Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria, was born in 1538 into a family at the heart of Court struggles between Catholicism and Protestantism, and married twenty years later into the world of the Spanish Court, refuge of exiled English Catholics.

The marriage lasted 13 years, and after her husband's death in 1571 the Duchess of Feria remained a powerful figure. She restored her Spanish family's fortunes. She took on the role of England's Catholic ambassador in Spain, and was instrumental in the foundation of the English College at Valladolid. At the same time she kept on the good side of Queen Elizabeth, and looked after English Protestants who found themselves in need passing through Spain.