8 thoughts on “MCM: Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex

  1. FWIW, a good friend of mine, a great Tudor-period geek, is quite convinced that Elizabeth doted on Essex as the son that she and Leicester never had, but Essex failed to realise this and thought she was infatuated with him; hence his catastrophic mishandling of their relationship. It certainly makes sense.

    1. Now, that’s an interesting thought. And it does make sense. Thanks to you and your friend. (And yes to the rightness of Irons as Leicester.)

    2. 10/10 would watch that in a Black Comedy take on Queen Elizabeth’s later years.

      Throw that in with the ‘Half the Scottish Peerage watch whilst the former Henry, Lord Darnley is murdered (because the other half are busy making it happen)’ murder comedy I’ve been imagining since THE SERPENT QUEEN.

    3. Yeah I definitely think Elizabeth thought of their relationship as more paternal than romantic, although she also enjoyed having handsome male companions too. Her favoured metaphor for Essex was that he was a stallion that needed to be bridled. That definitely speaks more to mentoring than romance. I do think Essex was trying very deliberately to replace his stepfather.

    4. That makes sense considering he’s her first cousin twice removed (Mary Boleyn’s great-grandson). And him being Robin Dudley’s step son as well… yeah, I buy it

  2. It is believed that it was the need to execute Essex that killed Elizabeth. She adored him beyond all reason, despite his various treasons and personal betrayals. He had no reason to expect her to ever turn on him because she had indulged him so much, and he was shocked and, I think, really remorseful at the end. She sank into a deep depression after his death, and Cecil was very concerned about her. She all but stopped eating and sleeping, and went downhill fast.

    Dancy was good because he was so vapid that you (along with her entire retinue) wondered why she was so enamoured, but it was because he was Dudley’s nephew (probably son) that made her take him up so completely. If you’re interested in Essex, read Lytton Strachey’s “Elizabeth and Essex,” in which Strachey really seems to get this relationship, both sides, and offers a great deal of insight into the relationship, as many historians have noted. A must-read for true Elizabeth aficionados. And of course, it’s gorgeously written.

Feel the love

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.