#robert dudley 1st earl of Leicester

[gwydpolls]

Time Travel Question 51: Early Modernish and Earlier

These Questions are the result of suggestions a the previous iteration. This category may include suggestions made too late to fall into the correct earlier time grouping. In some cases a culture lasted a really long time and I grouped them by whether it was likely the later or earlier grouping made the most sense with the information I had.

Please add new suggestions below if you have them for future consideration. All cultures and time periods welcome.

[isabelleneville]

THE DUDLEYS according to Starz

Edmund Dudley, president of King Henry VII's council as portrayed by Morgan Jones in The Spanish Princess John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland head of King Edward VI's council as portrayed by Jamie Parker in Becoming Elizabeth Guildford Dudley, later consort to Jane Grey, disputed Queen of England as portrayed by Jacob Avery in Becoming Elizabeth Robert Dudley, later Earl of Leicester, the longtime favourite of Queen Elizabeth I who often acted as her unofficial consort as portrayed by Jamie Blackley in Becoming Elizabeth

[noxaeternaetc]

Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619) Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester by the renowned miniature painter, ca. 1575. Watercolour on vellum laid down on card, gilt-metal frame and gold bracelet slide frame respectively, 19mm (3/4in) high.

[kmancollection]

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester;by Nicholas Hilliard, 1576

[thedudleywomen]

The marriage of Lettice Knollys and Robert Dudley - 21 Sep 1578

On This Day 21 Sep 1578, Lettice Knollys, Dowager Countess of Essex married Elizabeth I's 'favourite' Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester.

There had been rumours of an affair between the couple for years, including whilst Lettice had still been married to her first husband Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex.

In Sep 1565, when heavily pregnant, she reportedly flirted with Robert whilst at court. And from 1574, she was a frequent visitor to Kenilworth Castle, participating in the summer hunts in the surrounding parkland.

There were rumours of a secret marriage between Lettice and Robert in Spring 1578 at Kenilworth Castle; however, with no known witnesses, another ceremony was undertaken later in the year, at her father Sir Francis Knollys' insistence.

The marriage took place at the Earl's home at Wanstead Hall, Essex; it was an intimate ceremony, with 6 witnesses, including Lettice's father and brother Richard, and Robert's brother Ambrose, 3rd Earl of Warwick. The priest who married the couple later testified that Lettice was dressed in a 'loose-fitting gown', alluding to her being pregnant; however, no child is known to have survived from this time, with their only known child Robert being born in Jul 1581.

Elizabeth I was not immediately informed of this marriage - in fact, she came to stay at Wanstead only days after the ceremony, with no knowledge of the union. When she was informed of the marriage, there was reportedly a heated and violent conflict between Elizabeth and her kinswoman and former gentlewoman Lettice. Elizabeth viewed Lettice's actions as a great betrayal, brandishing her "that She-Wolf", and banishing her from court.

Lettice bore the brunt of Elizabeth's wrath for the rest of her life in regards to this perceived disloyalty from the pair. Whilst Robert was able to maintain his position at court, any attempts at a reconciliation between the two women failed and they remained estranged.

[mustlovemustypages]

Yuletide 2022 Letter

Dear potential writer,

I hope this letter finds you well, but if not, then I hope this year’s Yuletide gives you an extra dose of happiness to diffuse these chaotic times. A great story can be the simplest way to turn around someone’s day and make life just a little bit brighter.

Thank you so much in advance for even taking the time to read this and consider writing for me. Due to the new requirement this year of opting in with treats, know that I am open and grateful for any that you may choose to write.

Below are my desired fandoms/pairings and story ideas, but please don’t feel stifled by the prompts. I’ve also listed my general likes and dislikes at the very bottom if you decide to go a different route.

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs:

Characters: Leah Cornick and Bran Cornick

The world Patricia Briggs has created with Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega is ever-growing and continues to astound me with its complexity. It feels so real and has such a lush history that every surprise revelation is both shocking and simultaneously feels very organic to the story. I think the urban fantasy/paranormal aspects are handled very well, especially the werewolf dynamics and rules that Briggs has created.

One of the biggest shocks to me from the Alpha and Omega companion series is how much I’ve come to love Leah. I, like most readers, absolutely hated her when she was introduced in the Mercy Thompson books. But as we’ve come to learn more about her backstory and her relationship with Bran, I have a new level of understanding of why she is the way she is. She is so much stronger and more nuanced than I would have ever believed her capable. And while I still like Bran, he’s also a much more flawed person than I'd originally thought. I realize there are a lot of books in this world, so don’t worry about spoiling anything with your potential story. You can include as much or as little of the newer books as you’d like. I’m also going to keep my prompts relatively simple for this pairing. I only ask that Leah and Bran are not broken up. If you’d like to just write them in an adventure story without any romantic elements, that’s totally fine. I would like them to remain together, though.

Story ideas:

What are the dynamics like between Bran and Leah now that he knows more about her past? How has his understanding of her personality and actions changed with these revelations

For a long time, Bran and Leah were together without really being “together” in the emotional sense. I’d love to see them learning more about each other and falling in love all over again.

Leah is constantly full of surprises. What is something that she does that surprises Bran and/or the pack (preferably for the better), and how do they react?

While some of the more recent books have focused more strongly on Leah and Bran than in the beginning, I’d still not consider them the main characters so we don’t always get to see the full fallout of all their storylines. Taking any of the major plots involving them and giving their perspective or showing what happens later would be wonderful.

Becoming Elizabeth (TV 2022):

Characters: Elizabeth I of England and Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester

There is so much that we don’t know about the inner workings of the Tudors. What we do know, though, is absolutely riveting. Who doesn’t love stories of royalty and betrayals and struggles for power? In a world that was dominated by men, Elizabeth I being a queen in her own right is part of what makes her so fascinating. Her refusal to marry just adds to the intrigue of what was going on in her mind during all of these important historical events that we only get glimpses of in books.

Becoming Elizabeth is the first show I’ve seen that dedicates so much story to the early years before Elizabeth even takes the throne. From feeling estranged from her only remaining family to being emotionally manipulated by a man twice her age, she is portrayed as such a flawed yet sympathetic character. The only ocassions where we see her actually act her age and be herself are when she’s with her friend, Robert Dudley, the only one who was truly on her side. We don’t know exactly what happened between the real life Elizabeth and Robert, but with the fictional show versions I wish circumstances were different and they could have found a way to be together. If you prefer them as just very supportive friends, most of the below prompts should still work, I would just ask little or no focus be placed on Robert's two marriages.

Story ideas:

I'm crushed we won't be getting future seasons to see Elizabeth take the throne. I'd love to see a story exploring the progression through her brother's death and sister's ascension to her finally becoming queen. How does Robert support her during any/all of these moments?

Even though I knew she was going to decline him, I still wanted to reach through the screen and shake some sense into our future queen when she turned down Robert's proposal. We know from history that Queen Elizabeth was plenty successful without a man at her side. But it doesn't make someone weak to want to be loved. What could have happened if the proposal was accepted?

I found the scene in episode 8 where Edward Seymour apologizes to Elizabeth for not stopping his brother's inappropriate actions very refreshing as we so rarely see in historical dramas any acknowledgment that these predatory behaviors are wrong. We even got an indirect acknowledgment from John Dudley when he was reading Kat's account of Elizabeth's treatment. It would be interesting to see how Elizabeth's perspective of Thomas Seymour and what he did shifts over time. We can assume that Robert knows some of what happened, but his realization that he may have gotten some of it wrong, reaction to the truth, and support to Elizabeth's emotional recovery would be a nice addition as well.

Political machinations and all of the scheming are part of what make these dramas so fun to watch! Departing from some of my more serious story ideas, I want to throw in a suggestion of just something bantery and tropey. Fake dating for political gain with ultimately friends to lovers! Throw in humorous exasperation from Edward Seymour and John Dudley who don't know how Elizabeth and Robert are so oblivious.

Fate: The Winx Saga (TV):

Characters: Riven and Musa

Despite this show’s flaws, I became instantly enamored with it. Season 2 was an improvement over season 1 in some ways, and a regression in others. One of the main positives that came out of the second season was more interactions between Musa and Riven. I was sold on them from their single (I think?) scene in the first season, and even though they still didn’t have a lot more screen time together, what they did have was *chef’s kiss*.

These two are so natural together and you can see that they genuinely enjoy being in each other’s presence. In season 1, they gave off more enemies-to-lovers vibes and I expected more of the same this season, which we got with their banter and butting heads over Musa’s specialist training. However, I was shocked by how soft Riven could also be with Musa from their discussion of Musa’s lost powers to the image of Riven carrying her prone form after battle. I’m so hopeful for another installment so we can get more relationship development and more of their insane chemistry!

Story ideas:

Episode 5 was a gift sent straight down from heaven. From Riven's pleased expression when we "saves" Musa from Terra's ministrations, to him trying to figure out what's bothering her when they're fighting, to him sitting down with Musa when she's stuck on the track and having a heart-to-heart... I want more soft Riven protecting Musa from her well-intentioned friends and having the serious conversations that need to be had. Whether it's about her not wanting her powers back in season 2 or her learning to cope with them next seadon (or something else entirely!).

It was no mistake the way the ending scenes of the second season were set up, with each fairy being comforted by a loved one. And of course Musa's comforter was in the form of Riven bring her the magic-supressing bracelets and them practicing together. We see you writers... Training sessions are practically their love language at this point. As they start to recognize their feelings for each other, what sorts of conversations do they have and what issues do they work out in the middle of a session?

I like to imagine Riven being the proud boyfriend when he hears of Musa's fighting skills coming in handy when reacuing Flora, while simultaneously being angry that she didn't have any back-up in a dangerous situation. Except, maybe as Sky has to remind him, Riven isn't Musa's boyfriend and perhaps he needs to stop being scared and avoiding the inevitable. This could even be set past season 2 when the gang getting Bloom back. There are a lot of opportunities for Riven to be the doting and overprotective not-quite-a-boyfriend.

Any type of enemies-to-lovers story you want to write would be welcome. There is so much potential here for some wonderfully angst-filled scenes! It could be reluctant allies as they work toward a common cause, fake dating to get information on someone, their friends trying to pair them up despite their protests, etc.

The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power (TV 2022):

Characters: Elrond Peredhel and Durin IV

To get this out of the way first, no, the first season was not perfect, nor was it even "good" at some points. There were many missteps with pacing and characterization. Still, I found myself sitting down each week to watch the newest episode, and I did become increasingly invested in the characters. In particular, I loved when the episodes focused on the dwarves. Durin was an immediate favorite of mine as I found him to have one of the most compelling storylines.

One thing I did appreciate with the direction the show took was the focus placed on Durin and Elrond's friendship. The actors were absolutely convincing in their portrayls of best friends that had been apart for years and were seeing each other again with a lot of history behind them. They were simultaneously heartwearming and hilarious together. Almost all of my laughs and cries were during their scenes, and each week my main wish was just to see more of their interactions and to hope they didn't become estranged. Durin and Elrond have so much going against them, but I think their bond of friendship is strong enough to prevail. I personally only see Durin and Elrond as friends so would prefer nothing overtly romantic between them. If you want to include a romance, I like all of the canon relationships (both within the show and in general Tolkien lore). I just ask that the main focus is on Durin and Elrond's friendship.

Story ideas:

All the backstory! How did their first meeting really go? It seems that Elrond was actually the one to save Durin, but the tale of the trolls sounds like a wild and hilarious time.

Durin was a better friend than I with how quickly he forgave Elrond for missing his wedding and the births of his children. I would have required a lot more groveling. Show me a Durin that is a little slower to forgive and makes Elrond do some crazy things to earn that forgiveness. Or if you want to go really off path here, change up history and have Elrond and Durin reconnect much sooner than two decades (late to the wedding perhaps?).

I truly have no predictions of how closely the show is going to follow canon given the contents of season 1. That being said, I think it would be interesting to see Durin's reaction to the rings being created, his conversations with Elrond about the rings (and perhaps Sauron), or just in general a scene(s) of Durin and Elrond conversing about the events that just took place. If you are familiar with the Tolkien canon and where the story may go, feel free to include pieces as you see fit without fear of spoiling.

All the times Durin and Elrond have supported each other over the years and have been more like brothers than just friends. Could be funny, serious, or both!

Things I don’t like:

Non-Con/Rape/BDSM/Sexual Violence/Graphic Sex – I like my characters to be happy and everything within ships to be 100% consensual, no question about it (mentions of non-con if it occurred in canon is fine). I also prefer plot over porn, especially with one-shots.

OT3s – Two people per romantic relationship, please. Any more than that makes me uncomfortable.

Character Bashing - Unless a character is a bad guy in canon, I don’t want to read hundreds of words about how awful they are, especially if they are one of the characters that I requested. Don’t take it out on the characters. If you hate my pairings, just write gen.

Things I love:

Hurt/Comfort – There is nothing I love more than one character comforting another. The hurt can be physical, psychological, or both.

Happy Endings – I’m all for the realistic endings… but if they could be plausible AND at least happy-ish, that would be amazing.

Expanded Scenes/Contorting Canon – Feel free to expand scenes and change up the canon to your heart’s content as long as it makes logical sense.

Humor/Banter/Snark – I thrive on this stuff.

Bonding/Building Relationships – Whether it be a friendship or a romantic relationship, I adore reading about two people growing closer together. When characters know each other so well that they can have conversations with just their eyes or anticipate the person’s next move (especially if it’s to the surprise/confusion of everyone around them), my shipper heart is thrilled.

Dark to Light - Seeing a character come out of a bad mindset or situation and get better is so satisfying.

Happy writing and I hope you get the Yuletide gift of your dreams!

- Maddy @mustlovemustypages (on Tumblr, Ao3, and FF.net)

[pastedpast]

A woman in the Tudor History group I'm a member of recently recommended to me what sounded like a very readable book about Catherine Parr, the wife who survived Henry VIII, written by an academic called Dr Elizabeth Norton. I name-checked her only yesterday when posting about the Elfrida book, not realising they were the same author. Turns out she's written several books about queens (link here). I will keep an eye out for her work in charity shop finds and, as she is also a broadcaster, also on TV documentaries. Nice one!

Will have a more in-depth look at the link later and add info re. each book to the 'queens an' tings' blog in more detail.

And talking of Tudor women, I've finally been getting to grips with a few Tudor men (not as exciting as that might sound!). Essentially, working out who's who in the Seymour and Dudley families.

Seymour - the queen Jane Seymour had three brothers:

Edward, 1st Earl of Somerset, a biography about whom I mentioned in a recent post, who became Lord Protector of England during the minority of his nephew Edward VI, who was eventually executed after being accused of treason by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.

Thomas, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, who was also executed for treason (and suspected of engaging in sexual relations with Elizabeth I when she was 14 and while she has married to Henry VIII's surviving wife, Catherine Parr).

Sir Henry Seymour - he was actually the second surviving son but I've placed him after Thomas on the list as he led a generally quiet life (although he was an MP at one point) living to a good age in relative obscurity.

The Seymour family lived at a large manor house called Wulfhall or Wolfhall, which was the inspiration for Hilary Mantel's prize-winning masterpiece, 'Wolf Hall'.

Dudley - the father-in-law, husband and brother-in-law of Lady Jane Grey.

John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. Married his son off to Lady Jane in the hopes of ruling by proxy via the young couple. Executed for high treason when Mary I took the throne. Had several children - so far I've only read about the following two.

Lord Guildford Dudley, husband of the young Jane - I need to read up more about him, I think he was only a year older than her and perhaps also a pawn in his father's plans?? He was too executed for high treason.

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester - he was older than Guildford and a favourite courtier of Elizabeth I, also sentenced to death for treason, but freed. I will read more about him later. I think he hoped to marry Elizabeth, but married someone else who later died in suspicious circumstances (was he accused of pushing her down a flight of stairs??) I think at one point Elizabeth suggested he marry Mary, Queen of Scots and they all live together - that way Elizabeth could maintain her unmarried status and therefore ensure her sole power, while keeping tighter reins on Mary by controlling her choice of partner, plus stay in close proximity to her favourite man - however, the plan came to nothing. He married many years later to a lady called Lettice Knollys, much to Elizabeth's displeasure. She is one of the subjects of my 'queens an' tings' project I will address in more detail later. [Her son, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, became another favourite of Elizabeth's later in life, but he was involved in a plot to try to oust her from the throne, for which he was executed by beheading in 1601].

The painting on the front of the book is 'The Cholmondeley Ladies', painted by an unknown artist circa 1600–10. Perhaps a strange choice as a cover seeing as Elizabeth died in 1603 and the throne was brought under the rule of the House of Stuart?

[dreamofstarlight]

did some research on Billy's ancestry (which was kind of easy bc he was an aristo lol) but I found out he had Boleyn and Tudor blood through his great-great-great-grandmother who was a direct descendant of Mary Boleyn and Lady Catherine Grey who was a great-granddaughter of Henry VII. Billy also was a direct descendant of Mary Dudley who was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I and a sister of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, the Queen's fave.

and his great-great-great-aunt Lady Dorothy Cavendish was also a great-great-great-grandmother to Queen Elizabeth II. So they were distantly related. Elizabeth's grandmother was born a Cavendish-Bentinck before she was a Bowes-Lyon.

sorry if I bored you with all this Kate lol.

Interesting!

[thetudors]

엘리자베쓰 1세가 짝사랑한 남자

[outrowingss]

Alicia Von Rittberg and Jamie Blackley as Elizabeth Tudor and Robert Dudley in Becoming Elizabeth (2022)

[thefreelancehistorywriter]

Queen Elizabeth I of England

Queen Elizabeth I of England

Queen Elizabeth I of England Queen Elizabeth, the only surviving child of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, was born on September 7, 1533, at Greenwich. Until the execution of her mother in the spring of 1536, she lived well as a pampered princess. Because of her mother’s death, Parliament declared her illegitimate, and she spent several years in obscurity, away from court, in…

[classic-art]

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester

Steven van der Meulen 

[widvile-blog]

Lettice Knollys, Countess of Essex and Countess of Leicester (8 November 1543 - 25 December 1634)

[wulfhall]

a triple venn diagram of this with robert dudley 1st earl of leicester in the middle

[thedudleywomen]

On This Day (29 Aug) in 1588, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester wrote to Elizabeth I from Rycote, Oxon, less than a week before his death.

56yo Robert Dudley had recently played an integral role as Elizabeth's Lieutenant General, in the defence of England against the attempted invasion of England by the 'Spanish Armada' earlier that summer. It was Dudley who had arranged for the Queen to travel to the camp at Tilbury, where she delivered her famous rallying speech to her troops on 09 Aug 1588.

Following the defeat of the Spanish, Dudley had returned to London for the celebrations; however, he was described as "weak" and "exhausted". He therefore left London prematurely, accompanied by his wife Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester, with the intention of heading north to the Midlands - initially to his home in Kenilworth and then on to Buxton to "take the waters'.

The couple's first planned stopped was at Rycote, the home of Henry Norris, kinsman of Lettice, and old friend of Dudley's (and the Queen's). It was here that Dudley wrote to Elizabeth, thanking her for the 'meddycyn' that she had sent her, and sending her best wishes for her own health.

He signed the letter "by your most faythful and obedyent servant. R Leycester"

This letter was found in a small casket next to the Queen's bed after her own death in Mar 1603; she had labelled it 'his Last Lettar', and there was evidence she had re-read it many times.

Shortly after sending this letter, the couple continued their journey hoping to finde perfect cure at the bath"; however, Dudley's health quickly deteriorated, forcing them to break their journey at Cornbury Park, a former royal hunting lodge in Oxfordshire; it was here that Dudley died a few days later on 04 Sep 1588.

[venicepearl]

Amy Dudley (née Robsart) (7 June 1532 – 8 September 1560) was the first wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, favourite of Elizabeth I of England. She is primarily known for her death by falling down a flight of stairs, the circumstances of which have often been regarded as suspicious. Amy Robsart was the only child of a substantial Norfolk gentleman and at nearly 18 married Robert Dudley, a son of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. In 1553 Robert Dudley was condemned to death and imprisoned in the Tower of London, where Amy Dudley was allowed to visit him. After his release the couple lived in straitened financial circumstances until, with the accession of Elizabeth I in late 1558, Dudley became Master of the Horse, an important court office. The Queen soon fell in love with him and there was talk that Amy Dudley, who did not follow her husband to court, was suffering from an illness, and that Elizabeth would perhaps marry her favourite should his wife die. The rumours grew more sinister when Elizabeth remained single against the common expectation that she would accept one of her many foreign suitors.

Amy Dudley lived with friends in different parts of the country, having her own household and hardly ever seeing her husband. In the morning of 8 September 1560, at Cumnor Place near Oxford, she insisted on sending away her servants and later was found dead at the foot of a flight of stairs with a broken neck and two wounds on her head. The coroner's jury's finding was that she had died of a fall downstairs; the verdict was "misfortune", accidental death.