Mary Radcliffe was a courtier of Queen Elizabeth I of England. She was a daughter of Sir Humphrey Radcliffe of Elstow and Isabella Harvey. She became a maid of honour at court in 1564. In November 1565 she and the other maids were bought gowns of yellow satin with green velvet edges and chevrons, with silver lace, for the wedding of Ambrose, Earl of Warwick and Anne Russell. Similarly, in 1572 she and ten other maids and ladies of the chamber were given identical gowns made from crimson velvet, blue taffeta, with watchet blue silk lace. As a lady of the privy chamber, Radcliffe was in charge of the queen's jewelry from 1587, in succession to Blanche Parry, and was usually described as "Mistress Mary Radcliffe." Her name frequently appears in list ofNew Year's day gift to queen, for taking receipt of jewels. As a New Year's day gift for 1600 she gave the queen a "round kirtle of white China damask bound about with passamayne lace." "Passamayne" was a kind of braid or woven lace, used on fringes of skirts or bed curtains. On 29 June 1600 she took receipt of a jewel from Sir Thomas Egerton, which his late wife Elizabeth had borrowed. The piece was made gold, and enamelled with five large diamonds and a pendant pearl. Rowland Whyte, writing in the 1590s, usually called her "old Mrs Radcliffe." Whyte noted that on 27 February 1598 a "Mrs Radcliffe" wore a white satin gown, all embroidered, richly cut on good cloth of silver, which cost £180. This was the maid of honour Margaret Radcliffe, a rival with the recently widowed Frances Howard for the affections of Lord Cobham. At Thomas Egerton's Harefield Entertainment in 1602, in the lottery she was given a pair of bracelets, and this verse was addressed to her, "Lady your hands are fallen in a snare: For Cupid's manacles these bracelets are." On 12 January 1604 the goldsmiths John Spilman and William Herrick were asked to assess and make an inventory of the jewels that had belonged to Queen Elizabeth. King James had already given several pieces to Anne of Denmark, Princess Elizabeth, Arbella Stuart and others. The remaining jewels were transferred from the keeping of Mrs Mary Radcliffe to the Countess of Suffolk.
