fourth and final husband, George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury (circa 1522/28–1590). Roughly the same age as him, she brought six children into the marriage (from her second husband) and he brought seven (from his first wife). Not only did Bess and George get married in 1568, but they also held a double marriage ceremony for two of her children (Mary, aged 12, and Henry, aged 18) to two of his children (Gilbert, aged 16, and Grace, aged 8)! They were seriously intertwined, seriously rich, and seriously powerful. Reports of the queen’s love for her, and love for her husband, reached her from various sources.

George tenderly starts this letter (transcription) by addressing Bess as “My one sweet heart” (or perhaps, “My own sweet heart”). He writes with familiarity, reporting on his health because he knows that she “will be glad to hear how I do.” He’s at their estate at Wingfield, the change in weather has triggered his gout, he has no news to report, and he’ll be there for a few more days. He signs off, “your faithful husband, G Shrewsbury.” This is a “just checking in with you so that you don’t worry about me while I’m away” sort of communication. He’s not asking for anything or reporting anything—it’s really just a reassuring placeholder until they are back together, written in his famously messy handwriting.

Everything seemed to be going okay in their relationship until suddenly it wasn’t. Keeping the queen’s rival, Mary, Queen of Scots, under house arrest would put stress on even the strongest marriage, and that’s what happened. Mary reportedly created distrust between Bess and George, and once you lose trust in a relationship, it’s hard to regain.

Bess really began to “lean in” in 1574. Without the permission of her husband or Queen Elizabeth, Bess secretly arranged a marriage between her daughter Elizabeth and Charles Stuart, who had royal blood on both sides (their daughter Arbella Stuart thus had a claim to the thrones of England and Scotland). Bess ignored the queen’s order for her to report to London for an inquiry into this potential treason. By 1580, Bess and George were an on-again, off-again couple, and even Queen Elizabeth failed to get them back together. Within a few years, they were permanently separated.

Bess of Hardwick, on her own

After the death of her estranged husband in 1590, Bess continued to wield extraordinary power and influence on her own, as well as through her children and their spouses. Her sons and daughters frequently consulted with her and sought her approval, and provided her with a steady stream of news from the court of Queen Elizabeth, and then after 1603, King James. In her widowhood, Bess took on one of the biggest projects of her life: the construction of New Hardwick Hall, which her contemporaries referred to as “Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall.”

Bess of Hardwick outlived the other Bess, Queen Elizabeth, by five years. She kept up with court intrigue and orchestrated her family’s continued rise to power until her own death on February 13, 1608, in her early 80s, a power player to the very end.