William died in 1557 and two years later Bess married again, this time to Sir William St Loe, Captain of the Queen’s Guard and Grand Butler of England. The marriage to St Loe was short-lived as he died in 1565, but again Bess managed to secure most of his great wealth for herself. Secure at Chatsworth and very wealthy Bess married for a final time, this time to George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, in 1567, a statesman high in royal favour and Bess became a Countess.
Soon after they were married, Shrewsbury was made custodian of Mary Queen of Scots, who remained in his charge for the next fifteen years, moving from one another of his many mansions, including Chatsworth. The strains of the royal ‘guest’ put pressures on Bess’ marriage and after several years of bitter quarrelling Bess of Hardwick left Chatsworth and came back to her childhood home at Hardwick. For the next few years Bess started to construct a new house around her old family home, the building we now know as Hardwick Old Hall. Even before this new house was finished, however, plans changed. In 1590 the Earl of Shrewsbury died and barely a month later the foundations were being dug for Hardwick New Hall.