4 September 1588 – Death of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester

On the 4th September 1588, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester died at his lodge at Cornbury, near Woodstock in Oxfordshire.

He had been ill for some time with a recurring stomach ailment and so had decided to travel to Buxton to take the waters. His journey had started on the 26th August and on the 28th August, at the home of Lady Norreys at Rycote, he wrote his final letter to his queen and childhood friend, Elizabeth I; a letter she kept beside her bed for the rest of her life.

Dudley never made it to Buxton for he was taken seriously ill at Cornbury and died there.

You can read more about his death and the letter he wrote to Elizabeth in my article “The Death of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester”.

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