F.A.Q.

27. Did Queen Elizabeth I have secret children?


No, Queen Elizabeth I did not have secret children. While it was rumoured during her lifetime that she had given birth to a number of secret children, and in the 1580s a young man calling himself Arthur Dudley claimed to be the Queen's son when he was captured in Spain, these rumours were spead by gossips and the Queen's enemies.

The idea makes for a good story, and it has been told in novels, conspiracy theory books, and in the recent film Anonymous, but it has no foundation in fact.