Gertrude Courtenay, Marchioness of Exeter

Who is Gertrude Courtenay, Marchioness of Exeter?

Gertrude Courtenay, Marchioness of Exeter, née Gertrude Blount, was the wife of Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter and a lady at the court of Henry VIII of England. She was a godmother to the future Elizabeth I.

Henry Courtenay was a close friend of Henry VIII's, having "been brought up of a child with his grace in his chamber." Gertrude was the daughter of William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, Katherine of Aragon's chamberlain and a man well respected by both King and Queen, and his first wife Elisabeth Saye.

In 1533, Anne Boleyn gave birth to a baby girl. Princess Elizabeth was baptised, and Gertrude, a close friend of Katherine of Aragon's, was chosen as the godmother at the confirmation, which was performed immediately after the baptism. Apparently, it was well known that Gertrude "really wanted to have nothing to do with this" but agreed "so as not to displease the King". As this was such a public spectacle - and as a godparent was expected to provide an extremely expensive present, and historian Eric Ives has concluded that the decision to appoint Gertrude to this role was malicious.