Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester

The Right Honourable The Earl of Leicester KG PC
Portrait in Waddesdon Manor, c. 1564. In the background are the devices of the Order of Saint Michael and the Order of the Garter; Robert Dudley was a knight of both.
Tenure	1564–1588
Other titles	Lord of Denbigh
Known for	Favourite of Elizabeth I
Born	Robert Dudley 24 June 1532
Died	4 September 1588 (aged 56) Cornbury, Oxfordshire, England
Buried	Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick
Nationality	English
Residence	Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire Leicester House, London Wanstead, Essex
Locality	West Midlands North Wales
Wars and battles	Kett's Rebellion campaign against Mary I, 1553 Battle of St. Quentin, 1557 Dutch Revolt Spanish Armada
Offices	Master of the Horse Lord Steward of the Royal Household Privy Councillor governor-general of the United Provinces
Spouse(s)	Amy Robsart ​ ​ (m. 1550; died 1560)​ Lettice Knollys ​ (m. 1578)​
Issue	Sir Robert Dudley (illegitimate) Robert Dudley, Lord of Denbigh
Parents	John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland Jane Guildford
Signature

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG, PC (24 June 1532^{[note 1]} – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years.^[1][2]

Dudley's youth was overshadowed by the downfall of his family in 1553 after his father, the Duke of Northumberland, had failed to prevent the accession of Mary I. Robert Dudley was condemned to death but was released in 1554 and took part in the Battle of St. Quentin under Mary's husband and co-ruler, Philip, which led to his full rehabilitation. On Elizabeth I's accession in November 1558, Dudley was appointed Master of the Horse. In October 1562, he became a privy councillor and, in 1587, was appointed Lord Steward of the Royal Household. In 1564, Dudley became Earl of Leicester and, from 1563, one of the greatest landowners in North Wales and the English West Midlands by royal grants.

The Earl of Leicester was one of Elizabeth's leading statesmen, involved in domestic as well as foreign politics alongside William Cecil and Sir Francis Walsingham. Although he refused to be married to Mary, Queen of Scots, Leicester was for a long time relatively sympathetic to her until, from the mid-1580s, he urged her execution. As patron of the Puritan movement, he supported non-conforming preachers but tried to mediate between them and the bishops of the Church of England. A champion also of the international Protestant cause, he led the English campaign in support of the Dutch Revolt (1585–1587). His acceptance of the post of governor-general of the United Provinces infuriated Queen Elizabeth. The expedition was a military and political failure, and it ruined Leicester financially. Leicester was engaged in many large-scale business ventures and was one of the main backers of Francis Drake and other explorers and privateers. During the Spanish Armada, Leicester was in overall command of the English land forces. In this function, he invited Queen Elizabeth to visit her troops at Tilbury. This was the last of many events he had organised over the years, the most spectacular being the festival at his seat Kenilworth Castle in 1575 on the occasion of a three-week visit by the Queen. Leicester was a principal patron of the arts, literature, and the Elizabethan theatre.^[3]

Leicester's private life interfered with his court career and vice versa. When his first wife, Amy Robsart, fell down a flight of stairs and died in 1560, he was free to marry the queen. However, the resulting scandal very much reduced his chances in this respect. Popular rumours that he had arranged for his wife's death continued throughout his life, despite the coroner's jury's verdict of accident. For 18 years he did not remarry for Queen Elizabeth's sake and when he finally did, his new wife, Lettice Knollys, was permanently banished from court. This and the death of his only legitimate son and heir were heavy blows.^[4] Shortly after the child's death in 1584, a virulent libel known as Leicester's Commonwealth was circulated in England. It laid the foundation of a literary and historiographical tradition that often depicted Leicester as the Machiavellian "master courtier"^[5] and as a deplorable figure around Elizabeth I. More recent research has led to a reassessment of his place in Elizabethan government and society.

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