About....Lettice and Elizabeth1

The movies "Elizabeth, and Elizabeth the Golden Age" played by,
Kate Blanchet. (above)
and... "Queen Elizabeth1"  played by, Helen Mirren
are truly interesting movies...in my humble opinion.
 Here is some... "non-movie"  information you may not know about this
 famous red headed Queen.... 

 The Queen had a lover, in the renascence they called them...
 "favorites"
Queen Elizabeth's favorite was...
 Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

In the movie you can see the young couple in love and enjoying
 each others company, as they were good friends as well .

************

The queen is upset by the information, that her "favorite", the young Dudley
is already married.

 History states he is married to a pretty lady named
 Amy Robsart

Amy...poor girl ends up dieing,  from a fall down a flight of stairs...
and is seems to be suspicious.
It was widely suspected that Dudley had arranged his wife's death in order to marry the Queen.
The Queen does indeed seem to be giving hope to silly Robert,  if he was not already married
 she herself (the queen) would marry him and

 Robert would be come king for a queen.
Hmmm...Too good to be true?

 Even though questions arose as to Amy's death young Robert is not convicted.

(Read more of this interesting story... "click" on Amy Robsart above.)

Robert Dudleys castle
The movies portrayed that there were two "favorites" of the queen...

two diffrent Roberts!!!
 Robert Dudley and Rober Devereux 2nd Earl of Essex ...
In its sequel, "The Golden Age" the queen ages, and time goes on.
 The queen puts off the hopeful marriage to Robert Dudley.

                              Elizabeth was forced to distance herself from Dudley
 because of

Amys death and consider other suitors.

So Robert ups and marries some one eles, in secret.

When the queen finds out about it she is "pissed" to say the lest! 

Who was this secret lover/wife of Robert D?...

Non other than Anne Boleyn's grandniece...
making this grand niece a relative to Elizabeth as well...
she is

Lettice Knollys

                                                            sometimes called Laetitia;

 also known as Lettice Devereux or Lettice Dudley),

Countess of Essex and Countess of Leicester

(8 November 1543– 25 December 1634), 

ABOUT LETTICE....

Lettice was close Queen Elizabeth when she was still Princess Elizabeth
So they were friends since childhood, Lettice Knollys was introduced early into court life...

 At 17 Lettice married a guy named
Walter Devereux,  who in 1572 became the 1st. Earl of Essex.

So Robert1 of Essex and Lettice had a son was also named Robert
( the 2nd earl of Essex)
 became the second Robert
"Too many Roberts"

So this Robert came to be a "favorite" of the queens...but alas he was beheaded for treason.
After Lettices husband Walter went to Ireland in 1573 she possibly became involved with
 Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

 There was plenty of scandalous talk.

 Two years later Lettice Knollys married Robert Dudley in private.
Lettice incurred the Queen's undying hatred due to her marriage to Elizabeth's "favorite" Robert Dudley

When the Queen was told of the marriage she banished the Countess Lettice forever from court,
effectively curtailing her social life.

The couple had a child, but died at the age of three, to the great grief of his parents
and ending all prospects for the continuance of the House of Dudley.

Lettice Knollys' union with Leicester was nevertheless a happy one,
as was her third marriage to the much younger...

 Sir Christopher Blount,

 whom she unexpectedly married in 1589
only six months after the Earl's death.
She continued to style herself Lady Leicester.

                                                          That's another juicy story..............

thanks to http://www.elizabethfiles.com/
http://www.wikipedia.org/