Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for her hand for many years and, even as a married man, sparked endless gossip in court with the endless attention that he lavished upon the Queen.
Ironically, however, it was the death of his wife which removed any hope that Elizabeth may have private cherished of one day marrying him. Found with a broken neck at the bottom of her stairs, was Amy murdered by a husband who harboured royal ambition?