Mysterious Death Of Amy Robsart – Murder, Accident Or Suicide?

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Amy Robsart was only 28-year-old at the time of her death. On September 8, 1560, she was found dead with a broken neck at the foot of the stairs at Cumnor Palace, near Oxford, England.

Her death remains an unexplained historical mystery. Did she commit suicide or was it an accident? Was she deliberately murdered? Was Queen Elizabeth I of England or Lord Robert Dudley responsible for the death of Amy Robsart?

Born on June 7, 1532, in Norfolk, England Amy Robsart married Robert Dudley at the royal palace of Sheen at Richmond, near London. The young couple, both just over 18 years at the time of the marriage were in love, but their union was not meant to last. The marriage was unhappy and their tale ended sadly.

Lord Robert Dudley is today mostly known for his close relationship to Queen Elizabeth I and their story fascinates people interested in English history. Rumors of their love affair have fueled the idea that Amy was murdered.

Lord Robert Dudley (1532 – 1588) was one of thirteen children of John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, later Duke of Northumberland.

In 1553, his father failed to prevent the accession of Mary I, also known as Mary Tudor. One year later, Lord Robert Dudley was imprisoned in the Tower of London for his involvement in the brief reign of Lady Jane Grey, the wife of his brother Guildford. His father, Duke of Northumberland was executed for high treason. Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guildford Dudley met the same fate.

Lord Robert Dudley was also condemned to death but was later released in 1554. He participated in the Battle of St. Quentin under Mary's husband and co-ruler, Philip, which led to his full rehabilitation.

Queen Elizabeth I And Lord Robert Dudley Has A Close Relationship

When Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1558, Dudley was appointed Master of the Horse and he became one of her leading statesmen. His role required him to be at court and spend most of his time with the Queen. The two had a very close relationship and it was said that Queen Elizabeth was in love with him.

Rumors of their love affair grew even stronger when Queen Elizabeth I refused to marry any of her many foreign suitors. Many thought Dudley and the Queen would marry after the death of Amy who did not visit the royal court because it was believed that she suffered from breast cancer.

Amy lived with friends in different parts of the country and she did not see her husband, but she was aware of his love affair.

Sudden Death Of Amy Robsart Caused A Scandal

In May 1559, Amy’s health improved, and she could visit London, but she never saw her husband again. On Sunday, September 8, 1560, her dead body was found dead at the foot of the stairs at Cumnor Place. The coroner ruled that Amy, "being alone in a certain chamber … accidentally fell precipitously down”.

The Death of Amy Robsart, as imagined by Victorian artist William Frederick Yeames. Credit: Public Domain

Amy’s death did not go unnoticed. It caused a scandal. Although most modern historians disagree, at the time of the events Lord Dudley was suspected to have been responsible for his wife’s death. Some believed that the Queen and Lord Dudley had secretly poisoned Amy. She became weaker and the two of them had arranged her death, so they could marry.

Today, many think it’s unlikely Lord Dudley and Queen Elizabeth I murdered Amy. It would have been too dangerous. Queen Elizabeth I had a reputation to maintain and could not risk marry a man suspected of killing his first wife. This is something Lord Dudley must have been aware of.

Could Lord Dudley really have orchestrated the death of his wife in a manner that laid him open to such a foreseeable scandal? If his wife was really ill, it would have been easier to wait for her to die.

In her biography of Queen Elizabeth I, historian Alison Weir writes that there is another candidate for the murder of Amy Robsart.

William Cecil (1520 – 1598) who was a rival of Lord Dudley could have been the man responsible for the death of Amy.

According to Weir, “one man did profit from the death of Amy Dudley, and that was William Cecil. … He was a perceptive man, and he could foresee that if she died in suspicious circumstances, as many people expected her to do, then the finger of suspicion would point inexorably to her husband – as indeed it did. Cecil also knew that Elizabeth … would be unlikely to risk her popularity and her crown to marry a man whose reputation was so tainted.”

What speaks against this theory is that it’s unlikely Cecil would risk his own or the Queen’s reputation. Other historians have suggested Amy committed suicide due to illness or depression.

The truth is that we do not know why Amy died. Was she killed, committed suicide or was it an accident?

The death of Amy Robsart remains an unsolved historical mystery until today.

Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com

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