Elizabeth Denton

Elizabeth Denton also called Elizabeth Jerningham, was an English noblewoman and courtier. She was the governess of the English royal children, among them the future king Henry VIII of England and his daughter Mary I of England, between 1497 and 1516.

Biography

Elizabeth Denton was born to Sir John Jerningham of Somerleyton Hall and Agnes Darell. She was the spouse of John Denton.
Elizabeth Denton was the lady-in-waiting and wardrobe keeper of queen Elizabeth of York. In 1497 she was appointed to replace Elizabeth Darcy as governess, Lady Governor or Lady Mistress, to Prince Henry, as well as of his sisters Margaret and Mary until they were given their own governess, Joan Vaux, in 1499.
She is suggested to have been the "Mistress Denton" that accompanied princess Margaret Tudor to her wedding with the king of Scotland in 1503.
In 1511, she was appointed governess to the newborn son of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Henry, Duke of Cornwall, who however died not long afterward.
In 1516, she was appointed to be the governess of princess Mary. She was succeeded in this position by Margaret Bryan.
Elizabeth Denton, who had been given a personal pension by the king as a widow in 1515, retired to Blackfriars Precinct, where her will is dated on 26 April 1518, and died in 1519.