Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (1532?-1588), English soldier and statesman, and a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. The son of John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, he was sentenced to death with his father in 1553 but was pardoned by Queen Mary, who made him master of the ordnance. He later caught the fancy of Queen Elizabeth. The mysterious death of his wife, Amy Robsart, cast suspicion upon him. It was believed he had ambitions to marry the queen, who continued to show him high favor and created him earl of Leicester in 1564. Leicester later involved himself in an invalid marriage, which he kept secret, and then in a valid marriage to the widow of his rival, Walter Devereux, 1st earl of Essex. As a result, he suffered the queen's displeasure, but in 1585 she relented and appointed him commander of an expedition to the Low Countries to assist them in their revolt against Spain. The following year he was appointed governor of the Low Countries, but he was recalled in 1588 because of differences with the Dutch governing body. The queen, to whom he was reconciled, made him a lieutenant general of the forces sent to resist the Spanish Armada. He died shortly after the Spanish defeat.