Elizabeth's Rival Page 10

  On 18 December, Rowland Lea, the probable author of The Chronicle of Queen Jane, a contemporary eyewitness account of events, reported that ‘Lord Robert and Lord Guildford’ were given ‘the liberty of the leads in the Bell Tower’ where they were allowed to take their exercise on the roof.24 By this time, Robert was the only one of the brothers who had not been condemned, but his time was fast approaching. It was not until Tuesday 22 January 1554 that he was ‘brought out of the Tower to the Guildhall’, a mile from his prison.25 There he was ‘arraigned and condemned’ in the same manner as his brothers, and ‘after his arraignment he confessed his treason’.26 As such, his sentence was the prescribed death for a traitor: ‘to be drawn, hanged, and quartered’.27

  Robert’s sentence looked to be nothing more than a formality, for Queen Mary made no further move against him. Like his brothers before him, he returned to the Tower, where he resumed his imprisonment alongside them. For his younger brother Guildford and Lady Jane Grey, however, their sentence was about to transpire into a devastating reality. Following the involvement of Jane’s father in the Wyatt Rebellion, both were executed on 12 February, just a matter of weeks after Robert’s condemnation. In only a few months, Robert had lost both his father and his younger brother to the executioner’s axe: it was a crushing loss. Yet he was still alive, and Queen Mary made no further move to punish Robert or his three surviving brothers, John, Ambrose and Harry: for the time being, their lives appeared to be safe. Their lives, though, were all they had, for the brothers had lost everything and their family was in ruins.

  Robert languished in the Tower for more than a year, during which time his mother, desperate to piece back together her fragmented family, had been ‘doing her utmost to secure a pardon for her children’.28 Her pleas had been ignored. Robert’s signature can still be seen scratched into a wall of the Beauchamp Tower, a lasting reminder of the darkest period of his life. Similarly, the crest of the Dudley family with carved representations of Robert and his brothers also survives.29 Robert was granted the privilege of visits from his wife, Amy, but this was one of his few comforts. The harrowing experience of imprisonment served as a further link to cement the bonds of friendship between Robert and Elizabeth, who arrived in the Tower as a prisoner less than a month after Lady Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley’s execution. There is nothing to suggest, though, that they ever met during their time in the Tower, and it is rather unlikely that they did so. It is possible that they caught glimpses of one another, perhaps on the occasions when they were allowed to exercise outdoors, but this is probably as far as it went.

  Once Lady Jane Grey and Robert’s brother Guildford were dead, the threat that the remaining brothers were perceived to pose had been neutralized. As a result, it soon became clear that it was only a matter of time before they would be released. Through the clemency of Queen Mary and the persistent appeals of their mother, the surviving brothers, John, Ambrose, Robert and Harry, were eventually set at liberty on 18 October 1554. Robert was a free man, but his release was marred by yet more tragedy. Just three days after obtaining his freedom, his eldest brother John died at his sister Mary’s home, Penshurst Place, in Kent.30 The cause of his death is unknown, but it came as a bitter blow to the already-broken family. To add to the family’s grief, as the new year of 1555 began, Robert’s mother Jane also died.31 It was now down to Robert to pick up the pieces.

  ROBERT HAD SURVIVED the ordeal of imprisonment, and had endured all of the heartache that had been thrown at him. Though he was only twenty-two it would have been easy for him to fade into the background, passing away the rest of his days in peaceful obscurity. But Robert did no such thing. Rather than disappearing into the shadows, he and his two remaining brothers, Ambrose and Harry, were determined to claw back the Dudley family honour. Given the disgrace of their father and their own condemnations for treason, this was no easy task; despite everything, though, it was one that they managed to achieve. On 22 January 1555, Queen Mary pardoned the brothers, although they remained convicted traitors. In addition, they were gradually restored to royal favour, and began to build up the family fortunes once more. In September, almost a year after Robert’s release from the Tower, Queen Mary’s Spanish husband Philip left England and returned to the Continent. There has been speculation that Robert was a part of Philip’s entourage, but there is no evidence for this. What is clear is that when Philip, now King of Spain, returned to England in the spring of 1557 in order to convince his wife to lend English support to Spain’s war against France, Robert became attached to the King’s party.32 In July, he and his brothers, Ambrose and Harry, joined Philip in France as a part of his military campaign, where Robert was appointed to the prestigious position of Master of the Ordnance. The following month they were all together at the Battle of St Quentin in Picardy, when devastation fell upon the family once more. Before Robert’s own eyes his youngest brother Harry, who was probably no more than twenty years old, was hit by a cannonball, and killed instantly.33 Now just four of the original thirteen Dudley siblings survived: Robert, Ambrose and two sisters. Mary was married to Sir Henry Sidney, and Katherine had been wed to Henry Hastings, third Earl of Huntingdon, in the same ceremony that had witnessed the doomed wedding of their brother Guildford to Lady Jane Grey.34 When Robert and Ambrose returned to England, it may have been some small comfort to them that, on 7 March 1558, they and their two sisters were ‘restored in blood’ by Parliament. Besides that, Robert’s attainder was lifted: he was no longer a convicted traitor, and better days lay ahead.

  THE ORIGINS OF Robert Dudley’s relationship with Elizabeth are uncertain, but he later alluded to having known Elizabeth since she was eight years old. At this time, Elizabeth’s father was married to Katherine Howard, who would be executed for adultery in 1542, and Robert’s father was riding high at court. There has been some suggestion that he was part of the household of Prince Edward, Elizabeth’s half-brother, but there is no evidence to support this. Given his father’s presence at court, it may well be, perhaps, that Robert had seen Elizabeth there. They were also both pupils of the celebrated scholar Roger Ascham at one time, giving them another common link, although it is highly unlikely that they shared any of their lessons.35 They had further contact during the reign of Edward VI, when Robert was a regular presence at court and Elizabeth often visited her half-brother. It may have been this period in Elizabeth’s life that an English visitor was referring to when, in August 1562, the King of Sweden asked him why Robert was in such great favour with the Queen. The reply he received was that Robert ‘had served the Queen when she was but Lady Elizabeth, and in her trouble did sell away a good piece of his land to aid her, which divers supposed to be the cause that the Queen so favoured him’.36 If this was indeed the case then Robert had long since proven himself to be a good friend to Elizabeth. However they came to meet, the two struck up a friendship that would be central to both of their lives for many years. Indeed, Elizabeth’s relationship with Robert was the most personally significant in her whole life, particularly on a romantic level. Robert’s family had endured a turbulent past that was streaked with treason, but Elizabeth never held this against him. In reference to his father’s plot to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne and remove both Mary and Elizabeth, Camden related that she ‘heaped honours upon him, saving his life, whose father would have had her destroyed’.37 In return Robert would, in most ways at least, remain utterly loyal to her for the rest of his life.

  It seems unlikely that Robert had much contact with Elizabeth during the five years of Queen Mary’s reign, but she certainly did not forget him. Immediately after her accession, he was appointed the Queen’s Master of the Horse at her first meeting of the Privy Council at Hatfield. It was a prestigious post, and one that provided Robert with a regular salary, and a set of apartments at court. He also had four horses and his own servants, and the honours did not end there. On 23 April 1559, months after Elizabeth succeeded, she created him a Knight of the Garter, a great privilege.
That same year he was granted many lands, including a house at Kew, and on 24 November he was appointed Lieutenant of Windsor Castle and the park. Such posts ensured that he was well provided for, and now had a stream of steady income with which to maintain himself. Robert was not the only member of his family who was in receipt of the Queen’s favour: Ambrose was made Master of the Ordnance, and their sister Mary was made a gentlewoman of the privy chamber. Mary was a great favourite of the Queen’s, and her post would have placed her in daily contact with Lettice, her mother and her sister. The women would have come to know one another well.

  From the very beginning of Elizabeth’s reign the Dudleys were to be at the forefront of court life. Robert and Ambrose were the only surviving Dudley brothers, and their bond with the monarch was one that would never be broken. Although Ambrose, ‘an excellent good man’, was also close to the Queen, he never shared the same intimacy with her as his brother.38 Similarly, although Ambrose was the eldest brother, Robert was the strongest character, and it was he who assumed the role of head of the family. Interestingly, this did not lead to tension between the two; rather, the opposite was true. Robert’s accounts reveal that the brothers often dined together, and probably spent a great deal of time together besides.39 Ambrose idolized Robert, often referring to him in letters as ‘my loving brother’, and Robert in turn worked to promote both of their interests.40 Robert was also on good terms with Lettice’s family, particularly her father. The two had known each other since the reign of Edward VI, and there are repeated references to the Knollys family in Robert’s accounts.41 He would later take Lettice’s younger brother Francis into his service, and had continual contact with several of her other brothers besides.

  ROBERT DUDLEY’S RELATIONSHIP with Elizabeth I was, in its time, as it is now, a cause of fascination. Their positions as monarch and favourite make it all the more complex when trying to unravel the threads that bound them together: although there is a great deal of contemporary evidence, the precise nature of what passed between them has continued to divide modern historians. They were undoubtedly physically attracted to one another, and often behaved more like lovers than monarch and subject, much to the shock of many of their contemporaries. Count de Feria was not alone when, in 1559, he relayed the court gossip that ‘they say she is in love with Lord Robert and never lets him leave her’.42 But it was not purely one-sided, for on Robert’s side, too – though in 1559 he was a married man – there were genuine feelings for Elizabeth. Although many contemporaries were of the belief that Robert professed his love to her only in an attempt to promote his own interests, this was not so. They wrote to one another regularly, and his letters to her were written with heartfelt warmth. He often showed great concern for her welfare, and he was wholeheartedly loyal to Elizabeth. On one occasion, he wrote to ‘confess how much I am tied to you by innumberable benefits’ of which he was ‘ashamed that I have deserved so little’. In return, though, ‘I offer you a most faithful and loyal heart. God grant me no longer breath than it be most unspotted to you.’43

  Using her ladies – Lettice may have been one – as intermediaries, Elizabeth continuously risked her reputation on Robert’s behalf, visiting him in his chambers. This caused a great scandal, and throughout the course of her reign, tales emerged of Elizabeth and Robert having children together – one gentleman, known as Arthur Dudley, even claimed to be the couple’s love child.44 It was a claim that had no basis in fact, but in spite of this there is no doubt that Elizabeth and Robert’s behaviour crossed the line of propriety. In 1559, Kate Ashley was so concerned for her mistress’s reputation that she begged Elizabeth to marry and put an end to all of the rumours that were circulating. Though shaken by Kate’s bold words, Elizabeth could not bear to be parted from Robert. It is highly unlikely, though, that they ever had a relationship in the full physical sense – despite her flirtatious nature, it has been suggested that the Queen had a fear of sexual intercourse, or that she had some medical condition that prevented her from indulging. Whatever the truth of the matter and however strong her feelings for Robert were, Elizabeth was too shrewd and politically astute to allow herself to get carried away by passion. Additionally, the issues of privacy and the constant presence of her ladies meant that she would have been unable to conduct a sexual relationship without anyone finding out. Even the spies of the hostile Bishop de Quadra could find no evidence of any such intimacies between the Queen and her favourite. Yet more compelling is Elizabeth’s declaration when she lay dangerously ill with smallpox in 1562. Fearing that she might die, she swore that nothing improper had passed between herself and Robert. Afraid of death and thus looking towards the clearing of her conscience, there is every reason to believe that she spoke the truth. As such, Elizabeth’s claim to be ‘the Virgin Queen’ is probably still justified.

  The amount of time Elizabeth and Robert spent together was a testament to their mutual feelings for one another. Not only did Robert’s duties as Master of the Horse bring him into daily contact with the Queen, but they also hunted, rode and danced together often. They shared jokes – Robert was among the few who were able to tease Elizabeth without causing offence, and in turn she affectionately nicknamed him her ‘Eyes’; in his letters he often alluded to this when he signed himself ō ō. His intelligence also made him attractive, and he was able to engage the Queen in intellectual conversations on a number of topics – frequently talking with her for hours. Despite his marital status, Robert was utterly devoted to the Queen. He spent lavishly and freely on her, and often presented her with beautiful gifts. At New Year 1559, for example, he gave her ‘a fair chain set with pearl’, receiving a gilt bowl in return.45 This was more than simply an attempt to win her favour – he genuinely cared for Elizabeth, and many of his gifts left him seriously out of pocket.

  Given the Queen’s feelings for him and as her favourite, Robert naturally attracted enemies and earned the jealousy and animosity of many of those at court. This worked both ways, and he in turn was equally jealous of those whom he felt had supplanted him in the Queen’s affections. Though he was all courtesy to Elizabeth, he was good at making enemies. From the outset he and William Cecil were natural adversaries, constantly vying for power. In March 1559, the Imperial ambassador Count de Feria described Cecil as ‘very clever but a mischievous man and a heretic’, who governed the Queen.46 Though she did not always take his advice, she relied on him heavily in matters of politics, and it was this that formed the basis of their relationship. It was therefore very different from the one that she shared with Robert: theirs was more pleasure than business, although Robert harboured strong opinions when it came to politics. Despite their differences, the two men did manage to maintain a working relationship. The Earl of Sussex also despised Robert, and the two men were often at loggerheads over matters of state. Equally, Bishop de Quadra held him in no high regard, describing him in scathing terms as ‘the worst and most procrastinating young man I ever saw in my life, and not at all courageous or spirited’. To emphasize his point, he added that: ‘Not a man in England but cries out at the top of his voice that this fellow is ruining the country with his vanity.’47 De Quadra acknowledged, though, that ‘the Duke of Norfolk was the chief of Lord Robert’s enemies’, and that the Duke had told him that if ‘Lord Robert did not abandon his present pretensions and presumption he would not die in his bed. I think this hatred of Lord Robert will continue, as the Duke and the rest of them cannot put up with his being King.’48 Norfolk was the Queen’s second cousin, and his feelings reflected those of many at court, who were worried that the Queen and Robert would find some way of marrying in spite of Robert’s wife. It was widely feared that the Queen was throwing away the prospects of making a good marriage because of Robert, and that her reputation would be permanently tarnished. In turn, Robert was against the idea of the Queen marrying because he feared that his own influence would wane, and he defiantly told the Duke of Norfolk that ‘he was neither a good Englishman nor a loyal subject who a
dvised the Queen to marry a foreigner’.49

  The Queen was aware that Robert had enemies and did her best to protect him. He was completely dependent on her favour, and it was essential that he should keep it – without it he was vulnerable. He was fortunate that he also had the support of his sister, Lady Mary Sidney. The supremacy of a female monarch ensured that it was not just men who had the Queen’s ear, but women too, and through her position in the Queen’s household, Lady Sidney was able to exert her influence and keep her ears to the ground to Robert’s advantage. So devoted to the Queen was Lady Sidney that when Elizabeth fell dangerously ill with smallpox in 1562, she nursed her through her illness. Although the Queen recovered, Lady Sidney’s care for her was to come at a great personal cost. She herself contracted the sickness, and though she also survived she was left scarred for life. Her husband lamented sadly that ‘I left her a full fair lady, in mine eyes at least the fairest, and when I returned I found her as foul a lady as the smallpox could make her’, forcing her to retire into a life away from court.50

  AS A MARRIED man, Robert’s relationship with Elizabeth naturally attracted speculation and quickly drew comment, and as early as February or March 1559, rumours about their relationship began to circulate. By April 1559, the Spanish Count de Feria was writing disapprovingly to his royal master that

  During the last few days Lord Robert has come so much into favour that he does whatever he likes with affairs and it is even said that her Majesty visits him in his chamber day and night. People talk of this so freely that they go so far as to say that his wife has a malady in one of her breasts and the Queen is only waiting for her to die to marry Lord Robert. I can assure your Majesty that matters have reached such a pass that I have been brought to consider whether it would not be well to approach Lord Robert on your Majesty’s behalf, promising him your help and favour and coming to terms with him.51