ABSTRACT
Robert Dudley was born in 1533, a few months before Elizabeth. Although his grandfather was attainted for treason at the accession of Henry VIII, his father, John Dudley, gained influence and rewards in the king’s service, including the title of Viscount Lisle. At the beginning of Edward VI’s reign, participating in the political scramble for new honours, the viscount was promoted to be the earl of Warwick, but it was after the fall of Lord Protector Somerset that he became the dominant figure on the Council and in 1552 was awarded the prestigious dukedom of Northumberland. At the beginning of Mary I’s reign, however, for engineering the abortive coup of Lady Jane Grey, it was his turn to be attainted for treason, while his five sons were incarcerated in the Tower for their active role in his conspiracy. Guildford, the husband of Lady Jane, went to the scaffold immediately after Wyatt’s rebellion, another son died in prison, but Robert and his two remaining brothers were released and pardoned in January 1555. With this personal history, Robert Dudley found it well nigh impossible to lose the stigma of being the heir to a line of traitors, even after his subsequent loyal service to both Mary and Elizabeth.1
