Lettice Knollys: Recommended Reading
- thedudleywomen
- Oct 18
- 9 min read
Lettice Knollys was the third of 15 children born to Francis Knollys, a gentleman in the court of Henry VIII, and his wife Catherine Carey, the daughter of Mary Boleyn. She was born on 06 November 1543 at Greys Court, Rotherfield Greys, Oxfordshire, and was likely named for her paternal grandmother Lettice Peniston, who was still alive at the time of her birth. Lettice's early childhood years were disrupted as a result of religious reform, with her parents fleeing England with their youngest children, during the reign of Mary I, to escape religious perseuction. However, on the ascension of Elizabeth I in November 1558, her parents returned from Europe, with Lettice's mother (and cousin to the new queen), taking up the role of Lady of the Queen's Bedchamber, with the teenage Lettice also joining the household, as a Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber. Lettice became a 'Dudley Women' on her marriage to Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester in 1578; there were reports of a 'secret' marriage taking place at Kenilworth earlier in the year, with the couple having a further ceremony at Leicester's home in Wanstead, Essex on 21 September 1578 at his new father-in-law's insistence.
Despite previously being close to Elizabeth, the relationship with her kinswoman significantly deteriorated following her marriage to Leicester, whom had been widely acknowledged as being the 'favourite' of the queen throughout her reign. Despite Elizabeth reportedly turning down offers of marriage from Leicester on multiple occasions, Elizabeth saw the couple's marriage as duplicitous and treacherous (in particular on the side of Lettice); she infamously referred to her younger kinswoman as "that she-wolf", and subsequently banished her from court.
Lettice was married three times: first to Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, who died of dysentery in 1576 Almost two years to the day following his death, she married Leicester, with whom there was evidence of at least a flirtation, if not a relationship, for a few years prior to this marriage, including whilst still married to Essex. Following Leicester's death in 1588, Lettice married for the third and final time, to her late husband's Master of the Horse, Sir Christopher Blount. This marriage came to an abrupt end with the arrest and execution of Blount in February 1601, due to his participation in Lettice's son Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex's attempted coup, known as 'Essex's Rebellion'.
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Lettice lived to the grand age of 91, outliving her three husbands and all her children, as well as her rival Elizabeth. She died on Christmas Day 1634, at Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, where she had made her home for the last four decades of her life. She was interred alongside her second husband Leicester, within the Beauchamp Chapel, St Mary's Church, Warwick, where an elaborate tomb with matching effigies continues to stand, dedicated to the couple.
Below are some recommended books which cover various periods of Lettice's life, often in the context of events involving other infamous Tudor figures, including her kinswoman and rival Queen Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth's Women: The Hidden Story of the Virgin Queen
Author: Tracy Borman
Year: 2009
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
Place of Publication: London
Formats Available:
Hardcover (Used)
Paperback [Bookshop.org]
Kindle [Link]
A groundbreaking and fascinating biography of England's most famous queen, viewed through the women who influenced her life.
Elizabeth I is often portrayed as a ruthless 'man's woman', who derided her own sex – ‘I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman' – and loved to flirt with the young men at her court. Yet she was born into a world of women and it is her relationships with these women that provide the most fascinating insight into the character of this remarkable monarch.
As a child Elizabeth was raised by her mother, governesses and stepmothers, while as an adult she was clothed, bathed and watched by her ladies of the bedchamber and her maids of honour. With them she was jealous, spiteful and cruel, as well as loyal, kind and protective. Among her family it was her female relations who had the greatest influence on her life: from her sister Mary, who distrusted and later imprisoned her, to her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, who posed a constant and dangerous threat to her crown for almost thirty years.
It was these women – and many more – who brought out the best – and worst – in Elizabeth and reveal the woman behind the carefully cultivated image of the Virgin Queen.
Elizabeth & Leicester: Power, Passion, Politics
Author: Sarah Gristwood
Year: 2007
Publisher: Viking Press
Place of Publication: London
Formats Available:
Hardcover (used)
Paperback [Amazon]
Few relationships fire our imagination like that of Elizabeth I and her 'bonnie sweet Robin' - the Earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley.
Almost immediately after she became queen, Elizabeth's infatuation with the married Earl became the subject of letters from scandalised ambassadors. And when Dudley's wife, Amy, died a mere two years later under suspicious circumstances many speculated that Elizabeth and Robert would marry.
They never did, although by the time Robert died he had been Elizabeth's councillor and commander of her army, had sat by her bed in sickness and represented her on state occasions. But she had also humiliated him, made him dance attendance on her other suitors, and tried to have him clapped in prison when he finally broke loose and married again.
Elizabeth and Leicester is a portrait - at times a startlingly intimate one - of the tie between two of the people who forced their age; of a relationship where, unusually, a woman held all the power; of an edgy yet enduring love that still speaks to us today.
The Boleyn Women: The Tudor femmes fatales who changed English history Author: Elizabeth Norton Year: 2013 Publisher: Amberley Publishing Place of Publication: London Formats Available :Hardcover (Used) Paperback [Bookshop.org] Kindle [Link] The Boleyn family appeared from nowhere at the end of the fourteenth century, moving from peasant to princess in only a few generations. The women of the family brought about its advancement, beginning with the heiresses Alice Bracton Boleyn, Anne Hoo Boleyn and Margaret Butler Boleyn who brought wealth and aristocratic connections. Then there was Elizabeth Howard Boleyn, who was rumoured to have been the mistress of Henry VIII, along with her daughter Mary and niece Madge, who certainly were. Anne Boleyn became the king's second wife and her aunts, Lady Boleyn and Lady Shelton, helped bring her to the block. The infamous Jane Boleyn, the last of her generation, betrayed her husband before dying on the scaffold with Queen Catherine Howard. The next generation was no less turbulent and Catherine Carey, the daughter of Mary Boleyn fled from England to avoid persecution under Mary Tudor. Her daughter, Lettice was locked in bitter rivalry with the greatest Boleyn lady of all, Elizabeth I, winning the battle for the affections of Robert Dudley but losing her position in society as a consequence. Finally, another Catherine Carey, the Countess of Nottingham, was so close to her cousin, the queen, that Elizabeth died of grief following her death. The Boleyn family was the most ambitious dynasty of the sixteenth century, rising dramatically to prominence in the early years of a century that would end with a Boleyn on the throne.
The House of Dudley: A New History of Tudor England Author: Joanne Paul Year: 2022 Publisher: Penguin Michael Joseph Place of Publication: London Formats Available: Hardcover [Amazon] Paperback [Bookshop.org] Kindle [Link] Audiobook - Narrator: Kristin Atherton [Audible] Was the house of Dudley out to steal the throne?This was the question on the mind of Elizabeth I's courtiers when a forbidden book accused generations of the Dudley family of poisonings, plottings, murders, treason, incitement and other 'evil stratagems'. For decades, the Dudleys had been close to the throne, rising from nobodies to the land's highest offices. Under Henrys VII and VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and, finally, Elizabeth, they risked execution and imprisonment as they audaciously stole, murdered and swindled in the name of the monarch. But were they loyally protecting the crown, or did they secretly covet it for themselves?
Elizabeth I's Secret Lover: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester Author: Robert Stedall Year: 2020 Publisher: Pen & Sword History Place of Publication: Barnsley Formats Available: Hardcover [Amazon] Kindle [Link] In many respects Dudley was the most significant figure of his age. As a great impresario, he showed Elizabeth off to her people to glittering effect and became the forerunner of Shakespearian theatre, combining classicism with ribaldry. He attracted the financing of Drake's circumnavigation. He was the supporter of academic endeavour, of poetry, and of Puritan scholarship. By employing a network of his own agents, he provided information of crucial importance to Government. He built some of the finest houses and gardens of the age. As Master of the Horse, he developed English bloodstock to provide horses for Royal and military requirements. He saw to it that England's navy and army was properly prepared to meet Continental aggression when needed. Lord Robert Dudley has faced criticism from historians by competing with William Cecil to gain the ear of Elizabeth I and thwarting his efforts to arrange a political marriage for her to protect against Continental Catholic aggression. There can be no doubt that Elizabeth wanted to marry him. He was devastatingly attractive, athletic and loyal. The text provides compelling evidence that the virgin queen' spent time in bed with him. An influential and important character of the Elizabethan age, this biography places Robert Dudley within the context of the time and how he navigated court as the favourite of the infamous Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth's Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester
Author: Nicola Tallis
Year: 2017
Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books Limited
Place of Publication: London
Website Link: https://nicolatallis.com/elizabeths-rival/
Formats Available:
Hardcover (used) [Amazon]
Paperback [Amazon] [Bookshop.org]
Kindle [link]
Audiobook - Narrator: Charlotte Strevens [Audible]
Cousin to Elizabeth I - and very likely also Henry VIII's illegitimate granddaughter - Lettice Knollys had a life of dizzying highs and pitiful lows. Darling of the court, entangled in a love triangle with Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I, banished from court, plagued by scandals of affairs and murder, embroiled in treason, Lettice would go on to lose a husband and beloved son to the executioner's axe. Living to the astonishing age of ninety-one, Lettice's tale gives us a remarkable, personal lens on to the grand sweep of the Tudor Age, with those closest to her often at the heart of the events that defined it.In the first ever biography of this extraordinary woman, Nicola Tallis's dramatic narrative takes us through these events, including the relgious turmoil, plots and intrigues of Mary, Queen of Scots, attempted coups, and bloody Irish conflicts, among others. Surviving well into the reign of Charles I, Lettice truly was the last of the great Elizabethans.
The Lady Penelope: The Lost Tale of Love and Politics in the Court of Elizabeth I
Author: Sally Varlow
Year: 2007
Publisher: Andre Deutsch Ltd.
Place of Publication: London
Formats Available:
Hardcover [Amazon]
Paperback [Amazon]
Penelope Devereux was the brightest star who ever shone in the court of Queen Elizabeth I in sixteenth-century England. She was the most beautiful woman of her generation and muse to countless poets and musicians, yet her story ended in tragedy: she died in disgrace on 7th July 1607, a widow, outcast from court, and stripped of all her titles.Her life touched on every great event of the age - the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the arrival of King James and the Gunpowder Plot - and she knew many of the celebrated artistic figures of the day including William Shakespeare."The Lady Penelope" is a dramatic, visual, emotional and ultimately tragic story set against the character of Queen Elizabeth I and the staged pageantry of her Court, and will have immediate appeal to lovers of historical biographies.
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