Elizabeth I learned very early on in life how dangerous love could be. Whilst she was
a princess, she had a strange number of incidents with the husband of her stepmother, Thomas
Seymour. It’s been accepted that Thomas Seymour groomed Elizabeth and also had a number
of inappropriate moments with the Princess. Seymour would smack the Princess many years
her junior on her bottom and would appear in her apartments with hardly any clothes
on. This attracted a significant amount of unwanted attention, but Elizabeth would then
be sent away as Catherine Parr the widow of her father Henry VIII became jealous and upset.
But Elizabeth was then later interrogated due to the actions of Seymour and she would
be later imprisoned inside of the Tower of London. But she learned the struggles that
she may have with being a princess and a future Queen with regards to love. She had a number
of options following becoming Queen, including should she marry a European prince or ruler,
or whether she should marry one of her subjects, a wealthy Englishman. The question of whether
the Queen should marry out our pure love was one which was never really debated, and throughout
the decades of her life there were a number of men who were linked to become possible
husbands of the Virgin Queen. Many men courted her, but she chose to remain unmarried, and
claimed she was married to her country. But who were these men who had a chance with Elizabeth,
and some are rumoured to have been very close to the Queen.
Robert Dudley the 1st Earl of Leicester was referred to as the favourite of Elizabeth
I from her accession until his death. Many believed he was the man who truly captured
the heart of Elizabeth, and the the pair were in love. There have been even rumours regarding
whether Dudley and Elizabeth slept together, and that they may have even conceived a child.
When Elizabeth became Queen Dudley was made the Master of the Horse and he rose throughout
the ranks, and the two had been very close friends for years, and by 1559 there were
many rumours that Elizabeth was in love with Dudley. He was a the time already married,
and the prospect of marrying one of her subjects proved difficult for Elizabeth. She would
have turned down building an important European alliance for love, and would also have probably
upset the different factions at court creating even more bitter rivalries. Dudley’s wife
Amy Robsart died in strange circumstances in 1560 falling down the stairs, and many
pointed the finger at Dudley being responsible, and this hugely damaged his chances of marrying
Elizabeth. He was proven to have not been involved, but Elizabeth because of this could
not marry him, but the pair remains very close and he was made the Earl of Leicester. Dudley
was at the centre of Elizabeth’s world, and his apartments at court were next to hers.
It was said that he knew The queen and her nature best of any man, and that the pair
would often long into the night talk and play games and so on. When Elizabeth fell ill in
1562 from smallpox, she asked the privy council to make Robert Dudley the Protector of the
realm in her place, but Elizabeth continued to mention that she would have lied very much
to marry him. He was seen as a serious candidate for her hand, but later Dudley formed the
opinion that Elizabeth would never marry and she said that if she changed her mind, Dudley
would be her first choice. If Elizabeth had intimate relations with any man during her
life, then it would surely have been Robert Dudley. He was the greatest love of her life,
and the feelings were mutual. He was at her side until death parted them, and he was a
major obstacle between Elizabeth marrying any other person. Elizabeth adored him and
the feeling was mutual, and everyone at court noticed how Dudley was beyond just a normal
favourite. Whenever the court went on Progress, Dudley’s rooms would be next door to the
Queens. Courtly love was a common thing during the Tudor times, but the pair took flirting
to the extreme and they kissed on the mouth which wasn’t unusual, but Dudley did it
without invitation and the Queen often kissed him also. They met in private, and Elizabeth
did enjoy watching Dudley play sports. He was her dance partner, and partners in everything,
and it was believed that the pair may have shared a bed.
Dudley would propose marriage to Elizabeth a number of times but the Queen deferred her
decision. But Dudley’s name was eventually linked to other women as he grew tired of
the Queen’s refusal to accept his proposal despite the fact they were in love. He was
with her in her greatest moments including her speech at Tilbury Docks rallying the troops
against the Spanish Armada. But he wrote a final letter to Elizabeth before his death
en route to Buxton, and Elizabeth regarded this as ‘his last letter,’ and she kept
it next to her bed for almost 15 years until she died herself. This letter read, ‘“I
most humbly beseech your Majesty to pardon your poor old servant to be thus bold in sending
to know how my gracious lady doth, and what ease of her late pains she finds, being the
chiefest thing in this world I do pray for, for her to have good health and long life.
For my own poor case, I continue still your medicine and find that amends much better
than with any other thing that hath been given me. Thus hoping to find perfect cure at the
bath, with the continuance of my wonted prayer for your Majesty’s most happy preservation,
I humbly kiss your foot. From your old lodging at Rycote, this Thursday morning, ready to
take on my Journey, by your Majesty’s most faithful and obedient servant,
R. Leicester PS Even as I had writ thus much, I received Your Majesty’s token by Young
Tracey.”
But despite this, there has been no concrete evidence stating that the pair became lovers,
but it is purely speculation. If it had of happened, t hen it would have occurred t nighttime,
as Elizabeth had thousands of eyes on her throughout most of the day. But the Queen
may have also not risked pregnancy as she worried for her health if something went wrong,
and she would not have been married to the gather making a possible child illegitimate.
But many historians have accepted that Elizabeth I did have a physical relationship with Dudley,
and it is still a source of debate almost 500 years later.
Another man who was close to the Queen was Sir Walter Raleigh. He is considered the ultimate
Tudor man who risked his life a number of times and also gave his reputation to travel,
explore and conquer. He became a favourite of the Queen through the expeditions he went
on, and he was given huge wealth including many different manors and houses across England.
Elizabeth continued to shower him in gifts and reward and he was knighted even. He was
an exotic man, and a man she regarded as good looking but Raleigh’s success with the Queen
was linked to his expeditions and journeys. However in 1591, he would marry one of Elizabeth’s
ladies in waiting Bess Throckmorton, and with this Elizabeth went mad. She was outraged.
The pair had a child despite Bess being 11 years younger, and she gave birth to a son
in secret. But then when Elizabeth discovered this unauthorised marriage she flew into a
rage and Bess was dismissed from court, never to return and Raleigh was sent to the Tower
of London to be locked up along with criminals and those awaiting execution. She was completely
furious, but was she driven by jealousy? It was known that she was close to Raleigh, and
portraits of Bess are easily mistaken for Elizabeth I, showing that the explorer did
have a type. He would later be released and would be restored to power, but following
the death of Elizabeth I his fortune would change and with this James I would order his
execution.
Towards the end of her life, Elizabeth I was infatuated it’s believed with Robert Devereux
the Earl of Essex. Despite a large age gap, he became one of the Queen’s favourites,
and he was brought to court at a young age and he impressed. He was a charmer and had
a great mind, but he knew how to play the game of courtly love and he was seen as a
man who could step into the shoes of Robert Dudley. After Dudley’s death, Devereux received
the royal monopoly on sweet wines making him very rich. He and the Queen would play cards
late into the evening, leading to many gossips to talk in the court. He underestimated Elizabeth,
and continued to flirt and dance with her, but it became clear early on that Devereux
was motivated by one thing and that was power. He was a man driven to the extremes by influence,
and he would later be involved in a rebellion, known as Essex’s rebellion in which he planned
to seize Elizabeth I. He was arrested, and it was said when he was charged with treason,
‘The indictment charged Essex with "conspiring and imagining at London...to depose and slay
the queen, and to subvert the Government." It also stated that Essex had "endeavoured
to raise himself to the Crown of England, and usurp the royal dignity," and that in
order to fulfill these intentions, he and others "rose and assembled themselves in open
rebellion, and moved and persuaded many of the citizens of London to join them in their
treason, and endeavoured to get the City of London into their possession and power, and
wounded and killed many of the queen's subjects then and there assembled for the purpose of
quelling such rebellion." Essex was charged also with holding the Lord Keeper and the
other Privy Councillors in custody "for four hours and more." He was found guilty of rebelling
and of treason, and was the last person to be beheaded inside the walls of the Tower
of London. He was granted by Elizabeth a private execution, but it took three strikes of the
axe to take his head clean off. This execution did impact Elizabeth, but ultimately she was
better off without the power obsessed much younger Devereux.
Another man to mention was Francis the Duke of Anjou and Alencon, (al eh hon) who was
the son of the King of France and Catherine de Medici. He was considered an attractive
young man, but was scarred like Elizabeth from smallpox. Even despite this, Elizabeth
found Francis attractive and dashing, and he was a rare suitor who met the Queen to
come and court her. Negotiations between the pair to marry occurred and the royal council
were divided as to the positives of the match. They were worried that Francis was Catholic,
and the Duke of Anjou courted Elizabeth between 1578 and 1581. The pair became close despite
the fact there was a 2 decade age gap. Elizabeth it’s believed actually accepted the marriage
proposal, but then she changed her mind and broke the news to Francis the following day,
saying she could not marry him. Francis was furious and refused to leave England, but
he was then bribed with a huge sum of money and three warships to leave. He wrote to Elizabeth
saying, ‘For my part, I confess that there is no prince in the world to whom I would
more willingly yield to be his, than to yourself, or to whom I think myself more obliged, nor
with whom I would pass the years of my life.” But Elizabeth then wrote a poem as he left
writing,
‘I grieve and dare not show my discontent; I love, and yet am forced to seem to hate; I
do, yet dare not say I ever meant; I seem stark mute, but inwardly do prate. I am,
and not; I freeze and yet am burned, Since from myself another self I turned.
My care is like my shadow in the sun — Follows me flying, flies when I pursue it, Stands,
and lies by me, doth what I have done; His too familiar care doth make me rue it. No
means I find to rid him from my breast, Till by the end of things it be suppressed.
Some gentler passion slide into my mind, For I am soft and made of melting snow; Or be
more cruel, Love, and so be kind. Let me or float or sink, be high or low; Or let
me live with some more sweet content, Or die, and so forget what love e’er meant.
It was clear that Elizabeth liked the man she referred to as her little frog, and he
was the man who became legally the closest to marrying the Queen of England.
But one man who deserves a mention when talking about the Queen’s heart is Sir Christopher
Hatton. He was a brilliant architect, and throughout his career he did a lot for Elizabeth
I. He was considered a skilled and handsome man, and he was an elegant dancer, and Elizabeth
was captivated by him. Hatton was given a number of positions, and because of this rumours
emerged around court that the two were in fact lovers. Elizabeth referred to him as
her sheep, and she sold Castles such as Corfe Castle in Dorset to Hatton so he could fortify
it and create a brilliant and beautiful home for himself. He served as the Lord Chancellor
until he died, but interestingly Christopher Hatton was so dedicated to Elizabeth that
he remained single his whole life as he hoped greatly that one day Elizabeth would marry
him.
Whether you believe the title of Elizabeth I being referred to as the Virgin Queen is
your opinion. She had many men throughout her life who wanted to marry her, either out
of love, obsession for power or just money and wealth. But Elizabeth would decide to
stay strong and refuse the hands of marriage of even those she greatly cared about including
Robert Dudley the Earl of Leicester. If she married, she could have had a number of children
and heirs, and possibly the Tudor dynasty could still have been on the throne today.
But because she didn’t, she was the last Tudor Monarch.
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