(June 24, 1532-September 4, 1588)
Born in Northumberland, England, United Kingdom
Favorite of Queen Elizabeth I
Named Master of the Horse (1558), Lord Steward of the Royal Household (1587) and Lieutenant and Captain-General of the Queen's Armies (1588)
First Earl of Leicester (1564-88)

He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for participating in the plot to replace Mary I with Jane Grey.
When his first wife, Amy Robsart, broke her neck falling down a flight of stairs (1560), rumors abounded that he had murdered her so he would be free to marry Elizabeth.
He was later suspected of poisoning Walter Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, in order to marry the Earl's widow, Lettice Knollys (1575).
He had a son out of wedlock with Baroness Sheffield (1574).
He led a disastrous military campaign in the United Provinces (the Netherlands).
Despite being granted valuable properties by Elizabeth, he was constantly in debt from overspending.

Most reputable historians dismiss the murder rumors as nonsense.
His only legitimate son died at age three.
He was a prominent patron of art and the theater.
He was the main financial backer of Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the globe.
Although Elizabeth consistently refused to marry him, she was furious at his marriage to Knollys, calling her a 'she-wolf' and him a 'traitor.'

Credit: C. Fishel

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