 Robert Dudley had been close to the Knollys family since the early 1550s; several of Lettice's brothers had been in his service and his marriage only enhanced his relations with her siblings. To his four stepchildren he was a concerned and generous stepfather. The Dudleys' domestic life is partly documented in the Earl's accounts; Lettice Dudley financed her personal expenses and servants out of her revenue as Dowager Countess of Essex, remaining largely excluded from society life.
