Hi, I'm Christine Hartwig, and I'd like to talk to you about Robert Dattley, Earl of Lester.

Now, who was Robert Dattley? He's famous as Elizabeth I I's great favourite, and he is considered the great love of her life.

But how did they get to know each other?

Well, Robert Dudley was the son, in fact the fourth surviving son, of John Dudley, who successively bore the titles of Viscount

Lyle, Earl of Warwick and finally Duke of Northumberland.

John Dudley's own father, Edmund Dudley, had served as a kind of minister to

him to the seventh, and had been executed early in the reign of Henry VIII in order to please the crowds.

Now John Dudley Robert's father nevertheless made a brilliant career under Henry VIII,

serving as Vice Admiral and later Lord Admiral.

And under Henry's son, Edward VI, he he achieved maximum power, serving as chief minister to the young king.

We don't know for certain how much time the young Robert Dudley spent at court, but at one point he must have met Elizabeth, because he later told a French ambassador that they had first become friends

before she was eight years old.

It's fascinating that the topic of conversation was marriage, even then.

Elizabeth said she would never marry.

Now it is often said that she was inspired to say such a thing by the fate of her stepmother katherine howard henry the eighth wife who was executed when elizabeth was eight years old and of course this may be correct

as to robert dudley's acquaintance with Edward the young king, we know even less.

Robert served as a gentleman of the Privy Chamber from August 1551, but at that point he was already 19.

This was the same day that Barnaby Fitzpatrick, the King's good friend, was appointed to the Privy Chamber,

and Fitzpatrick also became a lifelong friend to Robert Dudley.

The king was also present at Robert's wedding on 4 June 1550, which was celebrated at the Royal Palace of Richmond.

It seems certain that Robert, who was five years older than Edward,

knew the young queen quite well.

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