Ambrose and Robert Dudley were very close, in matters of business and personally.
Through their paternal grandmother they descended from the Hundred Years War heroes, John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, and Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick.
Robert Dudley was especially fascinated by the Beauchamp descent and, with his brother, adopted the ancient heraldic device of the earls of Warwick, the Bear and Ragged Staff.
Due to such genealogical aspects the West Midlands held a special significance for him.
The town of Warwick felt this during a magnificent visit by the Earl in 1571 to celebrate the feast of the Order of Saint Michael, with which Leicester had been invested by the French king in 1566.
He shortly afterwards founded Lord Leycester's Hospital, a charity for aged and injured soldiers still functioning today.

Kenilworth Castle was the centre of Leicester's ambitions to "plant" himself in the region, and he substantially transformed the site's appearance through comprehensive alterations.
He added a 15th-century style gatehouse to the castle's medieval structures, as well as a formal garden and a residential wing which featured the "brittle, thin walls and grids of windows" that were to become the hallmark of Elizabethan architecture in later decades.
His works completed, the Earl staged a spectacular 19-day-festival in July 1575 as a final, allegorical bid for the Queen's hand; it was as much a request to give him leave to marry someone else.
There were a Lady of the Lake, a swimming papier-mâché dolphin with a little orchestra in its belly, fireworks, masques, hunts, and popular entertainments like bear baiting.
The whole scenery of landscape, artificial lake, castle, and Renaissance garden was ingeniously used for the entertainment.
Ambrose and Robert Dudley were very close, in matters of business and personally. Through their paternal grandmother they descended from the Hundred Years War heroes, John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, and Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. Robert Dudley was especially fascinated by the Beauchamp descent and, with his brother, adopted the ancient heraldic device of the earls of Warwick, the Bear and Ragged Staff. Due to such genealogical aspects the West Midlands held a special significance for him. The town of Warwick felt this during a magnificent visit by the Earl in 1571 to celebrate the feast of the Order of Saint Michael, with which Leicester had been invested by the French king in 1566. He shortly afterwards founded Lord Leycester's Hospital, a charity for aged and injured soldiers still functioning today.
Kenilworth Castle was the centre of Leicester's ambitions to "plant" himself in the region, and he substantially transformed the site's appearance through comprehensive alterations. He added a 15th-century style gatehouse to the castle's medieval structures, as well as a formal garden and a residential wing which featured the "brittle, thin walls and grids of windows" that were to become the hallmark of Elizabethan architecture in later decades. His works completed, the Earl staged a spectacular 19-day-festival in July 1575 as a final, allegorical bid for the Queen's hand; it was as much a request to give him leave to marry someone else. There were a Lady of the Lake, a swimming papier-mâché dolphin with a little orchestra in its belly, fireworks, masques, hunts, and popular entertainments like bear baiting. The whole scenery of landscape, artificial lake, castle, and Renaissance garden was ingeniously used for the entertainment.
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester