She was the elder daughter of
Thomas Wotton, 2nd Baron Wotton, by his wife Mary Throckmorton, a daughter of
Sir Arthur Throckmorton of
Paulerspury, Northamptonshire.
Career After the marriage of William and Mary in May 1641, she followed her husband,
Lord Stanhope, to
Holland as the governess to the Princess Royal. As the princess came to age, Lady Stanhope grew to become her confidante and adviser. During the
English Civil War, Lady Stanhope sided with Charles I and his heir,
King Charles II; she is said to have supplied them both politically and financially, and to have been involved in much of the royalist plots of that decade. After the death of Heenvliet in 1660, Charles II made her the Countess of Chesterfield in recognition of both her service and her friendship. She remained in princess Mary's service until the latter's death from illness on 24 December 1660. She then passed into the service of
Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, and in 1662 to Queen
Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II. In 1662, Lady Catherine married her friend
Daniel O'Neill (d.1664),
Postmaster General, another one of the King's men during the civil war. Upon his death in 1664, she increased her by then already considerable wealth by inheriting O'Neill's office of Postmaster General. ==Marriages and progeny==