For the first few years of their marriage, they bounced from home to home, either living at court or with one of their parents at their estates. They were living at the Somerset House in
In December 1559, Amy moved into Cumnor Place in Oxfordshire (then Berkshire), which was rented by a friend of the Dudleys. She lived quite comfortably there and managed a household of about ten servants, regularly ordered dresses, and received many gifts from her husband.
SO...There you have the story of Amy Robsart (or Dudley) - Not a very happy one, as she lived quite a lonely life while her beloved husband was at court, falling in love with the Queen. But I think her story is interesting, and many people don't know much about her. I've already discussed the possible reasons for her death in an earlier post - Some say she was murdered by Robert (poison), others say Elizabeth hired assassins to kill her so she could marry Robert, and then of course there is the simple "it was an accidental fall" theory. Whichever way you bend, it remains a mystery to historians. I've already given my opinion, which is that she simply fell, or that she was suffering depression and committed suicide by throwing herself down the stairs. I don't believe Robert killed her, seeing how upset he was after her death, and I also don't believe Elizabeth arranged her death, because she didn't marry Robert any way!
However...After listening to this podcast by historian, Chris Skidmore, I'm still a little stumped! He makes some good points about how this really could have been a murder! Take a listen to this and see what you think...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8527000/8527850.stm