Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, by an unknown artist, c. 1564

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (24 June 1532/1533 – 4 September 1588) was the long standing favourite of Elizabeth I of England. He was born a younger son of the 1st Duke of Northumberland, who was executed in 1553 for his part in the attempt to put Lady Jane Grey on the throne of England. (Lady Jane was married to Robert's youngest brother, Guilford Dudley.) Robert Dudley was temporarily imprisoned, along with his father and brothers Guilford, John, Ambrose and Henry Dudley, in the Tower of London, where his stay coincided with the imprisonment of his childhood friend, Lady Elizabeth Tudor, who had been sent there on the orders of her estranged elder sister, Queen Mary I of England. By this time he was already married to Amy Robsart.

A document titled "Leycester's Commonwealth", banned in England when published in Europe, proposes an elaborate conspiracy regarding Dudley. He is said to have poisoned his first wife Amy Robsart, then later killed the Earl of Essex in order to marry his widow. Several leading aristocrats became suspicious of his machinations, perceived as motivated to place him at the seat of power, and moved to thwart him.

Relationship with Elizabeth

When Dudley was appointed Master of the Horse, rumours about their relationship were rife. In 1560, Dudley's wife died. It has been speculated that she had been suffering from breast cancer, however she was ultimately killed by a fall down a flight of shallow stairs. This raised accusations against Dudley, and a lengthy investigation followed.

Some widely believed that he had arranged her murder in order to free himself to marry the Queen. Some said that a secret marriage had taken place. Ironically, Amy's death would put an end to any such ambitions Dudley may have had. Elizabeth, mindful of public opinion and also doubtful about the desirability of marriage at all, never gave cause to believe that she seriously considered making her favourite her husband. Historians today think that if Amy was murdered, the deed would have been carried out either by someone who believed it would win him or her royal favour or, even more likely, by someone who understood very well that the ensuing suspicions would prevent the Queen from marrying Dudley. It seems implausible that Elizabeth could have been foolish enough to involve herself in such a crime, even if Dudley were. It has also been suggested that Amy was terminally ill with breast cancer, which would have made her death by murder less likely than suicide or a fatal accident. It has been suggested that metastatic breast cancer can weaken the bones of the neck, causing the sort of collapse at the top of the stairs, and the subsequent fall, that occurred in this case.

In 1563, Elizabeth suggested Dudley as a second husband for the widowed Mary, Queen of Scots, whom she hoped to neutralise by marriage to a Protestant. The State Papers record that she hinted this was to be a reward for Dudley, "whom, if it might lie in our power, we would make owner or heir of our own kingdom," for his loyal service. Mary, insulted by the idea of accepting Elizabeth's mere Master of the Horse and rumoured "lover", rejected him. The following year, Elizabeth bestowed on him the earldom of Leicester. He was her official protector through life.

Romantic life

Dudley was always a ladies' man. He is thought to have secretly married the widowed Lady Douglas Sheffield in 1573, though no witnesses to the marriage could ever be produced, so the legality of any contract between them could not be upheld. He later deserted her in favour of Lettice Knollys, widow of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex and maternal first cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth. Lettice was the daughter of Catherine Carey, daughter of Lady Mary Boleyn, the sister of Anne Boleyn. Dudley was required to marry Lettice twice, as her father, Sir Francis Knollys, mindful of Lady Sheffield's misfortune in the matter of her reputed marriage, insisted upon witnessing the ceremony himself.

The marriage offended the Queen mightily. Out of her own pain, she temporarily banished Leicester from court and never again received the new Lady Leicester, thereafter known to her as 'the she‐wolf'. However, no one other than Elizabeth would have expected Leicester's devotion to her to cause him to lead an entirely celibate life after the death of his first wife.

Leicester in his later years, 1580–85

In 1573, it was observed that not only the widowed Lady Douglas Sheffield, but also her unmarried sister, Frances Howard, were "very far in love with him" and also that the Queen "thinketh not well of them, and not the better of him" for encouraging their attentions. Nevertheless, a son was borne by Lady Sheffield in 1573/4 and was named Robert Dudley. Other than Elizabeth's threats to incarcerate Leicester, the reason for his deception regarding a marriage to Lady Sheffield may have been a desire to protect her and their son from his debts (and intrigues) with the Queen.

Leicester's only surviving brother, Ambrose, was childless, and unless he fathered some legitimate offspring, his family line would perish. "You must think it is some marvellous course, and toucheth my present state very near, that forceth me thus to be cause almost of the ruin of my own house," he observed in a letter to Lady Sheffield, explaining that he was uniquely situated, and unable to take a wife without causing "mine utter overthrow". Keeping a second marriage secret may well have seemed a matter of great importance, given that Leicester did not wish to upset his close association with Elizabeth. The secrecy at the time of marriage might also have made it easier to proclaim the absence of a legal contract later, when Leicester wished to marry Lady Lettice Knollys. Elizabeth herself, feeling betrayed by her discovery of the marriage to Knollys, reminded Leicester of the rumours that he had been pre‐contracted to Lady Sheffield; if these proved to be true, he could be sent to rot in the Tower. It is therefore not surprising that he should have denied the Sheffield marriage.

In the 19th century, the question of the Sidneys' legal claim over the Dudley estates was raised when Sir John Shelly‐Sidney laid claim to the titles of De L'Isle and Dudley, to which he clearly would have had a claim had the first Robert Dudley been honest and forthright about his son's origins. The House of Lords duly investigated the matter, concluding that Sir John Shelley had not, in fact, succeeded in establishing that the marriage of Robert Dudley's parents, Leicester and Lady Sheffield, had been legal and therefore he had also not established right to the Barony. Leicester, although he appears to have been fond of his son, never acknowledged his legitimacy.

Death

Tomb of Robert and Lettice Dudley

Eventually restored to Elizabeth's favour, Dudley was placed in command of the Dutch campaign of 1585, culminating in the Battle of Zutphen. He was afforded the title Governor-General of the Dutch Republic under the Treaty of Nonsuch.

However, the direct support from the English would prove to be of little help to the revolt. Leicester was an ineffective administrator, often in conflict with the leading Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarneveld. His military enterprises came to no success either, culminating in the loss of Battle of Zutphen. He was to return to England in disgrace.

In 1588, despite having shown himself a failure as a military leader, he was in command of the English land forces against the Spanish Armada. The Spanish never landed, and he died soon after (probably of stomach cancer), near Oxford on the 4th September 1588. By the time of his death, he was already losing his place as Elizabeth's favourite to his stepson, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. Elizabeth was devastated at the loss of her old friend and companion and, reputedly, locked herself in her apartment for hours, if not days. She treasured the letter that he had sent her only days before his death, and wrote on it "His Last letter." She put it in her treasure box, and it was still there when she died 15 years later.

Dudley is buried in the Beauchamp Chapel in St. Mary's Collegiate Church, Warwick, Warwickshire, England. When Lettice Knollys died in 1634, she was buried alongside Dudley in St. Mary's. Their son, Robert Dudley, styled as Lord Denbigh and known affectionately as the "noble imp," who died about the age of five years, is also entombed in the Beauchamp Chapel across from his parents.

Dramatic portrayals

• Dudley was portrayed by Jeremy Irons in the TV drama Elizabeth I, opposite Helen Mirren as Elizabeth I.
• British actor Tom Hardy played him in the BBC's 2005 series The Virgin Queen
• Joseph Fiennes played a highly fictionalized Dudley to Cate Blanchett's Elizabeth in the 1998 movie Elizabeth. A graphic at the end of this movie claims that Elizabeth spoke his name on her deathbed.
• In the 1971 BBC series Elizabeth R, Dudley was played by Robert Hardy.
• He was portrayed by Leslie Banks in the 1937 feature film Fire Over England.
• Robert Dudley was portrayed in Philippa Gregory's 2005 book The Virgin's Lover.
• Dudley was protrayed by Daniel Massey opposite Glenda Jackson's Elizabeth in the 1971 film Mary, Queen of Scots.

Trivia

Robert Dudley's principal residences were Leicester House on the fashionable Strand in London, Wanstead in Essex and Kenilworth in Warwickshire.

See also

• Alienation Office
• Kenilworth Castle

Bibliography

• The Uncrowned Kings of England: The Black History of the Dudleys and the Tudor Throne by Derek Wilson (2004) ISBN 0-7867-1469-7
• Robert Dudley: Earl of Leicester, by Benedictine Brethren of Glendalough ISBN-1425461557
• Sweet Robin: A Biography of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester 1533–1588 by Derek Wilson (1981) ISBN 0-7490-0360-X
• The Lover Of Queen Elizabeth: Being The Life And Character Of Robert Dudley Earl Of Leicester 1533-1588 by Jerusha D. Richardson (May 2006) ISBN-1428612491
• Household Accounts and Disbursement Books of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester by Simon Adams (1995) ASIN-B000JVYOK2
• Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester by Alan Kendall (1980) ISBN-0304304425
• Household Accounts and Disbursement Books of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicesterby Robert Dudley, edited by Simon Adams (1996)ISBN-0521551560
• The Bear's Whelp: The Autobiography of Robert Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, Earl of Warwick and Earl of Leicester in the Holy Roman Empire by Derek Wilson (1979) ISBN-0006154751
• Life of Sir Robert Dudley by John Temple Leader (1977) ISBN-9060411226
• Correspondence of Robert Dudley by John Bruce (1968) ASIN-B000PYH1V2

External links

• Family tree of some Devereux, Dudley, Sidney members

Template:Succession box two to one