Amy Robsart

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Amy Robsart (1534–8 September 1560) also known as Amy, Lady Dudley was an English noblewoman, who is mainly known for her death under controversial and somewhat mysterious circumstances.

Robsart was born in Norfolk, and was the daughter of a wealthy landowner, Sir John Robsart. The Robsarts were the neighbours of the Dudley family, whose patriarch was John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and one of the regents during the reign of King Edward VI of England.

When she was 17, Robsart married Robert Dudley, a younger son of Northumberland. (Robert's younger sibling Guilford, married Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for nine days). The betrothal between Robsart and Dudley did not appear to be a love match, since both families were wealthy. Also, their marriage contract stated that they would be wed only if they did "condescend and agree" to the match.

The wedding was held with Edward VI in attendance, but soon proved to be an unhappy marriage. Following the accession of Elizabeth I to the throne, Dudley spent most of his time at court with the new queen, nursing his own apparent ambitions to gain the throne. It has been widely speculated that he carried on an illicit love affair with the Queen during her early reign and indeed gained a highly favoured (and envied) place at her side. He did not allow Amy to come to court, as he did not wish to remind the Queen her favourite was indeed a married man. Early in 1560, Robsart was living in the manor house of Cumnor Place, near Abingdon in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). The house was owned by friends of Dudley, some of whom lived with Robsart. Although legend has it she was a sort of prisoner, it is more likely she had complete freedom of movement.

Robsart is best known for her death, which occurred at Cumnor Place on Sunday, September 8, 1560, the day of the "Our Lady's Fair" at Abingdon. Robsart gave all her servants permission to go to the fair, and even insisted so when several refused, believing it was unfit to attend a fair on Sunday. However, Robsart's companion, Mrs. Oddingsell, refused to leave, believing it unfit for her to mingle with servants. Thus remaining at the house were Robsart and Mrs. Oddingsell, as well as Mrs Owens, the elderly mother of the houses previous owner, and Mrs. Forster, the wife of the current owner of the house; additionally, Mrs. Oddingsell and Mrs. Forster would also both have had servants with them at the time. When the rest returned from the fair, they found Robsart lying dead at the foot of a shallow flight of stairs, leading from her room to the hall, her neck broken. The death was announced to Robert Dudley and Queen Elizabeth at the same time, who both seemed genuinely shocked at the news. Dudley was immediately sent to his country home, while he and the Queen both ordered immediate inquests to determine the true cause of death.

Due to these suspicious circumstances, many believed Dudley had ordered the murder, which would rather conveniently open the way for him to marry the Queen. However, as he must have understood that the controversy created by her death could potentially ruin any chance he had of marrying Elizabeth, it is unlikely that he would have orchestrated her demise. Some allege that Queen to have been privy to the plan, and mayhap to have even ordered it; it is known that she had mentioned to the Spanish ambassador de Quadra that Dudley's wife was near death. Yet another theory is that her death was ordered by William Cecil, the Queen's secretary. Cecil had fallen out of favour upon the rise of Robert Dudley, and it was possible that if Dudley became King Consort, he could undo all that Cecil had worked for in the past several years, thus Cecil had a strong motive to prevent the Queen and Dudley from marrying. Cecil was certainly perceptive enough to understand that the controversy of Robsart's death would disallow the Queen from ever marrying Dudley, which would, in turn, bring Cecil back into favour; indeed, this is what happened. Cecil had perhaps the strongest motive and the most to gain from Robsart's death, which makes him a likely suspect, though there is no strong evidence to prove this theory. In any event, the scandal surrounding Robsart's death was enough to discourage the Queen from marrying Dudley.

Another factor known prior to her death was that Amy suffered from an ailment in her chest, which may have been breast cancer, or possibly an aortic aneurism. Relatively recent cancer research has proven consistent with the idea that had she suffered from breast cancer, and she may have subsequently had porous bones. This could have caused her neck to break under only limited strain, such as a fall which might occur when coming down even a short flight of stairs, or even just coming down the stairs. It is also often mentioned, and perhaps quite feasible, that Amy committed suicide, either because of the pain in her chest or the strain of mental anguish of knowing her husband to be the favourite of the Queen; this may explain her strange behaviour in wishing to send her servants away on that day. Thus, she may have poetically have died of a "broken heart".

Her story was used by Sir Walter Scott in his novel Kenilworth, and is included in the novel The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory. There are also paintings by William Frederick Yeames, Amy Robsart, which shows her body lying at the bottom of the stairs, and two suspicious-looking men lurking in the shadows looking on (see problem picture) and William Quiller Orchardson, Amy Robsart, showing a wistful-looking Robsart standing on the stairs, presumably just prior to falling.

[edit] Books About Amy Robsart

Amy Robsart: A Drama in 5 Acts by Victor Hugo (published 2001) ISBN 1-58963-474-8
Amy Robsart: Courtier's Wife by Susan Yaxley ISBN 0-948400-51-X
The Robsart Affair by Jeanette Dowling Letton ISBN 0-89244-015-5
The bright day is done: The story of Amy Robsart by Judith Saxton
Amy Robsart of Wymondham;: The story of her life and the mystery of her death by Bartle Henry Temple Frere (1937)
Amy Robsart: The story of her married life and her death by Josiah Marples
Who killed Amy Robsart?: Being some account of her life and death, with remarks on Sir Walter Scott's "Kenilworth" by Philip Sidney (1901)