第05期-达恩利和里奇奥(1)

Chapter 3 Darnley and Riccio

At first I wanted to marry the son of the King of Spain, Don Carlos. But he was a Catholic, of course, and my Scots lords did not like that.

It was difficult for me, James. I wanted to please myself. I wanted to please my friends and family in France and to please my people, too.

And then there was the Queen of England. At first I wanted very much to be friends with Elizabeth.

We wrote many letters, and talked about a meeting—a meeting between two sister Queens. Elizabeth wrote to me at this time. Our two countries need to be friends.

You need a husband, I need a friend. Why not marry my friend Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester?

He is a tall, strong man. I think he could be a good husband for you.

I was very angry about this letter. There were a lot of sto-ries about Elizabeth and Robert Dudley.

They were good friends—he often danced and sang and talked with her. Sometimes, people said, he stayed in her room all night.

Dudley had a wife, but one day she died very suddenly. It was an accident—she fell down the stairs, they say.