For
decades during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, two men circled around the
queen, competing for influence and power, vying with each other, plotting
against each other, and often working with each other in common cause.
William
Cecil, Lord Burghley (1520-1598), was Elizabeth’s chief advisor, served in
multiple high offices including Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer,
member of Parliament, leader of the Privy Council. and diplomat. Robert
Dudley, Earl of Leicester (1532-1588), had known Elizabeth since they were
children, was a suitor for her hand in marriage, a rumored lover of the queen,
leader of the English army during the Dutch revolt against the Spanish in
1586-87, and known to be Elizabeth’s favorite.
The
two men vied for influence and power. They used every asset at their disposal.
Including
gardens.
As
historian Trea Martyn explains, in Queen
Elizabeth in the Garden: A Story of Love, Rivalry, and Spectacular Gardens,
the queen loved gardens. She had spent much time in the garden growing up at
Hatfield House, and she had even been given permission to walk in the garden
when her sister Mary imprisoned her in the Tower of London. And gardens, and
the trees, plants, and flowers they contained, had a very different meaning in
Elizabethan England than they do today. The names of plants and flowers could
hold double meanings (William Shakespeare knew that). Gardens were places of
rest and repose, but they could also be places where a romantic, and often
dramatic, rendezvous could unfold.
And
if Elizabeth loved gardens, then Cecil and Dudley would attempt to outdo each other
to give her the most spectacular and memorable experience.
William Cecil |
Dudley’s
estate (given to him by Elizabeth) was Kenilworth Castle in
Warwickshire; the story of what Dudley and Elizabeth was popularized (and
somewhat embroidered) by Sir Walter Scott in his novel Kenilworth.
Cecil’s estate was Theobalds
in Hertfordshire.
It’s
difficult to grasp what the two men achieved with their gardens, partially because
of what they were able to do. Dudley added a lake and staged an elaborate
pageant that included mermaids; Cecil did a total makeover of his gardens with
the aim of pleasing the queen at every turn.
Robert Dudley |
These
aren’t the only gardens that feature in Elizabeth’s story (and Martyn’s book),
but they are the most prominent, and Martyn goes into incredible detail to
describe them. In the process, she provides an unusual look at Elizabethan power
politics (and romance) played out against the backdrop of international
conflict, religion still established itself in England, and power politics
among the courtiers.
Today,
Theobalds exists as a park; the palace was destroyed during the civil war in
the 1640s. Kenilworth, too, fell victim to the same civil war; the
Parliamentarians blew up the northern wall to disable the castle’s military
use; in the process, they destroyed the gardens. The famous lake was drained
and turned over to soldiers for farming.
Queen Elizabeth in the Garden is a fascinating
account of a familiar period, and yet told with an unusual angle that adds
color and detail not previously recognized.
Top photograph: a recreation of the overall plan of Kenilworth Castle.
Bottom photograph: What the palace at Theobalds looked like.
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