Bess of Hardwick was a truly incredible woman by the standards of any time. Possessed of a indomitable character not unlike that of Elizabeth I herself, and married four times - and each time bettering herself - her driving ambition was to found a dynasty for her family. In this she succeeded - her wish to have her granddaughter Lady Arbella Stuart succeed Elizabeth may not have come to fruition, but many of England's aristocratic familes, including the Dukes of Devonshire, Portland, Kinsgton and Newcastle and the Earls of Shrewbury, Pembroke, Arundel and Kent are descended from her.

I note in the header of this thread it describes Bess as "Jailer of Mary Queen of Scots". That's a somewhat dramatic and misleading statement - Elizabeth placed Mary in the custody of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, Bess's fourth husand. The pair were most reluctant 'jailers', and were besides very concious of the fact that should Elizabeth die prematurely, Mary could still potentially replace her as queen of England.

Mary was therefore was afforded considerable kindness and freedom while in their custody: she and Bess spent much time in their shared occupation of embroidery (the needlework they made together is displayed in Hardwick Hall and Oxburgh Hall), and Mary was by no means kept a recluse. She was allowed to travel to Buxton at least twice to take the curative spa waters there, was permitted visitors, her own staff and pets, and went riding and hawking with Shrewsbury. Hardly a harsh imprisonment, even though by all accounts Mary was a great complainer.

Although relations between the two women had been friendly at first, having Mary as a constant third must have put an intolerable strain on Bess's and Shrewsbury's marriage. Each time a threat was made to rescue Mary, or harm her, the whole household had to change location - between 1569 and 1584 they moved between Sheffield Castle, Sheffield Manor, Wingfield Manor, The Lodge at Buxton and Bess's house at Chatsworth. Bess loathed to leave her beloved Chatsworth and also seems to have become rather resentful that her husband spent so much time with Mary, who played them off against each other.

After Bess's attempts to secure her granddaughter Arbella succession to the throne, which involved discrediting Mary's own rights by having her Cavendish sons spread rumours that she had born two children through an adulterous affair with Sir William St. Loe, relations between the two women became very bitter, and Bess and Shrewbury's marriage reached breaking point. Bess has normally been blamed for the quarrels with her husband, but in her biography Bess of Hardwick: Empire Builder Mary S. Lovell suggests that Shrewbury was in the final stages of madness, perhaps triggered by the pressure of having Mary as prisoner and victim on one hand, and Bess as jealous wife on the other. Whatever the case, Shrewsbury refused to forgive Bess, and though they did live together again for a short after Mary's execution, they finally separated for good. He died in 1590, leaving Bess the second richest woman in the land.