On this day in Tudor history, 5th June 1600, Elizabeth I’s favourite, thirty-four-year-old Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, was charged with insubordination during his time in Ireland at a special hearing at York House.

Essex had been made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1599, but his campaign against the Irish was unsuccessful. He constantly ignored the Queen’s orders, acted contrary to her wishes and constantly worried about what his enemies were up to back in London. He ended up returning to England without Elizabeth’s permission, which amounted to desertion.