ARBELLA STUART
The Girl Who Could Have Been Queen.
Arbella Stuart was the great~great~grandaughter of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.
This made Arbella a possible claimant to the English throne – and a pawn in the game of thrones that was Elizabethan England.
However, Arbella’s close proximity to the throne would end in her death while imprisoned in the Tower of London, on 25th September 1615, aged 39 or 40.
Arbella was born in 1575, the only child of Charles Stuart Earl of Lennox, and Elizabeth Cavendish.
Her maternal Grandmother, was the formidable Elizabeth Talbot Countess of Shrewsbury – better known as Bess of Hardwick.
Arbella’s uncle was Henry Stuart Lord Darnley, the roguish second husband of Mary Queen of Scots.
This also made Arbella, the niece to Mary Queen of Scots.
Arbella was baptized in the village church at Edensor, on her grandmother’s Chatsworth estate.
Her father Charles, died in 1576 when she was still a baby.
For financial reasons, Elizabeth had no other option but to take baby Arbella, and live with her formidable mother, Bess of Hardwick.
When her mother died in 1572, the 7 year old Arbella, became the official ward of her grandmother.
During most of her childhood, she lived in the protective isolation of Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.
Bess of Hardwick, was one of the richest women in England, second only to Queen Elizabeth, herself.
Bess, was at first kind to her granddaughter, but their relationship eventually deteriorated.
Arbella felt so restricted by Bess, that she felt like a prisoner.
Queen Elizabeth I was Arbella’s 2x cousin, and Arbella was considered a good candidate to take the throne after Elizabeth’s death.
Bess brought Arbella up under the belief that her grand-daughter, was destined to become the next Queen of England.
Arbella was treated like royalty by Bess’ servants who were instructed to address her as ‘Your Highness’.
Bess was also in charge of holding Arbella’s aunt, Mary Queen of Scots.
Queen Mary was another contender to the English throne, and was separated from her baby son, James.
Mary got to spend a great deal of time with little Arbella, and they both became extremely fond of each other.
During the summer of 1587, 12 year old Arbella, was in London.
She was invited to court, and dined with Queen Elizabeth on several occasions.
Arbella was well liked, and considered a bright vivacious, if somewhat willful, young girl.
However, in the closing months of Elizabeth’s reign, Arbella incurred the Queen’s displeasure….
Reports had reached Queen Elizabeth that Arbella intended to marry Edward Seymour, a member of the powerful Seymour family.
Arbella denied having any intention of marrying anybody – without first seeking the Queen’s permission.
The Queen sent Arbella back to Hardwick, and to her Grandmother, where she could be watched.
Bess watched Arbella like a hawk, and monitored her closely.
The situation between Arbella and her Grandmother, became so fraught, that Arbella refused to eat until she was removed from Hardwick – and her grandmother’s stifling care.
The unhappy Arbella, wrote many mad and incoherent letters to the Queen, asking for her help and guidance.
It was concluded, that Arbella was suffering from some form of insanity, and a danger to herself.
The Queen, eventually relented, and sent Arbella to West Park, in Bedfordshire, the house of the Earl of Kent.
Arbella’s health, not surprisingly, started to improve once she was removed from her grandmother’s household.
In 1603, after James succeeded Queen Elizabeth to England’s throne, he initially treated Arbella with kindness.
Arbella was invited back to court, and experienced genuine affection for the first time from her cousin King James’ family.
Arbella and James’ wife Queen Anne of Denmark, became good friends.
Arbella was to grow very fond of James and Anne’s young son, Prince Henry.
Due to her place in the line of succession, King James was in no hurry to make arrangements for Arbella to marry.
In 1610, then fourth in line to the throne, the 35 year old Arbella planned to marry William Seymour – an action which resulted in Bess cutting Arbella from her will.
William Seymour also had a claim to the throne…..
William was the grandson of Lady Catherine Grey – the granddaughter of Mary Tudor.
Mary Tudor was the younger sister of King Henry VIII and Margaret Tudor – Arbella’s great-great grandmother!
Arbella and William at first denied that any arrangement existed between them.
William declared that he would never marry Arbella, without the king’s consent.
However, on 22nd June 1610 at Greenwich Palace, Arbella and William, secretly married.
King James saw the marriage as a threat to his crown, and reacted by imprisoning them both.
Arbella was taken to Sir Thomas Perry’s house in Lambeth, and Seymour was sent to the Tower of London.
Some of Arbella’s letters she wrote during her imprisonment still survive.
These include letters to both the king, and her husband.
When King James learned Arbella was writing letters to her husband, he ordered Arbella to be transferred into the custody of William James, Bishop of Durham.
Arbella claimed to be ill, so her departure for Durham was delayed.
Arbella and William used the delay, to plan their escape…..
Arbella dressed as a man, escaped to Lee in Kent.
William escaped from the Tower, but wasn’t able to meet Arbella in time.
By the time he arrived at Lee, Arbella had already left on a ship for France.
William jumped on the next ship to Flanders, and followed her.
However, King James was hot on Arbella’s trail….her ship was overtaken by King James’ men, just before it reached Calais in France.
Arbella was returned to England, and imprisoned in the Queen’s House, in the Tower of London.
In 1614, Arbella fell ill in the tower.
It was suspected that she was faking an illness, either to escape, or to evoke sympathy.
However, she refused both food and medical attention.
It was said by some, that Arbella was delusional, believing William was coming to rescue her.
Arbella never saw her husband again.
She died in the Tower on 25th September 1615, from illnesses exacerbated by her refusal to eat.
A post-mortem was carried out to rule out poisoning.
It found that she had slowly starved herself to death.
Arbella was buried in Westminster Abbey, on 29th September 1615.
In the nineteenth century, during a search for the tomb of James I, Arbella’s lead coffin was found in the vault of her aunt Mary, Queen of Scots – placed directly on top of the Scots queen……
