In the summer of 1575, Robert Dudley hosted 19 spectacular days of entertainment for Elizabeth I, including lavish new apartments for the queen, a beautifully manicured private garden, plays, hunting and pageantry.   

It was all in an ostentatious bid to win Elizabeth’s hand in marriage, but as she rode off at the end of her visit, Dudley was left empty-handed.   

In this episode, Amy Matthews chats with Head Curator of Properties Jeremy Ashbee and Dr Elizabeth Goldring about this royal ‘will-they, won’t they’ and the complex reasons that meant Elizabeth I never chose to share her power with a husband. 

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