| Kate | |
| Fictional Character | |
| Ruled Britannia POD: July-August, 1588 | |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct |
| Nationality: | England |
| Date of Birth: | 16th century |
| Occupation: | Server at an eatery |
| Spouse: | William Shakespeare (m. 1598) |
| Affiliations: | Humphrey's ordinary |
Kate was a serving woman at Humphrey's ordinary in London, frequented by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare and Kate became intimate in 1598, and Shakespeare found he loved Kate more than he did his own wife, Anne Hathaway. When Queen Elizabeth offered to do Shakespeare certain favours in gratitude for his role in William and Robert Cecil's conspiracy to expel the Spanish forces from England, Shakespeare asked the Queen to issue a divorce from his marriage, which had been unavailable under the Catholic Hapsburg monarchs Queen Isabella and King Albert. Elizabeth granted his request and, thus liberated, Shakespeare married Kate.
Literary comment[]
Will and Kate's wedding hasn't happened by the end of the novel, but its inevitability is taken for granted.
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