The Marriage of Lettice Knollys and Robert Dudley - 21 September 1578
- thedudleywomen
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Lettice Knollys had not long turned seventeen years old at New Year 1561, when she left her position as a 'Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber' within the household of Elizabeth I, of which she had been a member since the queen's accession in November 1558. The reason for her departure was her marriage to courtier Walter Devereux, Viscount Hereford, who had inherited his grandfather's lands and titles two years previously, including the family seat at Chartley, Staffordshire, where the newly-married couple soon made their home (Folgerpedia [1], 2025; Tallis, 2017).
Lettice gave birth five times over the next decade, her four surviving children (Penelope, Dorothy, Robert and 'Wat') spending their childhoods in the Staffordshire countryside at Chartley. Despite the relocation to Staffordshire, Lettice occasionally continued to attend court, as an unwaged lady-in-waiting. Lettice, who bore great physical similarities to her older kinswoman, was viewed as "one of the best-looking ladies of the court", and as such attracted the interests of other courtiers. During a visit to court in August 1565, when heavily-pregnant, Lettice attracted the attentions of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (Varlow, 2009; Folgerpedia [2], 2025).
Leicester was Elizabeth I's Master of Horse and long-time 'favourite' of the queen. On her accession to the throne, Leicester had been one of her previous acquaintances who immediately demonstrated their loyalty, and was subsequently rewarded. The pair quickly grew close, with Elizabeth becoming increasingly emotionally dependent on the then-married Dudley. This contributed to an estrangement in his own marriage, prior to his wife of ten years, Amy Robsart, being found dead in September 1560. Despite an obvious mutual affection between the pair, with Dudley receiving further appointments and honours, including the Earldom of Leicester in 1564, he was never seriously considered as a prospective spouse for the 'Virgin Queen' (Gristwood, 2007).
In September 1565, the Spanish ambassador to England wrote to Philip II of Spain, recalling a disagreement between the queen and Leicester; whilst the court was at Windsor, Leicester reportedly "showed attention" to Lettice, which caused Elizabeth to go into a "great temper", chastising Leicester on his "flirting with the Viscountess in very bitter words". Leicester was reportedly dismissed from the queen for three to four days, until she sent for him once again, after intervention from William Cecil, Secretary of State, and Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, both of whom were "no friends of Lord Robert in their hearts". It was said that after a reconciliation, at which "both the Queen and Robert shed tears", Leicester "returned to his former favour" (Folgerpedia [2], 2025). Whilst there is no evidence suggesting the commencement of a relationship at this early stage, the child, born a few months later, was named 'Robert', reportedly after Leicester, who was appointed as of one of his godfathers (Tallis, 2017).
Leicester did not remain loyal to Elizabeth over the years, although was not thought to have been promiscuous. From around 1571, he engaged in a relationship with the recently-widowed Douglas Howard, Lady Sheffield, who had rejoined the queen's household after her husband's death. The affair, which whilst discreet, was known to the queen; despite her disapproval of their affair, Elizabeth reportedly did not view this, or Douglas, as a threat to her own relationship with Leicester (Tallis, 2017). In August 1574, Douglas gave birth to a baby boy, named after his father, Robert Dudley. Whilst Leicester acknowledged paternity of the child, he always considered Robert, also known as 'Robin Sheffield' to be illegitimate, referring to him as "my base son and the badge of my sin", denying any reports of a union with his son's mother (Wilson, 1981, p.208).
Meanwhile, Devereux's political career continued to progress, including being responsible for the security of the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, on her transfer to Tutbury Castle in February 1569, only fifteen miles from Chartley, along with his participation later the successful suppression of the Rebellion of the Northern Earls in support of the Scottish queen. In May 1572, as a reward for his loyalty to the crown, Devereux was created '1st Earl of Essex', the Earldom having been made extinct the previous year on the death of William Parr, Marquess of Northampton, and a month later was installed as a Knight of the Order of the Garter. These appointments elevated Lettice in Elizabethan society, as the Countess of Essex, or 'Lady Essex' (Varlow, 2009; Whitelock, 2013).
The couple became increasingly estranged from late 1573, after Essex set sail for the Ireland, on behalf of the Crown, with the intent to subdue and colonise the native Irish. Whilst still married to the absent Essex, Lettice appears to have started to engage in an affair with Leicester, although confirmation of the exact beginning of their relationship remains unknown. There are records dating from 1574 where 'Lady Essex' regularly visited Kenilworth to participate in the hunt, accompanied at times by other members of her family including eldest daughter Penelope Devereux, sister Anne Knollys (as 'Mrs West') and brother William Knollys. Lettice was also present at the July 1575 'Kenilworth Festivities', hosted by Leicester, at which he allegedly made a final unsuccessful offer of marriage to the queen (Varlow, 2009; Tallis, 2017).
It has been surmised that following Elizabeth's final rejection, the relationship between Lettice and Leicester advanced. When Essex returned to England in late 1575, there were reports of animosity between himself and Leicester, in response to rumours of this alleged affair, including gossip that Leicester had fathered two children with Lettice, during his tenure in Ireland (Varlow, 2009). In the summer of 1576, Essex was once again dispatched to Ireland, although died soon after his arrival, in September 1576. There was immediate speculation regarding Leicester's possible involvement in his rival's death, including rumours of intentional poisoning, with Essex himself commenting in the first days of his illness, that he had 'some evil received in my drink'. However, these were unfounded claims, as Essex appeared to have presented with symptoms consistent of dysentery, including vomiting, diarrhoea and bloody stools, in the weeks prior to his death, with a postmortem concluding that he had died of natural causes (Gristwood, 2007; Tallis, 2017).
Shortly after Essex left England for the final time, Leicester definitively ended his five-year relationship with Douglas Howard, his contact with her having become more sporadic following the birth of their son. Years after his death, it was alleged that in May 1573 the couple clandestinely married, with Douglas later describing the end of their relationship in summer 1576. She alleged that the two had secretly met in the gardens at Greenwich Palace, at which time Leicester informed her that she was 'free from her obligations', and offered her an allowance to renounce their marriage. However, a Star Chamber Hearing in 1605 refuted these claims, citing a lack of evidence or witnesses to support these reports (Wilson, 1981; Whitelock, 2013; Tallis, 2017).
On Essex's death, family life for Lettice and her children changed significantly; whilst provisions were made for Lettice in her husband's will, she had to leave Chartley in early 1577, eventually relocating her household to the manor of Benington, Hertfordshire, which had been granted to her. Instructions had been left regarding the care and education of her children; her eldest son Robert was the first to leave Chartley, joining the household of William Cecil. Having initially accompanied their mother to her childhood home of Greys Court, Oxfordshire, Lettice's three remaining children were sent to reside in the household of her husband's cousin (and Leicester's brother-in-law) Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon. Despite Lettice's frequent travels, including a further visit to Kenilworth during the summer, it appears that the relationship between Lettice and Leicester significantly progressed in 1577 (Varlow, 2009; Tallis, 2017).
In 1584 the Catholic propaganda pamphlet Leicester's Commonwealth claimed that a wedding ceremony took place between Lettice and Leicester at Kenilworth in spring 1578, although there were no confirmed witnesses to this. Lettice's father, Sir Francis Knollys, now Treasurer of the Royal Household, reportedly insisted on another ceremony, in the presence of witnesses, to confirm the legality of the couple's union, and likely to protect his daughter's reputation (Wilson, 1981; Folgerpedia [3], 2025).
The marriage between Lettice and Leicester was formally celebrated on Sunday 21 September 1578, at Leicester's Essex home of Wanstead Hall, almost two years to the date of death of her first husband. Leicester had consulted with his chaplain at Wanstead, Humphrey Tyndall, informing of his intent to marry Lettice in secret, as he felt that public knowledge of their marriage may cause "great damage to his estate", having not previously obtained the consent of the queen (Tallis, 2017, p.169).
Details regarding the ceremony are known as in February 1581, Humphrey Tyndall, the priest who married the secret lovers, was deposed, with Wilson (1981, p.227) believing that this was likely to "safeguard the legitimacy of the couple's child". Tyndall, who was at the time of the union the chaplain to Leicester, disclosed that he married the couple in an intimate ceremony, held at Wanstead "in a little gallery...opening upon the garden", between 7 and 8 o'clock in the morning (Folgerpedia [3], 2025). Tyndall reported that in addition to himself and the bride and groom, only five others were present - Lettice's father Sir Francis Knollys, her younger brother Richard Knollys, Leicester's older brother Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, and his close friends Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and Roger North, 2nd Baron North. Tyndall also described Lettice as wearing a "loose gown" at the ceremony, with many interpreting this being signs of a possible pregnancy; whether or not she was pregnant at the time of this ceremony is unconfirmed, as the couple's only known child Robert, was born three years later in June 1581, only months after Tyndall's deposition (Owen, 1980; Tallis, 2017).
On 23 September, Elizabeth arrived at Wanstead, ending her traditional summer progress across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, with Leicester accompanying the queen during parts of her journey. Unaware of the events that had taken place only two days earlier, the queen dined with Leicester; it is unknown if Lettice and other family members remained at Wanstead, or were present at the great feast held in the queen's honour. Having completed her progress, Elizabeth then returned to court at Richmond Palace; it is known that Leicester joined the queen shortly after, as she dined with him in early October 1578 (Tallis, 2017; Folgerpedia [3], 2025).
Within weeks of the ceremony, rumours started to spread within the court regarding to the couple's marriage, although Elizabeth continued to remain in the dark. As was tradition, Lettice exchanged gifts with the queen at New Year 1579, although this was the last year the new Countess of Leicester was on the New Year's gift rolls. On the background of increasing gossip, an apparent jealous response from Leicester came in the summer of 1579, where discussions were taking place in regards to the French Protestant Duc d'Anjou being presented as a suitor to the aging queen. The French ambassador, Jean de Simier, in response to reported shots fired at a barge carrying himself, Elizabeth and Leicester, interpreted this as a threat towards himself, having been privy to the Earl's secret, and viewed Leicester as his 'great enemy'. Subsequently, in June 1579, Simier disclosed the news of the Earl's marriage to the unsuspecting English queen (Gristwood, 2009; Tallis, 2017).
It was reported that Elizabeth was shocked, incensed and heartbroken by the news of the marriage of her long-term 'favourite' to her younger kinswoman. Wilson (1981, p. 228) identifies that "the great romance of her life was over...the man she had regarded as a husband in almost all but name", with Tallis (2017, p. 177) also recognising that this disclosure led the queen to the realisation that "she now no longer wielded the same power over [Leicester]". Elizabeth's initial response was to have Leicester imprisoned in the Tower of London, as she had previously ordered those who had disobeyed her in regards to clandestine marriages, including her kinswoman Katherine Grey in 1568. However, following intervention from other members of the Privy Council, the couple were spared imprisonment; Leicester was initially dismissed from court, remaining out of sight of the enraged queen at Wanstead and Kenilworth. He remained out of Elizabeth's graces for the rest of 1579, although had returned to court by the following year (Gristwood, 2009; Tallis, 2017).
