Doña Catalina de la Cerda, duchess of Lerma (1550-1603), was a Spanish courtier. She was the Camarera mayor de Palacio to the queen of Spain, in 1599–1603.López-cordón Cortezo, M. V. (2003). Entre damas anda el juego: las camareras mayores de Palacio en la edad moderna. Cuadernos de Historia Moderna, 123-152. https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/CHMO/article/view/CHMO0303220123A She was married to the powerful royal favorite Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma.
Life and career
She was born to Juan de la Cerda y Silva, 4th Duke of Medinaceli and Joana Manuel de Noronha. Prior to her marriage, she served as maid of honour to the queen, Anna of Austria.
In 1577 she married Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma. Cabrera de Córdoba, Luis (1857). Relaciones de las cosas sucedidas en la corte de España, desde 1599 hasta 1614. Imprenta de J. Martín Alegria. Consultado el 12 de septiembre de 2023.
She was appointed to the post of Camarera mayor de Palacio to the queen of Spain in 1599. She was appointed to the office with the task of supervising the queen and the queen's household on behalf of the king and the Duke of Lerma, her husband. The queen was aware of this, which made their relationship tense. It has been theorised that this was the reason why the Duchess of Lerma suffered from bouts of depression and therefore often retired from service. In 1603, she retired due to health reasons, and died later that same year.
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