My Education

I was brought up to esteem learning. My first "tutor" was my governess, Kat Champernowne, later Ashley. By some providence, she "had received an unusually advanced education for a woman" (Weir, Children, 7) and she taught me "mathematics, history, geography, astronomy, architecture, needlework, dancing, riding and deportment" (Weir, Children 7). Looking back, it is amazing that a woman, born of gentlefolk, not royalty, had the kind of education to provide her the ability to impart to me my first lessons and my lifelong love of learning.

When I was nine, I started sharing the tutor of my brother, Edward, Dr. Richard Coxe. This was not of long duration and by the time I was eleven, I had my own esteemed tutor, William Grindal. He, also, had been one of my brother's tutors, along with John Cheke and Roger Ascham. Although Ascham remained Edward's tutor, he wrote many letters to me and Kat recommending this or that course of study and encouraging my efforts.

Because my education focused on the Classics in their own language, I loved translating these classics from their original language into another language and then back to its own! I do remember presenting my father's sixth wife and my stepmother, Katherine Parr, with her "own book, Prayers and Meditations [translated] (from English into Latin, French and Italian)" (Weir, Children, 10) as a gift of my loving gratitude. Barely a day goes by, from then until now, without my reading and translating the Classics as a way of recreation and relaxation. Without intention of bragging, I am fluent in Greek, Latin, Italian, French, Spanish, and English; another testament to the firm grounding in the Classics in their own languages.