Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester had a complex relationship with the Queen of England, Elizabeth I, throughout most of her reign. He had spent his early adult years, during the reign of Mary I, in the shadow of the events of July 1553 - the son of an executed traitor, being imprisoned in the Tower of London for over a year, himself being convicted of treason and subsequently being sentenced to death, before being released and eventually pardoned by Mary. Over the years, both Robert and his older brother Ambrose, who would later be appointed 3rd Earl of Warwick, managed to regain favour with the queen and her husband Phillip II of Spain, who would eventually become one of his greatest enemies.
On Elizabeth's accession to the throne in November 1558, the remaining members of the Dudley family also saw a rise in their fortunes and subsequently their political influence; Robert was appointed the Queen's Master of Horse, brother Ambrose appointed as Master of the Ordnance, and their sister Mary, Lady Sidney a member of her Ladies' Bedchamber. Gristwood (2009) acknowledges that during the first few months of Elizabeth's reign, the new Queen became close to Robert, becoming increasingly reliant on him. However, Robert had been married for almost a decade, to Amy Robsart; as 1559 progressed, the couple spent increasing time apart, with Robert spending the majority of his time in London or at court, until Amy's premature and seemingly suspicious death in September 1560. After a period of exile from court, Robert had returned to the Queen's side by October 1562, being elevated to the Privy Council during a time of turmoil, in preparation for a potential nomination as 'Lord Protector' in the event of her own premature death from smallpox (Weir, 1996).
In July 1575, Robert hosted the 'Kenilworth Festivities' - a series of celebratory events, marking the Queen's unprecedented 19-day stay at his newly modernised Kenilworth Castle. Many believed that this spectacle was with the intent of again seeking Elizabeth's hand in marriage; whilst it has been acknowledged by many historians that Elizabeth held great affection and trust for Robert, she continued to remain defiant in regards to any offers of marriage (Gristwood, 2009; Tallis, 2017). Not long after these festivities, Robert's relationship with Elizabeth's cousin and former lady-in-waiting, Lettice Knollys, Countess of Essex blossomed, despite her ongoing marriage. Following the death of her husband Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex in 1576, there was an ongoing courtship, which culminated in a secret marriage in 1578. When Elizabeth was eventually informed of this union, she banished the couple from her court, perceiving their actions as traitorous, never forgiving her kinswoman Lettice for the rest of her life (Tallis, 2017). However, Robert's expulsion did not last long, as Elizabeth looked to him for advice and support, as she had done throughout her reign, and retook his place back in her court (Gristwood, 2009).
England had been in conflict with Spain since the 1570s, when the Protestant Netherlands (then known as the 'Low Countries') were protesting against Spainish Catholic rule. In 1584. the Dutch monarch, William II, died, and Elizabeth was approached to take the throne; she declined, but sent armed support, with Robert Dudley acting as her Lieutenant General. His actions there in 1585-86, including his acceptance of the role of 'Governor-General', caused him to fall out of favour, and being banned from court; however, by 1587, his actions had been forgiven by Elizabeth, and Dudley had regained her favour, and his position in court (Tallis, 2017).
In response to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots in February 1587, and the ongoing 'Netherlands Campaign', Phillip II appeared determined to exact his revenge, with a planned occupation of England, with the intent of deposing Elizabeth and restoring the country to Catholicism (Tallis, 2017). Elizabeth and her council were aware of this threat since late 1587, and made preparations for invasion, including commissioning the restoration of warships, as well as implementing a training programme for her troops (Weir, 1996). As predicted, May 1588, 130 ships set sail from Lisbon, headed towards England, known as the 'Spanish Armada'. As part of English defences, a military camp was set up at Tilbury, a port town on the Essex coast, with Robert at the helm as Lieutenant General, with the intent of guarding the Thames estuary; Spanish occupation of this would provide a direct route into London. However, the Spanish never landed in England; they were delayed and many ships were lost due to inclement weather. And when the English fleet engaged the Spanish in battle in July 1588 off the south coast of England, they were victorious; they captured ships containing gunpowder and ducats, whilst many other ships scatted, many damaged (Tallis, 2017).
Whilst there had been this initial victory, there was still the ongoing threat of further invasion from another Spanish fleet waiting in Dunkirk, France. Elizabeth was invited by Robert to the camp at Tilbury, to address her troops and to raise moral; it was here, on 09 August 1588, after travelling down river from her palace at St James', that the English monarch delivered one of her most famous speeches (Weir, 1996, p.393):
"...I am come amongst you...being resolved in the midst and heat of battle to live or die amongst you all, to lay down for my God and for my kingdom, and for my people, my honour and my blood... I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too...I myself will take up arms... ...my Lieutenant General shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble and worthy subject...we shall shortly have a famous victory over these enemies of God,, of my kingdom, and of my people"
It was reported that Robert was by her right side, whilst his protégée and stepson Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, as Master of the Horse, was on Elizabeth's left (Tallis, 2017). Her apperance, which had been organised and 'stage-managed' by Robert, was a success; Elizabeth remained at Tilbury the following day, when word was sent of the Spanish's plans to set sail. The Queen was urged to return to London for her safety, but refused to do so, again increasing the morale of her troops present. The Spanish were again quickly defeated, and Elizabeth, triumphant, returned to London. The camp at Tilbury was soon disbanded, and Robert himself made his way back to London on 17 August (Weir, 1996).
Following this victory of the Spanish, a series of feasts and celebrations were held in London, at which Robert Dudley was a held as guest of honour due to his role as Lieutenant General, including at a church service held at St Paul's Cathedral on 20 August. However, far from being in a celebratory mood, Robert was described as being "sick" and "thoroughly exhausted", the recent events having a negative impact on both his physical and psychological wellbeing (Weir, 1996; Tallis, 2017) Robert left London prematurely on 27 August with his wife Lettice, Countess of Leicester, with whom he had been separated during his military campaigns, but now reunited. The couple planned to travel up to Buxton, a town in Derbyshire renowned for its thermal spa, and had previously received many visitors, including Ambrose Dudley, Elizabeth 'Bess of Hardwick' Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, and Mary Queen of Scots. Robert had also previously travelled to Buxton, and hoped that the natural mineral waters would help restore his health (Tallis, 2017).
On 29 August 1588, Robert and Lettice had arrived at Rycote, Oxfordshire, the home of Sir Henry Norris, who had been within the Queen's inner circle for many years, given their shared trauma and loss. His father and namesake was one of the men accused of adultery with Elizabeth's mother (and Lettice's great-aunt), Queen Anne Boleyn, which ultimately led to both of their deaths as condemned traitors in May 1536, as well as being kinsman to Lettice through marriage (Tallis, 2017). It was following his arrival to Rycote that Robert sent what would be his last letter to his Queen:
"for my none poore case, I contyndue still your meddycyn and finde yt amended much better than with any other thinge that hath byn given me. Thus hoping to finde perfect cure at the bath, with the contynduance of my wontyd preyer for your majesty’s most happy preservacion. I humbly kyss your foote. From your old lodging at Rycott this Thursday morning reddy to take on my Journey. by your most faythful and obedyent servant. R Leycester."
Following Elizabeth's own death in March 1603, this letter was discovered in a casket, next to her bed. There is evidence that it had been read and re-read many times, due to the folding of the paper, as well as that Elizabeth had personally labelled this "his last lettar" (The National Archives, 2024 [1]). As planned after their stay at Rycote, Robert and Lettice continued north, heading towards Kenilworth where they planned to break their journey, before continuing on to Derbyshire; however, Robert's health suddenly declined, and being unable to continue, took shelter at Cornbury Park (Tallis, 2017). This was a former royal hunting lodge, located on the outskirts of Wychwood Forest, Oxfordshire, which was known to Robert. His sister-in-law Anne Seymour, the widow of his eldest brother John, had remarried in 1555, to Sir Edward Unton, of Wadbury House, nr Faringdon, Berkshire. On Edward's death in 1582, his will granted Cornbury Park to his second son Sir Henry Unton (The National Archives, 2024 [2]). However, there are surviving letters from Robert after this date, expressing concerns about the management and running of the estate, referring to his sister-in-law and Sir Edward's widow, Anne Seymour and her ongoing incapacity due to longstanding mental illness (See 'THE DUDLEY WOMEN' Blog Post: Anne Seymour: "Lady Warwyks Lunacye"). News of Robert's illness reached members of the court in London at the end of August 1588, where celebrations continued. A letter dated 02 September 1588, recorded in the 'Devereux Papers' (ed. Owen, 1980, p.217) was sent by his father-in-law Sir Francis Knollys to Robert at Cornbury, who by this time had taken to his bed:
"I have harde since that your lordship hathe been troubled and stayed with an ague at Corneberry Park whereof I am very sory. Nevertheles I truste in God that throughe your lordshippes foresyghte and good order of, that you will easylie and soon dyspatche your selfe thereof with good recoverye of your healthe agayne in a short tyme. I do not thinke my Lord Chamberlyn without danger, saving for that his harte will not yeelde until deathe".
However, as Tallis (2017) highlights, Knollys' letter was predominantly business in nature. and so whilst his ill health was known, there was no anticipation of any significant deterioration or death to others, including his family, at this time. In the early hours, at approx 4 o'clock in the morning of 04 August 1588, Robert died, with his wife Lettice by his side. His manner of death has not been confirmed; however, due to the descriptions of his symptoms, modern historians have speculated that he may have been suffering from malaria or stomach cancer. It was reported that the night prior to his death he "forced himself to vomit" (Tallis, 2017, p. 239).
Robert's will, which had been written the previous year (on 01 August 1587) was executed 12 days after his death, on 16 September 1588. In this, Robert not only expresses his wishes regarding his burial ("I have always wished, as my dear wife doth know, and some of my friends, that it might be at Warwick, where sundry of my ancestors do lie"), referring to his Beauchamp ancestors. He also made multiple bequests in his will, including his property; Kenilworth Castle was bequeathed to his brother Ambrose, with Lettice receiving the manor of Drayton Bassett, which she was later to make her home (The National Archives, 2024 [3]).
Robert bequeathed to Elizabeth a piece of jewellery: "The token I do bequeath unto her Majesty is the jewel with three great emeralds with a fair large table diamond in the midst, without a foil, and set about with many diamonds without foil, and a rope of fair white pearl, to the number of six hundred, to hang the said jewel at". Following news of Robert's death, all celebrations were cancelled, and the Queen went into mourning. Shortly after, the famous 'Armada Portrait' was painted, commemorating the victory over the Spanish, and reinforcing her as position as a strong Protestant monarch. Tallis (2017) notes that the portrait, of which 3 slightly-differing versions survive, is painted with a 'mournful quality', with Elizabeth proudly displaying the jewel described in Robert's will.
Despite his request in his will for his funeral to "be done with as little pomp or vain expense", on 09 October 1588, a 400-strong procession set off from Kenilworth Castle; this cortege contained many male members of the late Earl's household - chaplains, doctors, secretaries - who were joined by members of the local nobility, as well as 100 members of the lower-class and poor (Clark, 2023). The procession headed the 6 miles south to St Mary's Church, located in the north of the city of Warwick, a place familiar to the Dudleys, this also being the final resting place of their only (known) son, Robert, Lord Denbigh, who died in 1581, aged only 3 years old.
After being received by the church's clergy, and lying in the church overnight, Robert's funeral was undertaken the following day, 10 October. His stepson and mentee, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, acted as Chief Mourner, with his nephew Sir Robert Sidney as his 'assistant'. Sir Charles Blount, representing the Derbyshire Blount family, and with with whom he had served alongside Leicester's adored nephew Sir Philip Sidney prior to his death at Zutphen, Netherlands, acted as one of his pall-bearers; only two years later, in 1590, Blount would start a 16 year affair with Leicester's step-daughter Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich (Varlow, 2009). Whilst it has been documented that widow Lettice and brother Ambrose did not attend the funeral (potentially due to his own poor health), Sir William Dethick's Book of Funeralls of the Nobility, a contemporaneous record from the Garter Principle of the College of Arms, documents the presence of both the 'Erle of Warwick' and 'The Countess' (ed. Adams, 1995).
Following the 'pompous' funeral, which reportedly cost in excess of £3000, Lettice commissioned for an elaborate tomb to be erected on the east wall of the Chapel of Our Lady, known as the Beauchamp Chapel, in which she dedicated to the "best and dearest of husbands". The tomb, likely manufactured in the Midlands, prominently displays the emblem associated with the Dudleys - the bear and ragged staff (Clark, 2023).
Just over a year later, on 21 February 1590, Robert's older brother, Ambrose died at Bedford House on the Strand, London; he likely died from gangrene, which developed 10 days following the amputation of one of his legs, a consequence of a 30 year old war injury, having been shot in the leg during his time serving in France (Weir, 1996; Tallis, 2017). The brothers, incredibly close in life were reunited in death; he had been described in Robert's will as being "as dear an affection as ever brother bore". Ambrose's body was moved up to Warwick, and he was interred in the same chapel in another extravagant funeral on 09 April 1590. Ambrose's widow, Anne Russell, Countess of Warwick, commissioned an elaborate tomb, which has been attributed to the 'Cure Workshop' in Southwark; his monument also reflected his heritage (including his Beauchamp ancestors), and his three marriages. Ambrose's tomb continues to sit parallel to Robert's tomb today in the Beauchamp Chapel (Clark, 2023).
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