Elizabeth Butler

Elizabeth Berkeley, 1534-September 1, 1582 was the daughter of Thomas, 6th baron Berkeley (1505-September 22, 1534) and Anne Savage (1506-October 1564). In around 1559, she married Thomas Butler, 10th earl of Ormond and 3rd earl of Ossory (1532-November 22, 1614), who had been raised at the English court as one of Prince Edward's schoolmates and returned to England when Elizabeth became queen. Elizabeth Berkeley was described as "the fairest that lived in the court," but apparently the marriage was a troubled one. The earl accused his wife of writing love letters to three men—Morgan, Moore, and Mansfield—and they were living apart by the spring of 1564. In early 1565, Ormond obtained an Irish divorce, but the English Privy Council intervened, heard his wife's appeal, and arranged a settlement in 1569 by which she remained his wife and was granted an allowance of £90/year for life. In the interim, Ormond was at the English court and high in favor with the queen. His countess was in Bristol when she died and was buried in Westminster Abbey. They had no children.