Elizabeth (2 page)

This decision proved to be a major headache for her government, who tirelessly sought to find a husband for Elizabeth. Her decision would later be used to show how much the popular Queen was devoted to her people. She would be called ‘Good Queen Bess’, ‘Gloriana’ (following the 1588 victory against the Spanish Armada) and, of course, the ‘Virgin Queen’. A highly intelligent woman and an articulate and talented public speaker, Elizabeth made a virtue out of her reported virginity and promoted it as a pious ideal, with considerable success.

Elizabeth clearly enjoyed the company of men, however. She was attractive and valued the attentions of handsome young admirers. As Queen, she had several ‘favourites’, men who enjoyed her attentions, while benefiting from such powerful patronage. Rumours abounded about Elizabeth’s lovers, who included her closest minister, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. There was even some talk of the existence of an illegitimate child or children resulting from at least
one of these relationships – but were these just rumours, unpleasant gossip put about to discredit the Queen or the men she associated with at the time? Or, is it at all possible that Elizabeth was the mother of one or more illegitimate children? This book seeks to examine the possibility that the Virgin Queen was a myth and that Elizabeth not only enjoyed physical relationships with some of her favourites, but also may have had children as a result, who were secreted away to be brought up by other people.

This, of course, raises several issues, most important of which is the question of whether Elizabeth could actually have children. Was it a physical possibility? The matter of Elizabeth’s health was one that concerned and fascinated foreign ambassadors at the time, who faithfully reported every detail of ill health or any evidence of her menstrual cycle to their masters. Elizabeth’s ability to bear 11 children was, after all, of supreme importance to any foreign king, prince or noble who might consider making an offer of marriage, as the birth of a child as heir to the English throne was politically important. Evidence from her physicians seems to suggest that Elizabeth was fully capable of giving birth to a healthy child. The second question must, therefore, be – were there really any men with whom she might have been tempted into a sexual relationship, bearing in mind the risk and the logistical difficulties involved? Two immediately spring to mind – Thomas Seymour and Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. Seymour was the brother of Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife; he courted Elizabeth when she was a vulnerable teenager, while he was married to Catherine Parr, her guardian and the sixth wife of the late King. Robert Dudley was the man whom Elizabeth teased, fought with, punished, forgave and adored for nigh on 30 years.

In addition to Seymour and Dudley, there were other possible candidates, men with whom Elizabeth might have indulged in
intimate relationships, including Thomas Heneage, Christopher Hatton, Walter Raleigh and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex – men with whom she exchanged flirtations, at the least. If rumours are to be believed, Hatton was certainly a possible father of the Queen’s child.

Elizabeth’s relationships with her various suitors were never simple, though. For most men the separation of Elizabeth
the woman
, and Elizabeth
the monarch
, Queen of one of the most important and powerful European nations at the time, was clearly impossible. For the latter reason, it is even less likely that if Elizabeth did give birth to an illegitimate child either before or during her reign that its father was of foreign origin, as this would have threatened the delicate balance of power in Europe.

Elizabeth’s wooing by François, Duc d’Alençon, the brother of Henri III, King of France, is a case in point. This courtship dragged on for more than a decade throughout the 1570s, with fluctuating intensity as the Duke fell in and out of favour with the Queen’s Council. In 1581, when Elizabeth was nearly 50 years of age, she stated to the French Ambassador that she would marry the Duke, although she later reneged on this decision. Despite the heat of the ardour expressed in the Duke’s letters to Elizabeth, and the possibility that they had been physically intimate, it was never suggested that the Queen had borne a bastard to the heir to the French throne, someone whom she could have married at any time she chose.

Another issue that arises when considering Elizabeth’s intimate relationships and possible children is a logistical one: how could she have kept the birth of a child or children a secret while inhabiting such a public position in English society? Before Elizabeth ascended the throne, it might just about have been possible. After the death of Henry VIII in 1547, when Elizabeth was 13 years old, her 9-year-old half-brother, Edward, who had succeeded to the throne, became the focus of attention for the continuation of the royal line. Even if
Edward died before he could engender any heirs, his half-sister Mary, the eldest daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, was next in line to the throne and might hopefully bear a future King or Queen. Elizabeth, at this time was viewed as illegitimate following the execution of her mother for treason. She was, therefore, outside of the real seat of power.

Elizabeth’s household was small and she was surrounded by a small group of attendants who would go to any lengths to serve and protect her. Chief among them were Katherine Champernowne (who married a kinsman of Elizabeth’s and became her beloved ‘Kat Ashley’) and Blanche Parry. Both women were extremely loyal – Kat Ashley was actually imprisoned twice in the Tower of London rather than betray Elizabeth, while Blanche Parry joined the household when Elizabeth was an infant and was still in her service when Blanche died, aged 82. Those who truly loved Elizabeth formed a veritable human wall around her and any of them could have easily conspired to hide a pregnancy, and help place a baby safely and secretly with a suitable family.

The first rumour of Elizabeth’s pregnancy arose when she was 14, living in Whitehall and Chelsea under the protection of her stepmother, the Queen Dowager Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s last wife from 1543 to 1547. Four months after the King’s death, Catherine married her fourth husband, Thomas Seymour, the Lord High Admiral of England. Seymour had great political ambitions and wanted to displace his brother Edward as the guardian of the young King, Edward VI. By marrying Catherine in secret, he risked both the King’s and his own brother’s displeasure, but he was forgiven as Edward VI found him entertaining.

Seymour is arguably the first man with whom Elizabeth fell in love. In his thirties at the time, and handsome, flirtatious and clever, Seymour quickly won over the young Elizabeth. Rumours
began to circulate about the morning visits that he paid to Elizabeth’s bedchamber and although she denied any impropriety she left the household in 1548 – possibly for her own protection, possibly because Catherine was now pregnant and wanted rid of a young, attractive girl from her household. There could have been another more sinister reason, however, such as Elizabeth’s unexpected pregnancy. Certainly, there were rumours at the time, and the nature of their relationship came under question after Catherine Parr’s tragic death in childbirth when Seymour made an unsuccessful application to the Privy Council to become Elizabeth’s suitor. Whether his suit was motivated by genuine love or his own political ambitions, when Seymour was arrested for treason, Elizabeth was implicated in the plot as it was widely suspected that she had enjoyed a sexual relationship with Seymour; some even claimed that she had fallen pregnant. Although Elizabeth denied this vehemently, she became more wary in her dealings with men after this time. Seymour was eventually executed in 1549.

Another period during which Elizabeth may have given birth to a child was between 1560 and 1580, when she was Queen and was aged between 27 and 47. The most likely candidate as father of the Queen’s child was Robert Dudley. This extraordinarily handsome man, who the Queen called ‘Dear Robin’, was most probably the great love of Elizabeth’s life from 1559 until the day that he died in 1588. Rumours of a child from their union began to surface around 1560, two years after Elizabeth ascended to the English throne. The stories continued well into the 1580s, when the Queen was actually no longer physically capable of bearing children.

In 1560, however, it seemed likely to some of the ambassadors at Elizabeth’s Court that the Queen might actually marry Robert Dudley – if it were possible. The obstacle to their union lay in the
existence of Amy Robsart, Robert Dudley’s wife. Amy lived quietly in the country, away from Court, and suffered from a long-term illness and depression. Reports at the time suggest that Elizabeth and Dudley were waiting for Amy to die naturally before they married, but, in 1560, Amy was found dead at the foot of her staircase, her neck broken. Despite the verdict of accidental death reached by the court, many believed that Dudley had ordered his wife’s murder, unwilling to wait and afraid that Elizabeth’s interest might stray elsewhere. Other theories indicate that Amy may have committed suicide. However, if Amy was murdered, available evidence suggests that it was not at the Earl of Leicester’s hands.

Even so, if the Queen had a secret child with Robert Dudley, how would she have managed it? By that time, Elizabeth I headed a household of more than 1,000 people and rarely had any time to herself. She was constantly observed by the officials of her Court, who were desperate to stay abreast of events, as well as by the spies and representatives of various foreign powers. Logistically, how viable was it for the Queen to find sufficient time alone with a lover, hide any signs of a pregnancy for a long nine months and then have a secret labour and birth? In actual fact, although it would have been difficult, it was not impossible. As a contemporary, Henry Hawkins, reported, in 1581, the Queen often went on summer progresses (royal visits to towns or aristocratic homes). In a host’s house, Elizabeth might retire alone to the library to read her dispatches or write letters in peace. The Queen’s rooms might be too small to allow even a small number of people to congregate, enabling her to be alone, even if briefly, and doors that should have been kept locked could be left unlocked by a loyal servant or with the right motivation to the recipient. When Elizabeth believed she was dying, she made a substantial bequest to Robert Dudley’s valet – a man who could have guided his master
to various assignations with the Queen and stood watch to prevent them being discovered.

If this did happen and the Queen fell pregnant and was able to give birth in secret, there remains the question of the identity of her child or children. Several candidates have been put forward by historians over the years. Three – Sir Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex – were prominent members of the Elizabethan Court, men whom the Queen admired or favoured. But would Elizabeth have really publicly favoured a son whose existence she had gone to such trouble to hide in the first place?

Perhaps a slightly more plausible candidate might be Arthur Dudley, a man who claimed to be the illegitimate son of Elizabeth and Robert Dudley? Another possibility was John Harington, Elizabeth’s godson. Born in 1560, he grew up in the household of Isabella Markham, Elizabeth’s loyal maid of honour before she became Queen, and John Harington, Senior, who had served under Sir Thomas Seymour. When Seymour was accused of treason, Harington had suffered imprisonment in the Tower rather than betray his commander. John Harington, the younger, earned himself a place at Court and he also became a great favourite of the Queen. He is believed to have been one of the last people to speak to Elizabeth before she died.

In the following chapters, I examine Elizabeth’s life both before and after she ascended the English throne, exploring how possible it is that the Virgin Queen enjoyed intimate relationships with one or more of her favourites and bore at least one illegitimate child, as a result.

‘As goodly a child as hath been seen.’

—William Kingston to Lord Lisle, April 1534