Recreated, the Tudor garden where an ambitious earl wooed the Virgin Queen
It was a setting for one of the most famous love stories in English history. The great scented garden that Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, created at Kenilworth Castle, his home in Warwickshire, especially to woo Elizabeth I has been re-created by English Heritage and opens to the public tomorrow.
Dudley was one of Tudor England's most powerful – and most glamorous – courtiers. He and Elizabeth had known each other since childhood. They had both been imprisoned in the Tower of London by Elizabeth's sister and predecessor, Queen Mary, who saw them as potential rivals for the throne. They had similar interests. What's more, they were deeply in love.
But Dudley's wife had died in an apparent accident at their home some years earlier and his political and religious enemies had accused him of deliberately killing her in order to try to marry Elizabeth. This potentially scandalous situation was among the considerations which had prevented the Queen from marrying him.
Read entire article at Independent (UK)
Dudley was one of Tudor England's most powerful – and most glamorous – courtiers. He and Elizabeth had known each other since childhood. They had both been imprisoned in the Tower of London by Elizabeth's sister and predecessor, Queen Mary, who saw them as potential rivals for the throne. They had similar interests. What's more, they were deeply in love.
But Dudley's wife had died in an apparent accident at their home some years earlier and his political and religious enemies had accused him of deliberately killing her in order to try to marry Elizabeth. This potentially scandalous situation was among the considerations which had prevented the Queen from marrying him.