Robert Dudley is a main character in the third season of Reign. He is portrayed by Charlie Carrick.
He is the childhood friend and first love of Elizabeth I, and was the husband of Amy Dudley. Robert had known Elizabeth since they were children and despite wanting to move on from his past with her, Elizabeth used her power to keep him close to her. They carried out a brief, but love-filled affair, which eventually ended as neither were willing to make the sacrifice necessary to be together.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
On June 24, 1532 he was born to his parents and grew up close to Elizabeth.
In the Series[]
Season Three[]
In Three Queens, Two Tigers, Robert yet again asks Elizabeth to release him from the service as they can never be together. She refuses, claiming she needs him around.
In Betrothed, as Elizabeth's illicit collusion with Catherine de' Medici has placed England in the middle of an international crisis, Robert is nominated by his fellow privy council member for English ambassador to France in order to maintain peaceful relations. However, unbeknown to either Robert or Elizabeth, Robert's wife Amy slept with the man to nominate him so that Robert would be away from Elizabeth.
Later, Elizabeth and Robert are fooling around in a prison cell and discussing the nomination, which Elizabeth views as a ploy to separate them. She promises to raise Robert's station and keep him at court, even if she has to "take out every last one of them".
At the next privy council meeting, Elizabeth is yet again confronted with the nomination. In a fit of panic, she belittled him by dubbing him inexperienced and incapable of completing "such essential peacekeeping mission". This, unsurprisingly, does not go over well with Robert.
He and Elizabeth argue in the same cell and the topic of Robert's wife comes up repeatedly, with Elizabeth calling her the "greatest obstacle" that is keeping them from being together.
In The Price, Robert tries to send his wife away from English Court.
In Fight or Flight, Robert returns to Elizabeth to confront her about the job she gave his wife. Elizabeth vows never to marry if she can't have Dudley and they end up sleeping together. Again. He returns to his chambers to find Amy there alone. He suggests they do not discuss Elizabeth after Amy tries to pick an fight about her
A doctor diagnoses Amy with melancholia and blames it on the fact she and Roberts aren't having sex. She seduces the doctor so he'll diagnose Amy with a mass instead so that Dudley's affections will return to her. His course of treatment involves a sojourn in Cornwall with a physician there, taking Dudley away from Elizabeth.
Dudley breaks the news to Elizabeth that he must go to Cornwall with his wife, which means their dalliance must end. Elizabeth believes Amy's illness is fate's way of telling them they can be together, but Amy has to die first. Elizabeth bought up how Gideon Blackburn used her, made her care for him.
But he couldn't make her fall in love with him, because she was in love with Robert Dudley. Which he reported back to her half-sister, Mary. Gideon was Mary Tudor's eyes and ears, sent to inform on Elizabeth, the greatest threat to her crown. So she ripped Robert from his cell and Elizabeth's side.
In Wedlock, Dudley finds Amy and tells her that he's seeking a divorce and he'll continue making sure she has the best care, but he cannot stay married to her any longer. Amy warns Robert if he tries to divorce her, she will tell the world that Elizabeth is with child, and she will lose her throne. Betting they'll find a way to take her head, just like her mother. in return, Robert threatens to kill his wife and locks her away.
Elizabeth and Dudley discuss his wife, Amy, and what they might do about her. They agree to lock her away in an insane asylum which will give him grounds for divorce before she's able to expose Elizabeth's pregnancy. Amy jumps from the upper balcony before either of them have a chance to enact their plan. William tells Elizabeth that it looks as if Amy and Dudley struggled before she died, which makes him look like a murderer.
Elizabeth and Dudley meet to discuss Amy's death and how they can move forward after it. They both discover that Amy has killed herself so that they will pay the price.
In Bruises That Lie, Elizabeth tells Robert their baby died in a forced miscarriage. Someone did this to her, out of hate. Someone emboldened, knowing the entire country felt the same way. She changes the subject, to how William Ceci told her the tribunal ended in a deadlock, and that he's free. There was enough doubt that they didn't put him on trial, but it's not quite the same as being innocent. But there was doubt about Amy's odd behavior. Others saw it. He is free but free to be with Elizabeth. The people still hate them. They blame Robert for tarnishing her reputation. Linking her to Amy's death. Robert insisted they have to make them forget it, and she can't do that with him by her side. Elizabeth cries Amy is dead, their baby is gone, and it is a fact she will grieve for the rest of her life. Robert promises he will always love her always.
In Strange Bedfellow, Mary Stuart and Robert are courting each other in France. Mary shoots an arrow, directly in the middle of her target. Robert tells her it is impressive, asking where she learns to shoot like that. Mary tells him, her late husband. He thought it was a skill that would serve her well. She adds it's funny, the two of them on a date. Both knowing they've already had their one true love. But still, he does as his queen commands. Robert says he realizes that she's given him something that he needed following his wife's death an fresh start.
In Spiders In a Jar, Robert tells Elizabeth, how sorry he is over Lola's subsequent betrayal and beheading. Knowing she'd grown very fond of her. Elizabeth says she let her get close because she was lonely. She reminds him it's been months since his death, and since the assassination attempt on her life, the nation's sympathies will be with her. Robert eventually reveals his has re-married, Lettice Knollys which breaks Elizabeth's heart as Robert didn't wait for her.
Personality[]
Similarly to Elizabeth, Robert is a man driven by passion and impulse, which can be very gratifying, but can also be detrimental. Robert lets his emotions spiral out of control multiple times in the course of the show, and he especially takes them out on his wife, which leads to their marital discord and overall hostility.
Physical Appearance[]
Robert is a young man who appeara to be in his late twenties. He has dark, slightly curly hair and grey eyes.
Relationships[]
Romantic[]
Amy Dudley[]
Amy was Robert's wife, though he saw her more as the reason why he and Elizabeth could never be together. Their marriage was completely void of any love, passion, or desire, and while Amy tried to play the part of a dutiful wife, she often resorted to manipulative tactics to keep Robert from "writhing in Elizabeth's bed". He would resort to physical violance if she even dared speak badly about Elizabeth. They were completely ill-suited and both brought out the worst in each other.
Elizabeth I[]
Elizabeth and Robert had shared years of rich history prior to Elizabeth becoming queen and being faced with the immense pressure to find a husband and bear an heir. When we first met the couple in Three Queens, Two Tigers, they pined for each other, lamenting the fact that they can never be together.
Elizabeth used her power and influence to further Robert's, but only when it suited her own agenda. When Robert was nominated for French Ambassador, Elizabeth humiliated him in front of the entire privy council by downplaying his skills in order to prevent him from leaving her for France. Robert wasn't pleased, but went along with it anyway.
Soon after inviting Robert to her bed again, Elizabeth found out she was pregnant. For an unmarried queen, that spelled disaster. Elizabeth told Robert and he was even ready to leave Amy for her, but Amy swiftly put two and two together and committed suicide in their residence after Robert had dismissed all the servants and told her about it.
By doing so, Amy ruined any chance of them being together - Robert was now suspected for murdering his wife and scheduled to go on trial, and Elizabeth wasn't having much success in the marriage market either. Robert's name was eventually cleared, but even then, he was subjected to harrassment by the townsfolk who believed him guilty of murdering his wife.
In an attempt to keep him safe, as well as to close the succession deal with Mary, Elizabeth sent him to court her. When Gideon Blackburn uncovered that the succession deal was actually a ploy fabricated by the Vatican against both queens and Robert took the credit for it, he was once again revered in the eyes of the privy council and Elizabeth, but she was so set against being together that by the time she was finally ready in Spiders in a Jar, he had remarried.
Mary Stuart[]
Mary was very briefly Robert's fiancée. The idea behind their pairing was that Elizabeth would name Mary as her successor to the English throne, if she could choose Mary's new husband. Since Robert was no longer safe from the English people and by marrying down, Mary would lose the support of several key allies, Elizabeth thought she could kill two birds with one stone.
Their short-lived courtship ended once the succession deal was called off.
Appearances[]
| Season Three | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Appearance Status | ||
| Three Queens, Two Tigers | Appears | ||
| Betrothed | Appears | ||
| Extreme Measures | Absent | ||
| The Price | Appears | ||
| In a Clearing | Credit Only | ||
| Fight or Flight | Appears | ||
| The Hound and the Hare | Credit Only | ||
| Our Undoing | Appears | ||
| Wedlock | Appears | ||
| Bruises That Lie | Appears | ||
| Succession | Mentioned | ||
| No Way Out | Appears | ||
| Strange Bedfellows | Appears | ||
| To The Death | Appears | ||
| Safe Passage | Credit Only | ||
| Clans | Credit Only | ||
| Intruders | Mentioned | ||
| Spiders in a Jar | Appears | ||
| Season Four | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Appearance Status | ||
| With Friends Like These | Absent | ||
| A Grain of Deception | Absent | ||
| Leaps of Faith | Absent | ||
| Playing with Fire | Absent | ||
| Highland Games | Absent | ||
| Love & Death | Absent | ||
| Hanging Swords | Absent | ||
| Uncharted Waters | Absent | ||
| Pulling Strings | Absent | ||
| A Better Man | Mentioned | ||
| Dead of Night | Absent | ||
| The Shakedown | Mentioned | ||
| Coup de Grace | Absent | ||
| A Bride. A Box. A Body. | Absent | ||
| Blood in the Water | Absent | ||
| All It Cost Her | Absent | ||
Name[]
Robert is a masculine name of German origin. It means famed and bright/shining. It has been an all-time favorite boys' name since the Middle Ages.
Trivia[]
- Robert was under suspicion that he murdered his wife by tossing her over the balcony to her room.
- He is believed to have done this so he could be with Elizabeth because he learned of her pregnancy.
See Also[]