1-218-104 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Earl of Leicester, 16th century, (1896). Portrait of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, favourite of Queen Elizabeth I of England, (1823). A courtier of Elizabeth I, Dudley (1532-1588) was regarded as her most likely choice for a husband. However his wife's mysterious death in 1560 placed a dark spot on his reputation. In 1561 he suggested to Philip II to restore Roman Catholicism in England in return for Philip's endorsement of his to Elizabeth. Yet by 1563 Elizabeth realised the impracticality of such a marriage. She offered his hand to Mary Queen of Scots and created him Earl of Leicester in 1564, however Mary married Lord Darnley. Illustration after a picture in the collection of the Marquess of Salisbury, Hatfield House, from a work published by Boussod, Valadon & Co, (1896).