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Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (born in the early 1530s, died 1588), was the closest favourite of Queen Elizabeth I for thirty years. She made him Master of the Horse in 1558, a Knight of the Garter in 1559 and Earl of Leicester in 1564, and he was widely expected to marry her. The suspicious death of his wife, Amy Robsart, in 1560 made that impossible. He later led an English army in the Netherlands and commanded the Queen’s land forces at Tilbury in the Armada year, and died weeks later.
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Who was Robert Dudley?
Robert Dudley was the fifth son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who ruled England for the young Edward VI. When Edward died in 1553, Northumberland tried to put Lady Jane Grey, the wife of Robert’s brother Guildford, on the throne. The plot failed. Northumberland and Guildford were executed, and Robert was imprisoned in the Tower of London and condemned to death before being released and pardoned. Princess Elizabeth was held in the Tower in the same months.
Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I
When Elizabeth became queen in November 1558, she made Dudley her Master of the Horse, a post that kept him at her side every day. Ambassadors reported that she was in love with him, and many expected a marriage.
In September 1560 his wife, Amy Robsart, was found dead at the foot of a staircase at Cumnor Place in Oxfordshire. The inquest found her death an accident, but rumour that Dudley had arranged it never went away, and marriage to the Queen became politically impossible. Elizabeth kept him close all the same. In 1564, when she proposed him as a husband for Mary, Queen of Scots, she created him Earl of Leicester.
In 1578 Leicester secretly married Lettice Knollys, the widowed Countess of Essex. When Elizabeth found out, she was furious, but he returned to favour.
Timeline
- 1553
- Event
- Imprisoned in the Tower after the Lady Jane Grey plot; later pardoned
- 1558
- Event
- Master of the Horse on Elizabeth’s accession
- 1559
- Event
- Knight of the Garter
- 1560
- Event
- Death of his wife, Amy Robsart
- 1563
- Event
- Granted Kenilworth Castle
- 1564
- Event
- Created Earl of Leicester; Chancellor of Oxford University
- 1575
- Event
- The great entertainment for the Queen at Kenilworth
- 1585 to 1587
- Event
- Commands the English army in the Netherlands
- 1588
- Event
- Commands the land forces at Tilbury; dies on 4 September
Kenilworth and his houses
Elizabeth granted Leicester Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire in 1563. He rebuilt it in the latest style, with a new range of state rooms, now called Leicester’s Building, and a formal garden. In July 1575 he entertained the Queen there for nineteen days with pageants, music, hunting and fireworks, one of the most lavish entertainments of her reign. In London he built Leicester House on the Strand.
Patron of players, scholars and soldiers
Leicester’s Men, the company of actors under his protection, received a royal patent in 1574, the first such licence for a playing company in England. He was Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1564 and a patron of writers, scholars and Protestant preachers. His nephew was the poet and soldier Sir Philip Sidney.
The Netherlands and the Armada
In 1585 Elizabeth sent Leicester with an army to help the Dutch against Spain. In 1586 he accepted the title of Governor-General of the United Provinces, which angered the Queen, and his campaign brought few gains. Sir Philip Sidney was mortally wounded at the Battle of Zutphen that year.
In 1588, as the Spanish Armada sailed, Leicester was made Lieutenant and Captain-General of the Queen’s armies and commanded the camp at Tilbury, where Elizabeth reviewed her troops. The Armada was defeated at sea. Leicester died on 4 September 1588 at Cornbury in Oxfordshire and was buried in the Beauchamp Chapel of St Mary’s Church, Warwick. Elizabeth kept his last letter to her, writing on it "His last letter".
Reading a Tudor portrait
0 of 4 checked
1The jewels
Gold chains, the Garter collar and jewelled hat badges show rank and royal favour.
2The arms and mottoes
Painted coats of arms and inscriptions often name or date the sitter.
3The panel or canvas
Many English portraits of the 1500s are painted on oak panels; canvas became usual later.
4Later copies
Portraits of famous Tudors were copied for centuries, so period, quality and history all matter.
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Questions people ask
Who was Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester?
The favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, her Master of the Horse from 1558 and Earl of Leicester from 1564. He was a leading courtier and privy councillor, commanded the English army in the Netherlands from 1585 and the land forces at Tilbury in 1588.
Did Elizabeth I love Robert Dudley?
Ambassadors at her court reported that she loved him, and she kept him close for thirty years. She never married him, and after the death of his wife, Amy Robsart, in 1560 a marriage was politically impossible.
How did Amy Robsart die?
She was found at the foot of a staircase at Cumnor Place in 1560. The inquest ruled it an accident, but rumours of foul play followed Dudley for the rest of his life.
Was there a Duke of Leicester?
No. Robert Dudley was Earl of Leicester. His father, John Dudley, was Duke of Northumberland.
When did Robert Dudley die?
On 4 September 1588 at Cornbury in Oxfordshire, a few weeks after the Armada. He is buried in St Mary’s Church, Warwick.
Where did Robert Dudley live?
At court with the Queen, at Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire, which he rebuilt, and at Leicester House on the Strand in London.
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