Although Queen Elizabeth I seemed on the one hand to favor Arbella to succed her, she would always keep Arbella in the shadows while at court. It even seemed that the aging Queen was jealous of Arbella's beauty. Also, one can not help but think that Arbella at court, was a constant reminder to Queen Elizabeth of Mary Stuart, who was beheaded for treason, and the murder of her husband Lord Darnley, during Elizabeth's reign. It was said that Arbella was every bit the beauty that her Aunt Mary was.

Prior to Lady Arbella being asked to court, she lived at Hardwick Hall. Her mother died in January, 1582, at which time she became her grandmother's charge. Times were hard for Arbella, and her grandmother, Bess. In order for Arbella to be properly presented at court, Bess often had to request for a larger allowance. There were times that Bess seemed indifferent to Arbella, wallowing in the fact that she was left with such a heavy burden, and not knowing how she would scrape up enough money to provide for Arbella, and keep up with the cost of maintaining a household.

During the early days of Arbella joining Queen Elizabeth's court, Arbell's name comes up often in court records, and in the records of court attendees. This will eventually change, and as the Queen nears death, Mention of Lady Arbella is all but gone. In all actually, this happened off and on over the years. It was almost as though she would be gone from the earth.

It seemed as though most of Lady Arbella's life, that true happiness was just out of her hands grasp. She always seemed to be offered a taste of happiness, and recognition, only to have it taken away from her. Even marriage, or marriage to someone she loved was denied her, by her cousin King James I. But, after a life in the shadows, Lady Arbella chose brief happiness over a lifetime of misery.

Arbella, refecting on the demise of Lady Jane Grey, and Mary, Queen of Scots had wondered if when one was struck, if the pain was fleeting. She at one point put her thoughts of her Aunt Mary's death into poem. Little did she know that she too, would face the Tower of London, and die there of starvation.