Dudley has often been cast as a historical villain, most notoriously in Scott's novel Kenilworth in which he is virtually accused of the murder of his wife, Amy Robsart. Almost certainly this is not true, but in trying to bring Dudley (or Leicester) back into political respectability, Derek Wilson appears to overstate his case. Even allowing for the inevitable jealousy of Queen Elizabeth's favourite and boyhood friend, he was never much respected by his contemporaries; his backing of the Puritans added to England's religious tensions, his record as a soldier in the Low Countries was mediocre, and his role in repelling the Armada was more show than solid achievement. Dudley's lifelong devotion to Elizabeth was undoubted, yet it did not stop him marrying at least twice nor did it prevent him from being an inveterate court intriguer. Unlike that other royal favourite, Raleigh, it seems almost impossible to lift him out of the crowded, smoky backdrop of his turbulent age.