Queen Elizabeth I’s Suitors & Lovers

Over the years, Elizabeth the first's love life has been the inspiration for countless books, novels, plays, and films. Whether it's Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, or the Duke of Anjou, the question of ‘did they or didn’t they?’ still hovers like a nosy court jester. Despite the lack of conclusive proof, rumors about Elizabeth's romantic escapades—real or imagined—were the hot gossip of her time.
Some of her critics went so far as to call her the ‘whore’ of Europe, which is quite the opposite of her famous title, the Virgin Queen. The juicy chatter didn’t stop there. People of the era believed women had ‘insatiable’ INTIMACY appetites, and Elizabeth’s choice to remain single only added fuel to the fire of speculation.