A portrait of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (1532-1588), English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. Queen Elizabeth remained close to Dudley and pursued her hand in marriage. By 1564 Dudley had realised that his chances of becoming Elizabeth's consort were small, although confronted with other marriage projects, Elizabeth continued to say that she still would very much like to marry him. He remained hopeful—she had also assured him he would be her choice in case she changed her mind (and married an Englishman).
A portrait of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (1532-1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. Queen Elizabeth remained close to Dudley and he, with her blessing and on her prompting, pursued his suit for her hand in an atmosphere of diplomatic intrigue. When in 1562 the Queen fell ill with smallpox and, believing her life to be in danger, she asked the Privy Council to make Robert Dudley Protector of the Realm but she recovered and made Dudley a privy councillor. By 1564 Dudley had realised that his chances of becoming Elizabeth's consort were small, although confronted with other marriage projects, Elizabeth continued to say that she still would very much like to marry him. In 1566 Dudley formed the opinion that Elizabeth would never marry, recalling that she had always said so since she was eight years old; but he still was hopeful—she had also assured him he would be her choice in case she changed her mind (and married an Englishman).
Size: 2983px × 4800px
Location: England, UK
Photo credit: © De Luan / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 16th, 19th, antiquarian, antiquity, art, bess, black, century, court, courtier, crown, culture, drawing, dudley, earl, elizabeth, england, english, engraving, etching, favourite, good, heritage, historic, history, icon, iconic, illustration, leicester, line, lithograph, marriage, medieval, military, monarch, monarchy, monochrome, nobleman, nobles, pictorial, picture, plans, portrait, queen, queens, robert, royal, royalty, sir, sketch, study, suitor, tudor, tudors, unsuccessful, virgin, white, woodcut
