April 12 - The Earl of Oxford, Elizabeth I's love child?

Unravelling the Enigma of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
Delve into the captivating life of Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, born on April 12th, 1550, during the reign of King Edward VI.
From his upbringing to his controversial actions, explore the multifaceted persona of this Tudor courtier and poet. Witness the intrigue surrounding his marriages, military endeavours, and entanglements with the royal court.
Uncover the theories and controversies surrounding his potential authorship of Shakespearean works, including the compelling evidence for and against, and explore the idea that he was Elizabeth I's illegitimate son.

Further reading on Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford:
“Oxford: Son of Queen Elizabeth I” by Paul Streitz

[ig]

As Elizabeth wrote in her letter to the Lord protector Edward Seymour on 28 January 1549: "Master Tyrwhit and others have told me that there goeth rumors abroad which be greatly both against mine honor and honesty, which above all other things I esteem, which be these: that I am in the Tower and with child by my lord admiral. My lord, these are shameful slanders, for the which, besides the great desire I have to see the king’s majesty, I shall most heartily desire your lordship that I may come to the court after your first determination, that I may show myself there as I am."

[MsKK]

He certainly looks like Elizabeth.... but they seemed to all be kin to each other.

[tomditto]

At the age of 5, Edward de Vere was lodged with Thomas Smith, one of the most erudite scholars in England, and stayed under Smith's tutelage until he was 12 years old. It was at this point in time that William Cecil took over his education. Earlier, while Smith was abroad, de Vere was sent off to university. At the time he was all of seven years old. Apparently de Vere was an intellectual prodigy.
It may well be that he was the cad described here, but that does not determine his creative intellect. Artists are notorious for being undisciplined. One must look at de Vere's books to get a picture of why Oxfordians have a theory. He was fluent in Latin, Greek, French and Italian. We could attribute this to his years with Thomas Smith as well as his years under Cecil's tutors, one of whom translated Ovid's Metamorphosis from Latin into English. This tutor, Arthur Golding, never wrote a single book that remotely looks like the translation attributed to him, whereas the rhyming scheme in this English translation shows up in de Vere's poetry. Of course, Ovid's poems were central to most of Shakespeare's works, notably the first work published with the name William Shakespeare in 1593, Venus and Adonis. Did the 16 year old Edward de Vere write the translation but demur on the credit? Was this typical of his public face, being a concealed poet?
Gloves do appear in Shakespeare's canon, but did you know that Edward de Vere introduced Italian gloves into the Elizabethan Court? Gloves were one of his infamous affectations. In his case, they were not only magnificently embroidered. They were also perfumed. The courtiers took to the style, and Elizabeth was very fond of the gloves de Vere gave to her as a gift when he returned from Italy.
Indeed, it is the degree to which the canon takes place in Italy and de Vere's comprehensive knowledge of Italy and the Italian Renaissance that made him a focus of study. Italy is far from Stratford on Avon, but Italy was very close to the heart of Edward de Vere. He knew much about it and details in the plays and poems are quite remarkable for their accuracy.
But was he Elizabeth's "love child" by Thomas Seymour? The evidence is that Seymour made illicit advances on the Princess Elizabeth. She was removed to another wardship for her safety. However, once outside the court she was not seen for nine months, skipping weddings and funerals which she should have attended. This suggests she had something to hide. It could be she was pregnant and gave birth in secret. Even so, there is no way to know that such a "love child" was Edward de Vere. It could have been a girl or another boy, and it might not have lived to maturity either.

[KLPTheFirst]

My mum always told us her family the De Vere Hunt’s were related to the man who could have been Shakespeare. Our family home is named Curragh Chase in Bendigo, Australia after the house in Ireland where the De Vere Baron’s lived with links to the Earl’s of Oxford through marriage I think. We are just starting to learn about the family history to see what we discover. Thanks for the interesting knowledge.

[CindersVale]

Elizabeth's enemies would have had spies in her household/palaces and there is no way she could have hidden a pregnancy for nine months, much less birth and recovery. How would her ladies have gotten rid of soiled linens, placenta, cloths without anyone noticing or wondering? She had too many eyes watching her every move constantly.

[peachygal]

If Elizabeth had a child by Seymour, it was no love child, it was rape.

[mariahunter]

Cecil must have known what de Vere was like having been in charge of him and I can't imagine why he had his daughter marry this putz.

[avlasting]

Could you look into the life of Elizabeth Trentham, EdV's 2nd wife...?

[Calla-slgd]

I would imagine that every man, boy and child wanted to be the author of Shakespeare's works ... they were said to have been popular with the masses when performed. I have a favorite Shakespeare quote: He that hath the steerage of my course, direct my sail (from Romeo and Juliet). Happy Easter, everyone!

[guruuDev]

Devere was also apparently fixated on gloves. He brought perfumed gloves back with him from Italy and gifted them to people at court including the queen. These scented gloves became an enduring fashion in the English Court. Stratford Shakspur's father was a city councilor and wool merchant. The monument to him attests to this, showing him with City mascot leopards and a bag o wool. Was he also a glovemaker?

[sarosch]

A great irony of the authorship movement is that Henry Clay Folger, founder of that bastion of Stratfordian tradition in Washington, D.C., the Folger Shakespeare Library, was an Oxfordian sympathizer. Folger took such keen interest in J. T. Looney’s 1920 identification of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford as “Shakespeare” that, five years later in 1925, he bought the Geneva Bible the earl had purchased in 1570 at age nineteen. It’s now kept locked in a vault and not many are allowed to see it & the handwritten notes and underlining made by de Vere to use in his plays.

[Santu]

The question "Elizabeth I's love child?" is addressed from 8.15min- 9.32min. Thank you for the links in the description.

[martincarden]

Dear Claire, this is the first time I have commented on any of your many talks in this series, so let's start with a VERY big thankyou from me for your excellent videos (I plan on buying your book 'this day in Tudor history' very soon). I watched them all, day by day, until work intervened after about the first 4 months, but happily have just retired so have a LOT of catching up to do, including buying your book, perhaps books even? I find your talks and style very entertaining (btw I love the intervening cats, dogs, quizzes with hubby and, of course, those bells).More than this, as an academic myself (albeit a bioscientist with amateur history interests) I really value that you do your homework and find your research is generally excellent. If I could afford it I would love to come on one of your 'Anne Boleyn' tours next time you manage to do one including the Tower, Penshurst, Hever etc.
Another book I need to purchase is Alan Nelson's 'Monstrous adversary' that you refer to here because everything I have read from/about it suggests it is the best-researched biography of Edward de Vere, bar none.
HOWEVER it is very very clear that Alan Nelson has an axe to grind and loathes this man (his book is littered with derogatory and belittling language whenever he refers to de Vere). Perhaps because, like you, his colours are nailed so firmly to the mast of the man from Stratford upon Avon.
Notwithstanding, a huge number of contemporary authors (1580's-90's) ALL describe de Vere as noble and accomplished, especially in poetry and the stage. Much of the 'bad press' comes from the denunciations of the three guys de Vere 'shopped' to the queen as catholics that you mention, even though one of these at least turned out to be a very bad guy who wrote against Leicester (Leicester's Commonwealth) and the Queen (Elizabeth) in league with the French where he fled and/or the Spanish. Interestingly, his incoherent denunciation of deVere is parodied not quite word for word (but close) in much ado about nothing. Two more Shakespeare links that may persuade you are that de Vere is credited with bringing to court (from Italy) the fashion for gifting and wearing perfumed gloves (hence gloves in the plays?) and on his return from Italy was waylaid by pirates and left naked on the shores of England (something identical happened to Hamlet in Shakespeare's version which experts still find a puzzling and weird inclusion in that play). There is a lot of evidence that de Vere was a 'bad boy' (kept company with actors, got outrageously drunk on numerous occasions and spent all his inheritance) but also that Burghley and Burghley junior (Robert Cecil - who if you want to label anyone as bad, was an evil scheming 'winner') did all they were able to in stripping de Vere of his inheritance.
I do NOT believe de Vere was Elizabeth's son - the timing is all wrong. I do however, believe he knew Shakespeare and either wrote the plays himself or else was a major inspiration to whoever did because echoes of his life are in the plots of many Shakespeare plays and also the sonnets and long poems dedicated to Southampton.

[SlightlySusan]

While I have read the books and watched the videos of the Anti-Oxfordians, I never believed that any of the candidates wrote the works credited to William Shakespeare. I looked up famous American and English authors, including award winning writers and there are many who, like Shakespeare, do not have university degrees.

Recently, I read Shakespeare's Book by Chris Loutaris, who is the historian for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The book is about the printing of the First Folio. There were too many people involved in the publishing of the works of Will to rationalize that his identity was a cover up.

[bethjanellerhoades]

Happy Easter, Claire to you and your family. Wishing you well and every blessing. ❤

[phyllo]

I am here after watching the movie the Shakespeare Conspiracy, more physical documents there supporting the possibility that he was the poet.

[ladyv]

While I doubt Elizabeth was truly a virgin Queen, I doubt she had any love children/child.

[menschkeit]

Correction, you're a fan of William Shaksper (not William Shakespeare), a man who never owned a book (in English or the untranslated foreign sources the play author uses) or wrote anything other than the plays, and left three illiterate daughters, and never traveled (to Italy or anywhere else), who would have had no access to the court (despite setting nearly all his plays there), etc. etc.--but the plays mention glovemaking, so it had to be him.

[RedStingrayy]

Love those Such perfect background music for topic.

[JamieZimm]

I love that there is a photo accompanying this video. Your other videos do not have visuals!