"Wholly abandoned of human virtue and devoted to wickedness": the figure of the Monstrous Favourite in gossip, rumour and libel in Renaissance England, 1558-1628

The close relationships royal favourites had with their monarchs granted them significant influence and power. As the privileges these men received evoked the disapproval and envy of the other courtiers and noblemen, gossip and rumours about the relationship these men had with their monarch soon spread throughout the royal court and the kingdom. This thesis will focus on the male favourites of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I by tracing how these men were represented in gossip and rumours. I will concentrate on the development of what I term the figure of the 'monstrous favourite' and demonstrate that despite them being different men, of different characters, living in different times, under different monarchs, they were all depicted in similar ways with the same character traits being applied to them.