Queen Elizabeth I's Apartments at Leicester's Kenilworth Castle

The construction of the enormous Kenilworth Castle spans many centuries and many different owners.The part of the castle of special interest to fans of Elizabethan history is known as Leicester's Building. Queen Elizabeth I's favorite, Robert Dudley, 1st earl of Leicester (c.1532-1588) took ownership of Kenilworth in 1563. He made many additions to the castle, including Leicester's Gatehouse and Leicester's Building, which  housed the apartments built for Queen Elizabeth I during her third visit to Kenilworth in 1572. The apartments were altered and improved before her fourth and final visit to the castle in July of 1575. This visit lasted for nineteen days - the longest stay by the queen at a courtier's home while on progress. There is an air of romanticism that surrounds this historic visit, as many historians suspect that, during the elaborate celebrations designed by Leicester in honor of the queen, queen Elizabeth's lifelong friend and confidante made his final proposal of marriage to the queen. Queen Elizabeth I was 42 years old.

Leicester's Building. Photo © A.Jensen/BeingBess.

The queen's privy apartments and gardens, which included an aviary, were completed between 1572-75 for her to enjoy upon her visits to the castle. Based upon an eyewitness account of the 1575 celebrations by Robert Langham, the garden has been meticulously recreated by Kenilworth Castle staff. When you walk among the flowers and the fountain, you are seeing the garden through Queen Elizabeth I's eyes.

A reproduction of Queen Elizabeth I's garden at Kenilworth Castle. Photo © A.Jensen/BeingBess

The first room of the queen's privy apartments, the outer chamber, stood before the door to the queen's bedchamber. It was here that Elizabeth I socialized with friends and courtiers. The floors above and below were probably used to lodge her ladies-in-waiting and other attendants. The stair turret was added around Elizabeth's third visit. It provided a private route for the queen to pass from her bedroom and inner chambers to the other floors of the building. Traces of the original stairs and landings survive, but they are to fragile to be walked upon by modern visitor.

The queen's private stair turret. Photo © A.Jensen/BeingBess.

The most important and private part of Leicester's Building was the queen's bedchamber. The presence of two fireplaces side-by-side informs us that there was formerly a timber wall between them, dividing the space into two rooms. The room furthest away was the queen's bedchamber. The room at the other end was the inner chamber, where Elizabeth I could meet with her councilors. The building was thoughtfully designed by Leicester so that courtiers could reach this point from the outer chamber without passing through the queen's bedchamber.

What the queen's bedchamber would have looked like in 1575. Photo © A.Jensen/BeingBess.

In what was probably the Long Gallery, a place where Queen Elizabeth could relax above her bedchamber, an interlude between the queen and some actors took place on 17 July, 1575. Elizabeth I was supposed to watch 'the Coventry men' perform a play for her below, but she became too distracted by the dancing that was going on in her own chamber (Elizabeth loved to dance). So, the queen asked the players to return two days later to re-stage the play. They honored their queen's request, and Elizabeth apparently liked the play very much, as she rewarded them with coins and with venison.

A view from the Long Gallery, where Queen Elizabeth I may have watched the Coventry men. Photo 

© A.Jensen/BeingBess

If you have not been to Kenilworth Castle before, I highly recommend it. Walking the ruins, which are in remarkable condition, is like stepping back in time. There are few places where one can connect so profoundly to Queen Elizabeth I, but Kenilworth is one of them.

A view of just part of the impressive Kenilworth Castle. Photo © A.Jensen/BeingBess.

Bess to Impress: A Rare Portrait of Elizabeth I, From a Private Collection

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, circa 1560. Oil on panel, by an Unknown Artist. Yale Center for British Art. On loan from Neville and John Bryan. Photo by A.Jensen.

On my most recent trip to the Yale Center for British Art, I was pleased to discover that they had rotated some new Elizabethan portraits into the galleries. Of the new pieces on display, the portrait that captivated me the most was a small, unassuming oil on panel portrait of Queen Elizabeth I that I hadn't been previously aware it existed. I read that it was on loan to the museum from a private collection, which explained its anonymity. This also made me wonder how many other long-lost portraits of Queen Elizabeth I there are in people's personal homes.

When this portrait of Queen Elizabeth I was made, it was still early in her reign, and Elizabeth's counselors expected her to marry a foreign prince. However, her attachment to her friend, Robert Dudley, prevented her from taking any marriage proposal seriously at this time.

In the portrait, Elizabeth I is shown before a Canopy of State, with a courtyard in the background. The small stature of the portrait suggests that it may have been made for the home of someone close to Queen Elizabeth I. This is a possibility, as there have been many other portraits discovered of Elizabeth I that were made for personal use. It is easy to see the difference between the opulent, majestic State portraits of the queen, intended for display at court, versus the more understated ones, intended for private devotion in the homes of Elizabeth I's courtiers.

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, circa 1560. Oil on panel, by an Unknown Artist. Yale Center for British Art. On loan from Neville and John Bryan. Photo by A.Jensen.

A label on the reverse of the portrait shows that Elizabeth I had long been mistaken for another sitter, until the portrait came into the hands of the present owners. It is surprising to me that the sitter could have been thought to be anyone else, as her facial features so distinctly identify her as Elizabeth.

It's always exciting to discover something new that you never knew existed before; I was so happy to have seen this portrait in person, that I just knew I had to share it with all of you! It was encased in glass, so it was challenging to get a picture without a glare, but I hope the pictures I did manage to get captured the appeal of the portrait.

Execution of the 'Nine-Day Queen'

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey. By Paul Delaroche, 1833. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On this day in Tudor history in 1554, Jane Grey, a Tudor cousin who had ruled England for a little over a week, was executed at the Tower of London on the orders of Queen Mary I. Though this act may seem cruel and unnecessary to our modern sensibilities, Mary was the rightful Queen of England, and in order to secure her throne, she had to dispose of the usurpers, Jane and her husband Guildford Dudley, and their supporters. Jane and Guildford had been placed in power by Guildford's ambitious father, the Duke of Northumberland, who had persuaded the dying Edward VI to change the line of succession to pass to 'Jane Grey and her heir(s) male'. The Duke was also the father of Elizabeth's favorite, Robert Dudley, later Earl of Leicester. Robert, along with the other Dudley men, was imprisoned in the Tower, but his life was luckily spared.

'Iane/Jane', carved by one of the Dudley brothers in the Tower of London. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

To learn more about Jane, her life, and her family, please visit our Pinterest board, Jane Grey & Family.

On This Day in Elizabethan History: The Coronation of Elizabeth I

The Coronation Portrait of Elizabeth I. Image public domain through Creative Commons licensing, NPG, London.

On this day in Elizabethan history in 1559, Elizabeth Tudor was crowned at Westminster Abbey at the age of twenty-five. Elizabeth had officially succeeded to the throne of England on November 17th of the previous year, upon the death of her sister, Mary I, who had left no issue. Elizabeth consulted her astrologer, Master John Dee, to determine the ideal date for her coronation (Resh Thomas, 77).

The ceremonies that took place in the weeks leading up to the coronation were planned by Elizabeth's childhood friend and Master of the Horse, Robert Dudley. As was customary, Elizabeth stayed for several nights in the Tower of London before she was crowned. With her entourage in tow, Elizabeth processed through the decorated streets of London, stopping periodically to enjoy elaborate entertainments, and to receive gifts and praises from her subjects. One gift that we know Elizabeth accepted was a bouquet of rosemary, given to her by a poor woman. She kept the sprigs of the sweet-smelling herb at her side all day (Resh Thomas, 78). 

The coronation procession of Queen Elizabeth I, circa 1559. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Elizabeth's gratitude towards her subjects was genuine; she understood that she owed her preservation throughout the reign of her sister to the people of England. The weeks that proceeded Elizabeth's coronation were the first of many instances during her reign in which she she spent time with the common people. An observer documented Elizabeth's natural ability to attend to her subjects, writing,

"If ever any person had either the gift or the style to win the hearts of the people, it was their Queen. All her faculties were in motion and every motion seemed well guided action: her eye was set upon one, her ear listened to another, her judgement ran upon a third, to a fourth she addressed her speech; her spirit seemed to be everywhere and yet so entire in herself, as it seemed to be nowhere else."

Indeed, we have many charming accounts from Elizabeth's progress through London. In one, we learn that Elizabeth spied the brother of her late stepmother, Queen Katherine Parr, watching her  from a window; the Marquess of Northampton was sick and therefore indisposed. Elizabeth immediately stopped her palfrey to talk with the Marquess about his health, a conversation which lasted for quite some time (Neale, 58). 

A sketch of William Parr, Marquess of Northampton. By Hans Holbein the Younger. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

It had been very difficult to secure a bishop to perform the coronation ceremony due to an incident that had transpired in December in Elizabeth's private chapel; the bishop performing the service had defied Elizabeth's request by raising the host for adoration, which was a Catholic practice. Elizabeth, as a Protestant, rejected the belief of transubstantiation, in which the sacrament was literally transformed into the blood and body of Christ. For Elizabeth and other Protestants, the act was symbolic, not literal. Enraged, Elizabeth had stormed out of the service. Her rash action greatly angered the Catholic clergy (Resh Thomas, 79). Owen Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle, was the only bishop who would (reluctantly) agree to officiate the ceremony.

On January 15th, Elizabeth was crowned wearing a cloth-of-gold gown*, immortalized in The Coronation Portrait, and a cape made of crimson velvet, which was lined with ermine, the fur of royalty. To emphasize her virginity and purity, Elizabeth wore her auburn hair loose around her shoulders, like all other English queens before her had at their coronations. 

A detail of The Coronation Portrait of Elizabeth I, showing her free-flowing hair. Image public domain through Creative Commons licensing, NPG, London.

The Bishop of Carlisle recited the rites in Latin. Thus, Elizabeth refused to take the sacrament, and she insisted that the bishop read the oath from a Bible written in English, which was held by William Cecil. Reportedly, when the bishop anointed Elizabeth's forehead with holy oil, she sneered, "thy ointment stinks". 

After the tense ceremony, the Queen left Westminster, and her adoring subjects cut up seven hundred yards of blue carpet, on which the Queen of England had walked, to keep as souvenirs (Resh Thomas, 80). Despite England's grim financial state upon the death of Queen Mary, more than sixteen thousand pounds were spent on Queen Elizabeth's coronation; it was critical that she demonstrate power and majesty to those who questioned her legitimacy and right to rule.

Though Elizabeth had caught a cold during her travels through London, she attended her coronation banquet at Westminster Hall before retiring late in the evening (Neale, 63). After she left, the banquet continued until one o'clock in the morning.

Queen Elizabeth I would go on to arguably become the greatest monarch in English history.

*Recently, I have noticed an alarming amount of pins on Pinterest claiming that a replica movie dress from a costume website is the original coronation dress of Elizabeth I, ( I assume the pinners didn't actually read the website the image is from) so I find it necessary to set the record straight here that Queen Elizabeth I's coronation dress, unfortunately, does not survive.

Sources:

Neale, J.E. Queen Elizabeth I. Chicago: Academy Chicago Publishers, 2001. Print.

Resh Thomas, Jane. Behind the Mask: The Life of Queen Elizabeth I. New York: Clarion Books, 1998. Print.

On This Day in Elizabethan History: Queen Elizabeth Falls Ill

The Gatehouse at Hampton Court Palace. Picture shared for public use on Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On this day in Elizabethan history in 1562, the twenty-nine year-old Queen Elizabeth I fell ill at Hampton Court Palace; her physicians determined that she had contracted *smallpox.

Elizabeth, the last of the Tudors, had only been on the throne a for a mere four years before she was struck with the illness that had proven fatal to so many of her subjects. The health of the Queen was an issue of national security; should the young, unmarried Protestant Queen die without issue or without naming an heir, England would be plunged into chaos once again, with rival claimants battling for the throne.

Queen Elizabeth, much to the dismay of her Councillors, named her favorite, Robert Dudley, as Protector of the realm. Elizabeth understood that her subjects and Councillors could view this appointment as proof of her perceived illicit relationship with Dudley, so she declared that, "as God was her witness, nothing improper had ever passed between them". Would Queen Elizabeth, preparing to possibly meet her maker, have lied about the nature of her relationship with Robert Dudley? I would argue, given its timing, that this statement was genuine and void of a political agenda.

A dashing portrait of Robert Dudley. Attributed to Steven van der Muelen, 1560-65. The Wallace Collection. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Mary Dudley, Lady Sidney was the sister of Robert Dudley and a close, trusted friend of the Queen. She personally attended to the Queen during her battle with smallpox, and because of the exposure,  she herself became afflicted. Like her Queen, Mary survived, but her body was badly scarred as a result of the pock-marks, and she retired from court life soon after. In gratitude, Queen Elizabeth provided Lady Sidney with a pension.

A portrait of Mary Dudley, Lady Sidney. Attributed to Hans Eworth, circa 1550-1555. Petworth House, The National Trust. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Queen Elizabeth dealt with the pock-marks in her own way, applying white, lead-laden makeup to cover the scars and give her already pale skin a youthful, virginal appearance. This makeup became part of her iconography as "The Virgin Queen".

A portrait of Queen Elizabeth I in a frame sporting her white face makeup, c.1589. By an unknown artist.

(*Smallpox has a long and tragic history; it has destroyed entire populations, and it has been used as a weapon, particularly by conquering Europeans against indigenous populations in the Americas. Smallpox still exists today, largely in the third world.)

On This Day in Elizabethan History: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester dies.

A close-up photograph of the Earl of Leicester's tomb effigy at Warwick Church. Picture by Peternilleon and shared for public use via Wikimedia Commons.

 

 "A personage so dear unto us."

-Queen Elizabeth describing the Earl of Leicester in a letter to the Earl of Shrewsbury, 1588.

 

On this day in Elizabethan history in 1588, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester died. While the Earl of Leicester had been unwell for quite some time, nobody expected his illness to be fatal, least of all Queen Elizabeth I (ODNB). 

To learn about the Earl's last months with Queen Elizabeth, his final illness, and "His Last Letter", treasured by Queen Elizabeth until her own death in 1603, please view our feature-length article HERE.

Elizabethan Fact of the Day: The Earl of Leicester's Clothing

A portrait of the Earl of Leicester by an unknown artist, circa 1575-80. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Among his many other possessions, two cloaks and seven doublets belonging to the Earl of Leicester were appraised upon his death by the executors of his estate in 1588. These items of clothing were valued at a total of 545 pounds!

On This Day in Elizabethan History: The Death of Sir Christopher Hatton

A detail of a portrait of Sir Christopher Hatton, circa 1575. Image public domain through Creative Commons licensing, NPG, London.

On this day in Elizabethan history in 1591, Lord Chancellor Christopher Hatton, whom Queen Elizabeth affectionately called her "lids" and her "sheep", died in London at Ely Palace. The Queen herself had visited her ailing favorite on November 11th. A month after his passing, on December 16th, there was a state funeral for Hatton at the Old St. Paul's Cathedral. His monument, which stood at the altar, was described as "...an outrage to the susceptibilities of the devout but an object of marvel to London sightseers until the Great Fire of 1666 dethroned and destroyed it" (Deacon, 213).

Since Henry VII, the Tudors had favored promoting men in government based on merit rather than hereditary right. Christopher Hatton was a prime example of one of these "new men". The second son of a member of the Northamptonshire gentry, William Hatton, and his second wife Alice Saunders, Christopher became a leading figure in Queen Elizabeth's court.

Unlike most to join Queen Elizabeth's inner circle, Hatton was no academic. Though he was able to attend Oxford in the 1550's, he received no degree, and after being admitted to the Inner Temple (one of the four residences for learning common law and appointing barristers) in 1559, he was never actually called to the bar (Wagner, 145). So, even though Hatton took the traditional path to earn a career at court, he did not succeed in his academic endeavors, and it was therefore assumed that he earned his place through his skills at dancing. 

The handsome Hatton had first caught the Queen's eye when he performed a dance for her at the court masque given at the Inner Temple during the Christmas celebrations of 1561 (Wagner, 145). In just three years, Hatton had benefited from Queen Elizabeth's patronism, receiving court appointments and grants of land and money. Over time, Hatton honed his abilities as a politician, and Queen Elizabeth entrusted him with more responsibilities. In 1572, Queen Elizabeth made him captain of her Royal Guard. 1577 was an excellent year for Hatton, since he was both knighted and appointed to the Privy Council. He sat for Northamptonshire in several parliaments, and became the Queen's spokesman in the Commons. 

A portrait of Sir Christopher Hatton by an artist after Cornelius Ketel, circa 1585. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Hatton was now in a position to become a patron himself; Edmund Spenser and Thomas Churchyard benefited from his support. Hatton was also one of the first courtiers to invest in Sir Francis Drake's attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1577. In tribute, Drake's famous ship, the Golden Hind, was named after one of the heraldic emblems on Hatton's coat-of-arms (Wagner, 145).

A reproduction of Drake's Golden Hind. Photo acquired through Wikimedia Commons, shared for public use by Steve FE Cameron.

Hatton's rapid rise at court was somewhat stalled by his opposition to Queen Elizabeth's proposed marriage to Francis, Duke of Alencon, and his rivalry with another favorite of the Queen, Sir Walter Raleigh. Also, Hatton, along with most of the Queen's advisers, supported the idea of executing Mary Stuart, the former Queen of Scots, which earned him Elizabeth's displeasure (Wagner, 145). Hatton encouraged secretary William Davison to defy the Queen's orders and send Mary Stuart's signed execution warrant to Fotheringay, rather that retain it indefinitely, as she had instructed. After the Queen's wrath dissipated, Hatton was welcomed back into the royal fold.

A portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, circa 1578. Attributed to Oultry. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Like the Queen, Hatton was a religious moderate, and opposed any drastic actions taken against Puritans and Catholics. The Puritan's suspected him of being a secret Catholic, and a Puritan fanatic actually tried to assassinate him in 1573.

In 1587, Hatton earned his most distinguished position, becoming Lord Chancellor, which was the most important legal position in the land; this was quite the triumph for a man that never made the bar! In 1588, after Queen Elizabeth's world was turned upside-down by the death of her long-time friend and favorite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, someone needed to succeed to his many positions; Hatton became the next Chancellor of Oxford University and the High Steward of Cambridge University (Wagner, 145). For Queen Elizabeth to select Hatton as her beloved Leicester's successor signifies her placement of trust in his abilities, and her affection for him.

A miniature portrait of Sir Christopher Hatton, circa 1588-91. By Nicholas Hilliard. Hatton is shown with the seal of his office of Lord Chancellor on the table by his side. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Sir Christopher Hatton succeeded in one way where Leicester had always failed Elizabeth; the consummate courtier, Hatton never married. However, it was rumored that he had married secretly, and perhaps fathered an illegitimate child. Hatton's nephew, Sir William Newport, inherited his estates upon his death. As a sign of respect, Newport adopted the surname Hatton. Also passing without issue, the Hatton estates passed to a second Christopher Hatton in 1597.

Sources

Wagner, John. A. "Hatton, Sir Christopher". The Historical Dictionary of the Elizabethan World. First ed. 2002. Print.

Deacon, Malcolm. The Courtier and the Queen. Northampton: Park Lane Publishing, 2008. Print.

On This Day in Elizabethan History: Queen Elizabeth I Contracts Smallpox

A portrait of Queen Elizabeth I in a frame, circa 1565, by an unknown artist. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On this day in Elizabethan history, 1562 Queen Elizabeth I contracted smallpox, taking ill at Hampton Court Palace. 

An exterior view of the gatehouse at Hampton Court Palace, where Queen Elizabeth I fell ill with smallpox early in her reign. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

For more information on the the 29 year-old Queen's calamitous brush with death, please visit The Elizabeth Files for Claire Ridgway's article on the event. Included are Sir Henry Sidney's thoughts about his wife, Mary Dudley-Sidney, and the effect that nursing her Queen and dear friend through a nearly fatal illness had on her.

A portrait miniature of Mary Dudley, Lady Sidney by female court painter Leevina Teerlinc. Lady Sidney was the sister of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and one of the few people Queen Elizabeth I trusted. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On This Day in Elizabethan History: The Death of Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester

A portrait of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester from 1564, the same year Queen Elizabeth granted him his earldom. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

 "A personage so dear unto us."

-Queen Elizabeth describing the Earl of Leicester in a letter to the Earl of Shrewsbury, 1588.

 

On this day in Elizabethan history, 1588, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester died. While the earl had been unwell for quite some time, nobody expected his illness to be fatal, least of all Queen Elizabeth (ODNB). 

Dudley's unexpected death occurred when he was on the road to "take the waters" in Buxton, Derbyshire. A few miles after stopping to write the Queen a letter at Rycote in Oxfordshire on August 29th, Leicester grew gravely ill and took shelter at the nearby manor of Cornbury. It is there that he died in the early morning hours of September 4th (Gristwood, 334).

Only a week earlier Leicester had bid the Queen farewell after she had ordered him to go on retreat and tend to his health. The letter that Leicester had sent her from Rycote became her most prized possession; on it she scrawled, "His last letter", and she kept it in a private box in her closet. The letter now resides in the National Archives.

"His last letter", in the National Archives in England. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Leicester had been in physical anguish following his role as the Queen's Lieutenant General at Tilbury, a position that he had welcomed and a duty that he had been honored to fulfill. But  the work had been stressful none the less. Leicester had been in charge of between 12,000-17,000 men at Tilbury fort, and another 6,000 were under his command in Sandwich (Gristwood, 328). The Earl of Leicester had urged his Queen to visit her troops at Tilbury, writing to her that, "you shall comfort not only these thousands, but many more that shall hear of it" (quoted in Gristwood, 330).

Indeed, once a chaplain in Leicester's service recorded Queen Elizabeth's "excellent oration", which he wrote that she delivered dressed like an "armed Pallas", (Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and war) the speech was printed and circulated throughout Europe within the week (Gristwood, 329-30). The English people were inspired by the Queen's Tilbury Speech, which they could now hold in their hands, and the rest of the world knew from the pamphlet that the English were not to be intimidated.

A painting of Queen Elizabeth at Tilbury, courtesy of Anniina Jokinen. Image public domain.

Leicester and Elizabeth's collaboration at Tilbury would be their last; yet their romantic and political partnership had spanned almost 30 years. Leicester was the Queen's emotional support, and sometimes her stand-in an state functions. Theirs was a bond unlike any other; it survived imprisonment, threat of execution, a mysterious death, rejections, indiscretions, marriage, and the threat of assassination and war.

A composite image of a pair of portrait miniatures of Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Painted c.1575, by Nicholas Hilliard. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

According to the antiquarian William Camden, (the author of the invaluable primary source, The Annals of Queen Elizabeth) after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Queen Elizabeth was having papers drawn up to make Leicester the permanent Lieutenant Governor of England. Camden claimed that the Queen was only dissuaded from putting this plan into action by William Cecil, Lord Burghley and Sir Christopher Hatton.

A detail of a portrait of Sir Christopher Hatton, c.1575. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Perhaps this was true; Camden was working from many primary sources now lost to us, and his work is largely accurate and free of the religious bias that permeated most works of the 16th and 17th century. Certainly Elizabeth was starting to think about what would happen to England upon her death, even if she refused to speak of the succession aloud.

The frontispiece and title-page of the 1575 edition of The Annals of Queen Elizabeth, by William Camden. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Leicester dined every day in the Queen's apartments before he left for Buxton (Gristwood, 333). We can hope that Queen Elizabeth found comfort in her memories of their last days together, after she had recovered from the initial shock of Leicester's unexpected death.

A miniature of the Earl of Leicester, c.1572-76. By Hilliard. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

The Earl of Leicester's demise was probably caused by stomach cancer, which his persistent gastric symptoms seem to suggest, or complications caused by chronic malaria (Gristwood, 333-34). Malaria was rampant in England in the 16th century and had claimed the lives of many, including prominent members of the royal family, like Arthur Tudor. We do know that Leicester had complained of "the stone", which was a colloquialism for any intestinal problem (Gristwood, 334).

A miniature of Queen Elizabeth, c.1572-76. By Hilliard. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

 The juxtaposition of England's celebration over the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and the death of her oldest and dearest friend was almost too much for Queen Elizabeth to bear:

"Elizabeth was condemned to an extraordinary conjunction of public rejoicing and private agony. This was her own personal sorrow-it would be folly to try to damper the mood of he country-and against a background of the national victory celebrations she shut herself into her own chamber to grieve." (Gristwood, 334-365)

Many contemporary reports confirm that Queen Elizabeth locked herself away in her apartments. Sir Francis Walsingham lamented that he could not get the Queen to attend to state business at this time, "by reason that she will not suffer anybody to have access to her" (quoted in Gristwood, 335).

Sketch of Queen Elizabeth I from life. By Zuccaro, 1575.

This tells us how profound Queen Elizabeth's grief was. Here is a woman who relished her role in government and never shirked her public responsibilities because of her private feelings, save for this one instance. Elizabeth's life experiences had caused her to develop a hard, protective exterior, which rarely cracked to reveal signs of affection or vulnerability; Robert Dudley had always been the only exception.

Sketch of the Earl of Leicester from life. By Zuccaro, 1575.

Yet, however much the Queen of England mourned her "Sweet Robin", his death barely registered with the rest of England in comparison to the victory over Spain. The antiquarian John Stow, who himself admitted that he owed his career to Leicester, wrote: "All men, so far as they durst, rejoiced no less outwardly at his death than for the victory lately obtained against the Spaniard." 

Still, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester left this life having accomplished a great deal for Queen and Country, and should be remembered for it. I think William Camden's epitaph of the earl conveys many of the aspects of his character; this is fitting since the way the earl was thought of differed so greatly from person to person. 

"He was reputed a complete courtier, magnificent, liberal, a protector and benefactor of soldiers and scholars...very officious, and cunning toward his ill-willers; for a time much given to women...to say the truth, he was openly held to be in the rank of those which were worthy of praise, but the things which he secretly plotted displeased many."

We do not know how Robert's widow, Lettice Knollys dealt with the loss of her husband. Let it be said that we should not for a minute entertain the idea that she and her second-cousin, the Queen, would have commiserated over their mutual loss. Lettice's greatest testament to her husband may have been their joint tomb. Elizabeth's may have in fact been her relationship with Leicester's step-son, Essex.

The tomb of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and his wife, Lettice Knollys in Beauchamp Chapel in the Collegiate Church of St.Mary, Warwickshire. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Historian Sarah Gristwood explains the significance of Queen Elizabeth's relationship with the Earl of Essex:

"Perhaps it is to the years ahead (of Leicester's death) that we should look for Elizabeth's last (and almost disastrous) great loving gesture towards her lost companion to her relationship with Leicester's stepson and surrogate, Essex. Leicester had brought Essex to court as he himself began to tire and age, willing still to perform necessary duties, but unable any longer to flatter Elizabeth with the conviction he once has; unable to provide the energetic, exciting pageant of eager masculinity. Elizabeth obediently would follow his programme almost to her destruction; would try to believe Essex was another Leicester. The Queen's long, her extraordinary, indulgence towards Robert Devereux was her long lament for Robert Dudley."

(Gristwood, 337)

When Elizabeth whispered the name "Robert" on her deathbed in 1603, there can be no doubt to which earl she was referring.

A portrait of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester circa 1560-65. Attributed to Steven van der Muelen. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Sources

Gristwood, Sarah. Elizabeth and Leicester: Power, Passion, Politics. New York: Viking, 2007. Print.

"Dudley, Robert, earl of Leicester (1532/3–1588)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition. Retrieved 09-02-2012

Elizabethan Fact of the Day: John Dee's Home Set on Fire

A 16th century portrait of John Dee in the Ashmoleon Museum collection, Oxford University. According to Charlotte Fell Smith, this portrait was painted when Dee was 67 years of age. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

In September of 1583, a mob set fire to Master John Dee's home in opposition to his academic pursuits, which some deemed as dubious. Dee and his associate Edward Kelley left London in that same year to travel with a Polish nobleman abroad (MacKay). Upon Dee's return to London six years later, he found much of his personal property in his estate of Mortlake ruined or stolen (MacKay). Queen Elizabeth I agreed to help him financially, appointing him Warden of Christ's College, Manchester in 1595, a position he would hold until his death in 1609 (EB).

The Kitchner Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, circa 1580. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

John Dee was a complicated man of many interests and talents; he was an astrologer, prophesier, alchemist, navigator, and mathematician. He was also known to dabble in the occult. Dee collected one of the largest libraries in England so that he could study these topics with ease. Although he was mostly a hermetic scholar, preferring to spend his days in relative seclusion consulting angels and demons, Dee was married twice and had eight children. He also formed close bonds with a few fellow scholars, chief among them Edward Kelley. The associates had a falling out shortly after Kelley informed Dee that an angel had told him that they should share their wives (Roberts). 

"John Dee and Edward Kelley, a Magician, in the Act of Invoking the Spirit of a Deceased Person." An engraving by Ames of Bristol, from an 1806 edition of Astrology, A New and Complete Illustration of the Occult Sciences by Ebenezer Sibly. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Queen Elizabeth I valued Dee's abilities, often consulting him on matters of astrology (which was deemed a real science in the 16th century) and prophesy. By 1577, Queen Elizabeth and her administration had proven so competent that Dee saw fit to predict the formation of an "incomparable British Empire" encompassing most of the Northern Hemisphere, and conquered and maintained by sea power. Dee's foresight of England as Empire came to pass; the foundations for England as we know it today were indeed established in the Elizabethan era.

Instruments used by John Dee in his academic studies, which sometimes crossed over into the occult. These artifacts reside in the British Museum, London. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Dee was also held in high regard by Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Sir Francis Walsingham and other prominent figures at Queen Elizabeth's court.

John Dee's "Seal of God", an intricately carved stone platform to support the "shew-stone", or crystal ball that was used for scrying. British Museum London. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Sources

Mackay, Charles. Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. London: Office of the National Illustrated Library. 1852. Print

"John Dee". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed. ed.). London: Cambridge University Press. 1911.

Julian Roberts, ed. (2005). "A John Dee Chronology, 1509–1609". Renaissance Man: The Reconstructed Libraries of European Scholars: 1450–1700 Series One: The Books and Manuscripts of John Dee, 1527–1608. Adam Matthew Publications. Retrieved 27 October 2006.

Theatre Thurs: John of Gaunt's Description of England in Richard II

A portrait of 14th century Prince John of Gaunt, painted circa 1593 for Sir Edward Hoby of Queensborough Castle, Kent. This portrait currently resides in the collection of a descendant of John of Gaunt and his third wife, Katherine Swynford,  the Duke of Beaufort. In addition to being the Duke of the vast and agriculturally rich duchy of Lancaster,  John of Gaunt was the titular King of Castile and Leon, (through his second wife) and Duke of Aquitaine, Earl of Derby, Leicester and Lincoln, and Seneschal of England. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

One of my favorite historical personages, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (14th century), was immortalized in Shakespeare's tragedy Richard II. In the play, Gaunt delivers one of the most famous descriptions of England in literature, in Act 2, Scene 1.

This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,
Fear'd by their breed and famous by their birth,
Renowned for their deeds as far from home,...
...This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,
Dear for her reputation through the world,
Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it,
Like to a tenement or pelting farm:
England, bound in with the triumphant sea
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,
With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds:
That England, that was wont to conquer others,
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
Ah, would the scandal vanish with my life,
How happy then were my ensuing death! 

The ruins of Kenilworth Castle. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons courtesy of Dave. Image public domain.

Interestingly, Kenilworth Castle, which Queen Elizabeth I gave to her life-long favorite Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester in 1563, was previously in the possession of John of Gaunt.

Theatre Thursday: Theatrical Entrepreneur James Burbage

James Burbage can enjoy the prestige of being the builder and owner of the first theatre in Elizabethan London, aptly named The Theatre. 

Originally a joiner, (a maker of furniture) Burbage abandoned his trade in favor of joining the Earl of Leicester's theatre company, Leicester's Men. It can be assumed due to his membership in the company in the year 1575 that Burbage took part in organizing and performing the elaborate festivities put on by Leicester when Queen Elizabeth visited him at Kenilworth. Elizabeth and Leicester's summit at Kenilworth is considered by most historians as Leicester's last great attempt to persuade Elizabeth to marry him.

A sketch of the Earl of Leicester, painted from life by Zuccaro as part of the Kenilworth festivities in 1575. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

A sketch of Queen Elizabeth I, painted from life by Zuccaro as part of the Kenilworth festivities in 1575. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

In April of 1576, Burbage and his father-in-law began construction of The Theatre in response to the mayor of London's opposition to the performance of plays in the unregulated courtyards of city inns. The Theatre, an open-air round theatre enclosed by a wooden structure (a style later copied by The Rose, The Swan and The Globe theatres) was the first to be built especially for the performance of plays.

Burbage leased the site of The Theatre in Shoreditch from Giles Allen for twenty-one years. The Theatre opened in 1577 and was an immediate success. The Curtain was built to rival The Theatre's success. (For more information on the recent discovery of the remains of The Curtain, please see the link, below)

Burbage's background in performing with Leicester's Men allowed him to seamlessly make the transition from actor to director. Burbage selected, trained and managed his own company of actors.

Burbage's thriving theatre business was a family affair; he had married his business partner John Braye's sister, Ellen. Their son Richard would become, along with Edward Alleyn, one of the most celebrated actor's of the Elizabethan stage. Burbage's acting troupe happened to include his father-in-law, as well as Richard Tarlton, the celebrated comedic stage actor.

A detail from a portrait of actor Richard Burbage, James Burbage's son. Artist unknown. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

In 1596, Burbage proposed turning part of Blackfriars, the historic Dominican monastery in London, into another playhouse, which he planned to call the Blackfriars Theatre. Strong opposition to a theatre district in the neighborhood (which would undoubtedly bring cut-purses and other crime into the neighborhood) delayed construction until after James Burbage's death in 1597.

That same year of James Burbage's passing, there was a dispute between the Burbage family and their landlord Giles Allen over the renewal of the lease for The Theatre. This conflict led James Burbage's sons to move the playhouse to Southwark, where it was re-christened The Globe. The Globe became the most iconic playhouse of the 16th and 17th century theatre scene, and it is inextricably linked with the earliest performances of Shakespeare's masterpieces.

The modern reconstruction of The Globe theatre on the Thames in London, England. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons, shared by photographer. Image public domain.

Source:

"Burbage, James." The Historical Dictionary of the Elizabethan World. Print. (By John A. Wagner)

Links

Shakespeare's Curtain Theatre Remains Found:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18351007