Robsart, Amy

Robsart, Amy (rob'särt) [key], 1532–60, maiden name of the wife of Robert Dudley, later earl of Leicester, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I of England. When Lady Dudley was found dead at the foot of a staircase in Cumnor Hall, Berkshire, rumor had it that her husband had arranged her murder so that he might be free to wed the queen. An investigating jury returned a verdict of accidental death, but posterity has kept open the question of Leicester's involvement. A version of the story appears in Scott's novel Kenilworth.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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