Elizabeth and Robert Dudley had close relationships
Queen Elizabeth I had no children and never got married. During her entire life, she declined all the proposals of King Philip II of Spain, King Eric XIV of Sweden, Archduke Charles of Austria, Henry, Duke of Anjou, as well as his brother Francis, Duke of Anjou.
Nonetheless, there is a clear indication that Elizabeth was in love with Robert Dudley, a childhood friend. They were engaged romantically. When she was Princess Elizabeth, Dudley attended classes with her and learned math, riding, and dance. Both of them also shared the experience of being imprisoned in the Tower of London during the rule of her sister Mary I as suspected traitors. Elizabeth seriously considered marriage to Dudley after his wife passed away in September 1560. Four years later, she decided to appoint him to be Earl of Leicester. Then in 1578, Dudley remarried after a lot of speculation. It is said that Elizabeth maintained a lifelong resentment toward Lettice Knollys, his wife.
Robert Dudley must be on Queen Elizabeth I's mind all the time because until the day she passed away on March 24, 1603, she still kept his final letter in a box and had it placed beside her bed.
