Robert dudley, lord denbigh

The arms of Lord Robert Dudley, who was created Earl of Leicester in 1564, are set in stained glass at the west end of the current hall in continuing fulfilment of that promise and it will be argued that it was the Earl of Leceister's involvement in the Inner Temple revels in 1561 that led to the adoption of the pegasus as the Inner Temple's emblem. So what was the nature of Robert Dudley's association with the Inner Temple ?

From inns of court to royal court

Robert Dudley's family had been associated with the inns of court for two generations. His grandfather, Edmund Dudley, was a member of Gray's Inn and, according to the historian Polydore Vergil, it was his legal expertise that brought him to the attention of Henry VII. The son of a Sussex farmer, Edmund Dudley was made a privy councillor and became one of Henry VII's closest advisors. However, the success of Dudley and his colleague, Sir Richard Empson, in extracting money from the people to furnish the royal coffers made them extremely unpopular and, on the succession of the youthful Henry VIII, Empson and Dudley were atta

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