Kenilworth Castle

I finally got to Kenilworth Castle at the weekend. I have been many times before but not since the Elizabethan garden and Leicester's gatehouse have been rebuilt and reopened. Whilst I did not specifically learn anything new, I did find the whole experience very good for refreshing my knowledge and it did give me a fresh perspective on the relationship between Dudley and Elizabeth.

I went with family including my brother and his German girlfriend. She is interested in history but her knowledge comes almost exclusively from TV and Film, which is interesting given the content of some of our discussions today. I had to debate with her the likelihood of Elizabeth and Dudley having an very active sexual relationship. She thinks it must have been, partly because they were human like the rest of us and could not have been in love without consummated their relationship, but primarily because she has seen the two Elizabeth films courtesy of Hollywood. Personally I do not know if they ever consummated their love, I think it would have been very difficult for them to do so without being found out and I am not aware of any evidence that suggests they did. It would also have been very awkward for Elizabeth to court foreign marriage proposals if she was not the virgin she claimed to be.

The garden was a revelation. I had not seen it on previous visits. The range of plants, the layout, the sensual "riot" and the allegorical figures were all very powerful even if I struggled to understand it all. Of course the very end of summer is not the best time to see the garden but it was still impressive nonetheless.

All in all, I felt that the trip really helped to solidify the sense of how important the relationship was between Elizabeth and Dudley. It gave a good sense of what certain aspects of court life would have been like and gave a sneak view of Dudley's character. Certainly worth a visit for anyone studying Elizabeth.