Arbella Stuart

Arbella Stuart

• Interesting Facts, Timeline and information about Arbella Stuart in Elizabethan Times

• Short Biography about the life of Arbella Stuart - Claimant to the throne of Queen Elizabeth I

• Facts, Timeline and History of Arbella Stuart

• Famous Elizabethans

• Facts, Timeline and Brief History of Arbella Stuart

Elizabethan Times

Elizabethan Era Index

Arbella Stuart
( aka Arabella Stuart / Stewart )

Famous Elizabethans - Major Figures & People during Elizabethan Times

Short Biography of the life of Arbella Stuart - Claimant to the throne of Queen Elizabeth I
The following biography information provides basic facts about the life Arbella Stuart:

• Nationality - English

• Lifespan - 1575 - 1615

• Married: Arbella Stuart married William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, grandson of Lady Catherine Grey, a younger sister of Lady Jane Grey

• Died: Arbella Stuart died on September 27 1615 in the Tower of London

• Family connections of Arbella Stuart - A major claimant to the throne of England having both Tudor and Stuart bloodlines. Granddaughter of Bess of Hardwick.

• Education - Well educated at home - fluent in French, Spanish and Italian

• Religion - Catholic

• Famous as : The Queen that never was - England's lost Queen

• Character of Arbella Stuart : Courageous, Wilful and tragic

Short Biography, Timeline, Facts & History about the life of Arbella Stuart - Claimant to the throne of Queen Elizabeth I
The following are additional facts about the bio, timeline, life and history of Arbella Stuart:

• 1574: Elizabeth Cavendish, the daughter of Bess of Hardwick, married Charles Stuart, Earl of Lennox. Charles Stuart was the brother of Lord Darnley the late husband of Mary Queen of Scots, who had both Royal Tudor and Stuart blood in his veins

• 1575: Elizabeth Cavendish the Countess of Lennox, gave birth to their daughter - Arbella Stuart who was a major claimant to the throne of England

• 1576: Charles Stuart, father of Arbella Stuart died and her mother, due to financial reasons, was forced to live with Bess of Hardwick

• 1581: Elizabeth Cavendish, mother of Arbella Stuart died

• 1581: Arbella Stuart was then raised by her grandmother Bess of Hardwick. Queen Elizabeth I had indicated that Arbella might be named her heir and Bess raised Arbella strictly believing that her granddaughter was destined to become the next Queen of England. Bess of Hardwick had engineered the marriage of her daughter Elizabeth Cavendish to Charles Stuart. Bess knew that any children of the marriage would have a strong claim to the English throne. Arbella Stuart was a pawn in her grandmother's ambitious plans even before she was born

• Arbella Stuart lived at Chatsworth House and then Harwick Hall under the strict supervision of her calculating grandmother. Arbella was treated as royalty by the servants who addressed her as 'Your Highness'

• 1583: Bess was ambitious and had arranged the betrothal of Arbella Sturat to Lord Denbigh, the two year old son of the Earl of Leicester and Lettice Knollys. The Queen was furious at this secret alliance but Lord Denbigh died the following year

• Bess of Hardwick became the richest woman in England, second only to Queen Elizabeth. She was at first kind to Arbella but then treated her in a cruel fashion

• The relationship between Bess of Hardwick and and her granddaughter Arbella Stuart completely deteriorated. Arbella was so restricted by Bess of Hardwick that she felt like a prisoner

• 1587: Arbella was invited to spend time at the court of Elizabeth I - a welcome relief for Arbella

• 1592: A marriage of Arbella to Raunutio Farnese, a son of the Duke of Parma, was discussed, but the Duke of Parma died shortly after, leaving all plans of marriage for Arbella shattered once again

• 1602: Arbella longed for marriage and began to plot her own marriage to to Edward Seymour, the eldest grandson of the Earl of Hertford and Catherine Grey who was also a claimnent to the English throne. Arbella began to plot her escape from Bess and Hardwick Hall

• 1603: Arbella's escape and marriage plans failed. Queen Elizabeth ordered that Arbella was to be sent away from Bess to live under the protection of the Earl of Kent

• 1603: Queen Elizabeth I died and James of Scotland was made King James I of England. Arbella Stuart really had stronger rights to the English throne than James, as she had been born in England

• There were various plots to replace the Protestant King James with Catholic Arbella. Arbella was seen as a real threat to the security of James and banished from court

• 1608: Arbella Stuart returned to court and was reconciled with King James

• 1610 June 22: Arbella Stuart entered a secret marriage at Greenwich with with William Seymour, the younger brother of the Edward Seymour she had tried to marry in 1602

• There was panic at court due to the marriage. Arbella nd her new husband were direct descendents of the Tudor line and both of the sisters of Henry VIII. Their marriage was seen as a real threat to King James

• Arbella and her new husband were forced to separate and were imprisoned by King James

• Arbella was imprisoned in Sir Thomas Perry's house in Lambeth

• William Seymour was imprisoned in the Tower of London

• Both Arbella and William plotted their escapes. Arbella, dressed as a man. They planned to meet in Lee in Kent and sail to France together. Bothe their escape plans were successful but Arbella reached their rendezvous in Lee before William and was forced to set sail without her husband. William was also successful in his escape and sailed to France in a separate ship

• William Seymore reached the sanctity of Ostend in France but his wife Arbella was captured by the King's men at Calais

• Arbella was taken to London and imprisoned in the Tower of London

• She attempted to escape but the plot failed and Arbella began to lose her mind and reason

• 1615 September 27: Arbella Stuart died at the Tower of London, London, England. She had starved herself to death

• 1615 September 28: Arbella Stuart was buried in Westminster Abbey, London, England

Famous Elizabethans - Arbella Stuart - Claimant to the throne of Queen Elizabeth I
Some interesting facts and biography information about the History, Timeline, Life & Times of Arbella Stuart. Additional details, facts, history and information about the famous Elizabethans and events in Elizabethan Times can be accessed via the Elizabethan Era Sitemap.