[MR] Wikipedia: Death of Amy Robsart

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

On this date in 1560, Amy Robsart Dudley died in a fall down a flight of
stairs. What was possibly a common household accident, or maybe suicide of
a woman who might have been suffering from cancer, became a major scandal
at Queen Elizabeth's court.

Amy Robsart Dudley was the wife of Sir Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of
Leicester, Master of the Queen's Horse. Dudley was the Queen's favorite,
and there seems to have been a passionate, but non-sexual, relationship
between them. Amy was already in poor health, and the court rumor mill
suggested that if Amy should die, Dudley would marry the Queen. When Amy
was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in her home, the Tudor
equivalent of today's online conspiracy theorists began whispering about
foul play. Despite the findings at an inquest of accidental death, rumors
dogged Dudley all his life. The innuendos were used against him by rivals,
and others like William Cecil who were protecting the Queen and her
reputation.

The Queen, of course, could not marry Dudley with such a cloud hanging over
him, and never married anyone else. Despite the scandal, Dudley remained
her favorite until his own death in 1588.

Amy's story is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Robsart .

Robert Dudley's bio is found at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Dudley,_1st_Earl_of_Leicester .

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆