Today in 1588 Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, died. After being part of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, he had been sick for a while. Elizabeth gave him permission to go to Buxton to enjoy the waters. He had left on the 26th of August, and wrote his final letter to Elizabeth on 28th August. Elizabeth was distraught by the news of his death – he was her favorite, her childhood friend, and likely the love of her life, and when she found out he had died, she shut herself up in her chamber for days, and refused to come out. Her ministers actually had to break down her door eventually.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there is an episode on Robert Dudley.
Suggested links:
Episode 095: Tudor Times on Robert Dudley
Spring 2018 Tudor Summit: Christine Hartweg on Robert Dudley
From the shop:
To celebrate Elizabeth I’s birthday month, here is the Celebrations of Elizabeth I Collection.
Featuring the “I will have but one mistress and no master” – Elizabeth I stainless steel pendant
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.