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Lady Mary Sidney (née Dudley) (c. 1530–1535 – 9 August 1586) was a lady-in-waiting at the court of Elizabeth I, and the mother of Sir Philip Sidney and Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke. A daughter of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, she was marginally implicated in her father's attempt to place Lady Jane Grey on the English throne and affected by his attainder. Mary Dudley was one of Queen Elizabeth's most intimate confidantes during the early years of her reign. Her duties included nursing the Queen through smallpox in 1563 and acting as her mouthpiece towards diplomats. A sister of Elizabeth's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, she remained always loyal to her family. She was the mother of seven children and accompanied her husband, Sir Henry Sidney, to Ireland and the Welsh Marches. From the 1570s the couple complained repeatedly about their, as they saw it, poor treatment at the Queen's hands. Still one of Elizabeth's favourite ladies, Mary Dudley retired from court life in 1579, suffering from ill health during her last years.
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