Did Queen Elizabeth I Have a Secret Affair with a Married Man Whose Wife Mysteriously Died?

Queen Elizabeth I’s reign was defined by power, strategy and an ironclad reputation — but one scandal threatened to shake the foundation of her carefully crafted image.

Elizabeth I reigned from 1558 until her death in 1603 as the last Tudor monarch. Dubbed "The Virgin Queen," she never married — a decision shaped by both personal and political reasons. As the daughter of King Henry VIII, whose six marriages reshaped the monarchy and led to England’s break from the Catholic Church, Elizabeth may have been wary of matrimony.

Queen Elizabeth acceded to the throne at 25 (the same age as Queen Elizabeth II) and chose not to marry as a political tool. According to the royal family's official website, she instead utilized marriage prospects as a tool in foreign and domestic policies, but some say that didn't stop her from falling in love.

Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Elizabeth I are related, though not directly. Queen Elizabeth I's grandfather, King Henry VII, is Queen Elizabeth II's 12-times great-grandfather, connecting them through the broader royal lineage.

Related: Meet the British Royal Family: A Complete Guide to the Modern Monarchy

According to Royal Museums Greenwich, Elizabeth I "seriously considered marriage" twice in her reign, and first fell for Lord Robert Dudley. The bond between the childhood friends blossomed into something more, and she made him Master of the Horse (organizer of traveling court) upon her accession, English Heritage states.

The long-term suitor was widely believed to have been her one true love, and their romance was reimagined in the 1998 film Elizabeth starring Cate Blanchett as the Queen and Joseph Fiennes as Dudley.

The potential union, however, was opposed by those who thought it was inappropriate for the sovereign to marry a subject, and there was concern about the royal influence Dudley would have as her husband. He was also already married — until his wife died under mysterious circumstances in 1560, less than two years into Elizabeth's reign.

Dudley was married to Amy Rosbart, the daughter of a Norfolk squire, who was found dead with a broken neck in September 1560, according to English Heritage. Her cause of death was never clarified and while her husband was free to marry the Queen, "the cloud of suspicion that now hung over him meant that she could never accept him."

Despite the tragedy that could have distanced them, Elizabeth's feelings for Dudley were still strong and she tried to marry him off to her half-sister, Mary, Queen of Scots (a plotline in the 2018 film Mary Queen of Scots starring Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan) on the condition that they live with her at court (Spoiler alert: it didn't work!).

The Queen kept Dudley close, giving him Kenilworth Castle in 1563 and the title of Earl of Leicester in 1564. Elizabeth visited him at the castle multiple times, once staying for 19 days during a visit in 1575. The University of Oxford notes this may have been an ultimatum from Dudley to the Queen — "Marry me or let me go" — during an extra special stay that included pageants, entertainment and fireworks.

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Elizabeth and Dudley reportedly remained close until his death in 1588, and when the Queen died 15 years later, his last letter to her was found by her bedside.

The memento has been interpreted as "a poignant reminder of her sacrifice and what might have been," Royal Museums Greenwich said. 

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