Robert Dudley: Fifth Son of Duke of Northumberland
Robert Dudley was born on the 24th of June 1532/3. According to a popular tradition, he was born in the same year as Elizabeth I, i.e., in 1533. This, however, contradicts a 1576 portrait miniature of the courtier by Nicholas Hilliard. On the miniature is an inscription noting the courtier’s age when it was made, i.e., 44 years old. This suggests that Dudley was born a year before Elizabeth. Dudley was the fifth son of John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, and his wife, Jane, the daughter of Sir Edward Guildford.
Dudley came from a family of courtiers that had long served the monarchs of England . For example, Dudley’s paternal grandfather was Edmund Dudley, who served Henry VII. Shortly after the accession of Henry VIII , however, Edmund was tried for treason, and executed. In spite of his father’s execution as a traitor, John Dudley would be drawn into the service of the new king. When King Henry died in 1547, he w