The Vagabonds Act of 1572

Elizabeth was starting to face internal plots against her, but she continued to have very loyal support among most of the nobility. She had always been close to Robert Dudley, and there were even rumors early in her reign that the two might marry. But he was already married, and when his wife fell down a flat of stairs and died under suspicious circumstances, the ensuing scandal made it impossible for him to marry Elizabeth. Nevertheless, Dudley remained a court favorite, and at the beginning of 1572 he gave Elizabeth a jeweled bracelet with a small clock in it. That gift was the first reference we have to a timepiece worn around the wrist, what we call an armwatch today.