Robert
Dudley, the fifth son of John
Dudley,
Duke of Northumberland, was born in 1532. When Henry
VIII died
in 1547, Edward
was too young to rule, so his uncle, Edward
Seymour, Duke of Somerset, took over the running of the country.
When Seymour was executed in 1552, he was replaced by John Dudley.
Soon afterwards Robert Dudley became a member of Edward's Privy Chamber.
Edward
was suffering from tuberculosis
and as his health deteriorated suddenly, and the Duke
of Northumberland,
tried to persuade the king to alter the succession in favour of his
own daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey. She
was declared queen
three days after Edward's death. However, she was forced to abdicate
nine days later in favour of Edward's half-sister, Mary
Tudor. Robert Dudley was arrested for his part in the rebellion,
but after being tried for treason he was pardoned by Mary's husband,
Philip II of Spain.
Dudley fought with Philip
in France but when Elizabeth became
queen he returned to England. Rumours soon began to circulate that
Dudley and Elizabeth were lovers. These increased after Dudley's wife,
Amy Robsart, died after a fall. Dudley's enemies claimed that he had
murdered his wife in order to marry the queen.
In 1563 Elizabeth gave
him Kenilworth Castle and the following year he was granted the title,
Earl of Leicester. Elizabeth realized that she would upset too many
important people if she married Dudley. The couple remained close
and Dudley became one of the queen's leading advisers.
Elizabeth
believed that Mary
Stuart posed
a threat to her throne. To counter this she suggested that
Dudley should marry Mary. Attempts
were made to arrange this but in 1565 Mary married Henry
Darnley,
the son of Lady Margaret Douglas, the granddaughter of Henry
VII.
Dudley was a strong supporter
of Protestantism. In 1585 he was appointed commander of the expeditionary
force to help the Dutch against Spain. Dudley later became Governor
General of the Netherlands.
Robert
Dudley, Earl of Leicester,
died from a malarial infection in 1588.
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