Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
12 of 66 portraits of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
after Christoffel van Sichem (Voschem)
line engraving, after 1588
7 1/2 in. x 4 5/8 in. (191 mm x 119 mm) plate size; 9 5/8 in. x 6 in. (243 mm x 152 mm) paper size
Purchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966
Reference Collection
NPG D21136
Sitterback to top
- Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (1532 or 1533-1588), Courtier and magnate; favourite of Elizabeth I. Sitter associated with 66 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Christoffel van Sichem (Voschem) (circa 1546-1624), Engraver, etcher, woodcutter, printer and publisher. Artist or producer associated with 12 portraits.
Events of 1588back to top
Current affairs
The Spanish Armada sets sail for England from Lisbon but after a running battle up the Channel is met by English fire ships off Calais and destroyed. The remainder of the fleet is forced to flee. A huge thanksgiving service is held at St Paul's Cathedral to celebrate the victory.Death of Queen Elizabeth I's favourite Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
Art and science
The scientist and colonist Thomas Harriot publishes A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia, in which he claims that tobacco has medicinal properties.Publication of William Morgan's Welsh translation of the Bible.
The playwright Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy is performed for the first time.
International
Henry III of France flees Paris after the militant catholic Henry, Duke of Guise is welcomed into the city. The King is forced to decree an end to all toleration of the Huguenots (French Protestants) and to annul the Protestant Henry of Navarre's right to the throne. The Duke of Guise is later assassinated on the orders of the King.Abbas I became Shah of Persia. He will rule the Persian Empire until his death in 1629.
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