Elizabeth I's Secret Lover

by Robert Stedall

  From the distance of Scotland, Mary was unaware of Darnley’s shortcomings and was attracted by his close dynastic claim to the English throne. To give the marriage suit any chance of gaining Scottish approval, Darnley’s father, Lennox, needed to have the attainder over his Scottish estates lifted after his part in supporting the English during the Rough Wooings. It so happened that Elizabeth had written to Mary in June 1563 asking her to restore Lennox to his Scottish titles and estates. For more than a year Mary had ignored this request, but when she realised that it might provide an opportunity for her to meet Darnley, Lennox was invited to Scotland, where he was favourably received in September 1564. Mary quickly restored him to his honours and dignity without the prior approval of the Scottish Government. He now sought consent for Darnley to join him on the pretext that it would enable him to be enfeoffed into the Lennox estates as part of their restitution.

  As Lennox had travelled north, Sir James Melville, the Scottish ambassador, had come south for further discussions on Robert’s possible marriage to the Scottish Queen and the related question of her succession to the English throne. He came with secret instructions to Margaret Lennox to obtain a passport for Darnley to visit Mary in Scotland. Melville arrived in time to see Robert’s investiture as Baron of Denbigh and Earl of Leicester, which took place on 29 September 1564. (The Lordship of Denbigh came with sizeable estates in North Wales and the office of Chief Forester of Snowdon.) These titles had been designed to promote his cause with the Scottish Queen. Melville noticed that, during the ceremony, Elizabeth could not resist tickling Robert’s neck. The lanky Darnley carried the sword of state at the ceremony and when Elizabeth saw him, she turned to Melville, telling him: ‘Yet, ye like better yonder long lad!’ Melville was taken aback that Elizabeth seemed to be aware of his secret mission to gain a passport for Darnley to visit Scotland. He recovered himself sufficiently to assure her that no woman would prefer a ‘lady-faced boy’18 to so fine a man as Robert.

  At the festivities after Robert’s investiture, the French Ambassador, Paul de Foix, proposed that Robert should be offered the Order of St Michel, France’s highest order of chivalry, to promote his cause with Mary Queen of Scots. This was an embarrassment for Robert, who was still cultivating the Spanish, and did not want anything done to promote him with the Scottish Queen. To enable him to accept it with ‘some decency’, Throckmorton suggested that the Queen might ask for another Cross of the Order to be granted to Norfolk. ‘When Cecil learned this, he was obliged to remonstrate with the Queen, and point out how undesirable it was in the present state of affairs to place two of her most powerful nobles under an obligation from France.’19 Cecil was still trying to hold together the suit for Elizabeth to marry Maximilian, which Robert, to protect his own position with Elizabeth, wanted to prevent. Nevertheless, seven years later in 1571, the French investiture went ahead, with the chains of office being handed over at St Mary’s Church, Warwick, by Charles IX’s deputies, despite Norfolk’s great reluctance to be reconciled with Robert.

  After the ceremony to make Robert Earl of Leicester, Melville met with Elizabeth in her bedchamber, where Cecil was talking to Robert at the opposite end of the room. She opened a little cabinet and produced some miniatures wrapped in paper. On one of these was written, ‘My Lord’s Picture’. When Melville persuaded her to unwrap it, he saw that it was Robert’s portrait. He suggested that it should be sent to Mary, but Elizabeth said she could not spare it as it was the only version she had. Melville looked over at Robert and retorted: ‘Your Majesty has the original.’ He then pointed to an enormous ruby, which was also in the cabinet. and suggested sending this to Mary as a token. Elizabeth replied that if Mary agreed to ‘be ruled by her, then in time she would inherit everything Elizabeth possessed’.20 It seemed to Melville that Elizabeth was having cold feet about losing Robert. She later suggested nonsensically that Mary should move to London and that they should live in a ménage à trois as an extended royal family, but Mary saw this as unworkable.21 She needed a husband with her in Scotland to maintain control of her kingdom.

  Despite his differences with Robert, Cecil realised that Mary Queen of Scots needed a husband. As Robert was not going to marry her, they combined to persuade Elizabeth to grant Darnley a passport to join his father. It was assumed that he would not proceed to marriage without obtaining Elizabeth’s assent. Neither Cecil nor Elizabeth believed that Mary would tolerate him for long, but after his arrival in Edinburgh in February 1565, she became infatuated with ‘a fantasy of a man’, with its inevitable consequences. Although Elizabeth ordered Darnley back to England, it was already too late. Even when she told Mary that she would consider her nomination as her heir if she married Robert, Mary was already passionately committed to Darnley. Despite Elizabeth placing Margaret Lennox in the Tower and attainting the Lennoxes’ substantial Yorkshire estates, Darnley and Mary ignored her. Cecil had only to sit back and watch as the ‘mischief’ in Scotland unfolded.

  The prospect of Mary’s marriage to Darnley was perhaps a relief to Elizabeth as she could rekindle her relationship with Robert. In May, he suffered a riding accident while hunting with her at Windsor. Although no bones were broken, he retired to bed severely bruised. When de Silva called, he had to wait as the Queen had come to talk to him before dinner. When the ambassador was at last able to see him, he was with Maitland, Cecil and Throckmorton, who was to be sent north to replace Randolph as Scottish ambassador. When they were at last alone, de Silva told Robert that the Spanish were in support of his marriage to Elizabeth. Although Robert was grateful, he confirmed that she wanted a great prince, but with Mary Queen of Scots marrying Darnley, she might think differently. Although de Silva had been irritated by Robert showing favour to the French, he offered to speak to the Queen on his behalf. He later reported that the Queen thanked him for his kind words, which seemed to show that the ‘affair [with Robert] is not off’.22

  Following Mary’s marriage to Darnley, which took place on 29 July 1565, events in Scotland did not run smoothly. As Governor of Berwick, Bedford called for extra men to protect England’s northern border and to provide support for Lord James Stewart, now Earl of Moray, leading a group of Protestant Scottish Lords who had opposed the marriage. Cecil and Robert, with most of their Council colleagues, backed Moray, but Elizabeth wanted to avoid being seen to support a rebellion against an anointed monarch. She was supported by Norfolk and Sussex, but they seem to have been trying to avoid an anti-Catholic policy developing, which might strengthen Robert’s hand. With Moray denuded of English military support in his ‘Chaseabout Raid’, he had to escape to England, leaving Scotland at the mercy of increasingly pro-Catholic policies.

  Darnley’s strongly Catholic stance played havoc with Mary’s previous policy of religious toleration. After the well-documented murders of Riccio and of Darnley himself, and Mary’s unwise marriage to the Earl of Bothwell (generally known to have arranged Darnley’s murder), the Scottish lords took up arms against her. She found herself imprisoned, probably unjustifiably, by nobles of all religious persuasions who had united against her rule in support of a regency for her new-born son, Prince James. Elizabeth was extremely shocked at their treatment of their anointed Queen, despite her tarnished reputation. It was Robert’s ally, Throckmorton, who was sent to negotiate with the Scottish Government to defend Mary’s interests. Nevertheless, the French were now turned against her, and even Spain’s new-found loyalty temporarily evaporated.

  Although Mary’s and Darnley’s marriage had ended any vestige of English support for their combined claim to the English Crown, Catherine Grey’s position in the Tower was not made any easier by a book called A Declaration of the Succession of the Crown Imperial of England written by John Hales, Clerk of the Chancery Exchequer. Hales’s objective was to clarify the succession to avoid any future argument. He concluded that Catherine was the most suitable claimant and it was essential that her marriage should be validated to demonstrate her sons’ legitimacy, enablin
g the Crown to block Mary Queen of Scots’ claim. He failed to appreciate that Elizabeth did not want any heir nominated, but if she had to do so, would choose the apparently innocent Mary, or her son James, over the fornicating Catherine. As always, she argued that the nomination of any claimant would make him or her a focus for rebellion against her rule, just as she had been during the reign of Mary Tudor. Furthermore, she had not forgotten that it was Catherine’s sister, Jane, who had attempted to usurp her own claim. Huntingdon wrote furiously to Robert about ‘a foolish book, foolishly written’.23 Robert seems to have calmed matters but Hales was lucky only to face six months’ imprisonment.

  Chapter 14 Patronage and trading projects

  To judge Robert as a failed suitor for the hand of Elizabeth with a less than astute grasp of politics and (as will be seen) an imperfect military record, would be to do him great injustice. In many respects he was the most important figure in Elizabethan England. He was the prime mover in the Elizabethan renaissance, through which Protestant influence established a new interest in English history as a backdrop for ‘present problems and for justification of existing regimes’.1 It was no coincidence that Continental ambassadors saw him as their first port of call on arrival in England. For anyone who had a new project seeking the Queen’s assistance, it was often he who saw its potential and put his hand in his pocket. He was the most influential entrepreneur in the land with an extraordinary breadth of vision.

  Robert had an unparalleled range of interests. He deserves particular recognition for his influence as Chancellor of Oxford University. It was he who arranged for its incorporation by Act of Parliament, confirming all privileges previously bestowed. This obviated the need for a new Charter at the accession of each sovereign. He also overhauled its income from leases, which were now granted for shorter periods of twenty-one years, greatly reducing the impact of inflation.2 Before taking office he had streamlined the university’s domestic government, vesting power in its senior officials. Some of these were his protégés, often European Protestant émigrés, who now made their homes in England. As Chancellor he had used his patronage to appoint them as heads of colleges. This enabled him to lean the university towards Protestantism. In 1581, he enforced an oath on all undergraduates over 16 years old requiring them to acknowledge the Royal Supremacy and the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, which had become established as Church of England doctrine in 1563.3 This made Oxford exclusively Anglican. Although ‘Cambridge had adopted a vigorous Reformed element since the time of Erasmus … Oxford had been the stronghold of Catholicism, and [his] interference in this direction brought him a fresh accession of unpopularity’.4 He caused further disagreement by criticising undergraduate behaviour, ‘looseness of apparel and absence from lectures’.5

  In August 1566, the Queen visited Oxford University during her summer progress. With Robert as its Chancellor, he acted as her host. A fortnight before her visit, he moved to Kenilworth, from where he could supervise everything. He invited his nephew, Philip Sidney, a 12-year-old schoolboy at Shrewsbury, to attend the festivities. Robert was extremely fond of Philip, who enjoyed ‘a lovely and familiar gravity’, and was showing every sign of becoming the paragon for which he was later recognised. With his father, Sir Henry, being in Ireland, Philip was in the charge of the invaluable family steward, Mr Marshall, who brought him from Shrewsbury to Kenilworth. With the Sidneys being lamentably impoverished, Philip’s clothing was not suitable for a royal occasion. Marshall had done his best by converting an old black velvet cloak into a pair of trunk hose, but these were not fit for purpose. Robert instructed his London tailor to kit Philip out with a new wardrobe, including a crimson satin doublet, a green taffeta doublet, a canvas doublet striped blue, and a range of other garments and shoes to make him presentable.

  The Queen reached Woodstock in the third week of August, accompanied by de Silva. Robert soon appeared, but as she was undergoing medical treatment for what seems to have been migraine, she was unable to hunt with him.6 Instead, Robert took de Silva out in Woodstock Chase. As they talked, the ambassador concluded that Robert had still not abandoned his pretensions to marry the Queen.

  Robert returned to Oxford two days before the court’s arrival to finalise arrangements. He was attended by Ambrose and Huntingdon. They met Cecil at Christchurch, where they sheltered from a storm at the Master’s Lodge. On Elizabeth’s arrival on 31 August the day was clear. Her coach was decorated with vermilion and gold leaf and she showed no effects of her malady. After a greeting, she attended a specially composed Te Deum in Christchurch Cathedral sung to the music of cornets. She listened to a speech of welcome from the outstanding historian, Edmund Campion, who provided words of praise for Robert as Chancellor. Campion later gave a dissertation to the Queen on the influence of the moon over the tides. His ‘brilliancy of expression and his unusual charm of manner marked him out’.7

  When the Queen later returned to Woodstock, she asked de Silva for his impressions of the day. De Silva admitted that they were excellent, but that the academics had plenty of time to prepare and would have done less well ex tempore. The Queen immediately called for scholars to come to Woodstock to debate in Latin, impromptu. Campion was among them and said afterwards that the ‘sudden great pomp in which the Queen came forth to hear him’, was daunting until he reminded himself ‘that she was but a woman and he a man, which was the better sex!’ He considered ‘all the splendour which glittered in his eyes was but transitory vanity and had no substance in it’.8 He again spoke brilliantly, and the Queen asked Robert to provide financial support for him. When Robert asked him his ambitions, Campion replied that ‘he would ask nothing; the Chancellor’s friendship was more than any gift’.9 Robert’s assistance resulted in Campion’s History of Ireland being dedicated to him (see Aftermath). Campion’s thanks were genuine, but he was a closet Catholic, who soon fled to Douai, only to return as a leader of the Jesuit cause.

  Philip Sidney duly went to university at Oxford, where Robert sought a special dispensation from Archbishop Parker to allow him to eat meat during Lent. In May 1572, he was sent abroad and Robert wrote to ask Walsingham in Paris to keep a watching eye on him. He wrote: ‘He is young and raw, and no doubt shall find those countries and the demeanour of the people somewhat strange to him.’10 Walsingham attached him to his embassy, where he liaised with Protestant Princes seeking a means to combat the Spanish. He then set out on his grand tour of Europe, during which he did much to further Robert’s interests. He wrote:

  There be nothing of which I am so desirous … as to have continual and certain knowledge what your pleasure is by which I may govern my little actions. I cannot be without some grief, that neither since I came into Germany I could by any means understand it. Wherefore, I have most humbly to beseech your lordship that if in any of my proceedings I have erred you will vouchsafe to impute it to the not knowing your Lordship’s and their [the Council’s] pleasure, by whose commandment I am likewise to be directed.11

  It was through Philip’s diplomacy that Robert developed a close link with William of Orange and his allies.

  Another of Robert’s interests was in architecture. The Elizabethan era was a period of extraordinary productivity, when great properties were established that no longer required fortification. Cecil built three Renaissance mansions and wealthy families like the Earl and Countess [better known as Bess of Hardwick] of Shrewsbury created a galaxy of spectacular homes. In June 1563, Elizabeth granted Kenilworth to Robert, a castle with curtain walls surrounded by a lake. It had previously been acquired by Robert’s father from the Duchy of Lancaster but had reverted to the Crown on his attainder. For some time, Robert had sought a suitable centrepiece for his Midlands estates. Kenilworth, which dated from the twelfth century, with additions made by John of Gaunt, was in a poor state of preservation, but Robert took advantage of the military features of this mediaeval stronghold to create ‘a magnificent pleasure house where Elizabeth and her court could be brought to take their
ease and to be diverted with a great variety of entertainments’.12 He ‘converted the old south causeway into a tiltyard overlooked by viewing galleries’.13 He changed the access so that the castle was approached across a wooden bridge, 600ft long, to an entrance in Mortimer’s Tower. To the left of the bridge he created a pool, which was later the scene of water pageants. He did much to restore John of Gaunt’s great hall, but also added a magnificent tower of his own.

  We are indebted to Robert Laneham, one of Robert’s protégés, for the vivid description he made of Kenilworth and its entertainments in 1575. Laneham spoke several languages and Robert had gained him the post of Keeper of the Council Chamber door, responsible for preventing ambassadors from spying on its proceedings. His ‘enthusiastic gratitude was expressed in his account of himself, his office and the great doings at Kenilworth’.14

  On the north side of the castle, between the twelfth century keep and the outer wall, [Robert] created a pleasure garden. At its eastern end stood the Swan Tower, overlooking the mere. All along, just inside the castle wall, he had reared a terrace, ten or twelve feet broad; on this, against the wall, was a marvellous aviary protected by a gilded mesh; inside, nesting holes for the birds were hollowed out of the wall itself. Along the terrace stood obelisks surmounted by spheres, and white bears mounted on curious bases. Below the terrace lay the pleasure ground, with paths sanded ‘not light not too soft … but smooth and firm, pleasant to walk on as a sea-shore when the water has avoided’. Here on the grass was a magnificent fountain ‘of rich and hard white marble’, whose jets, falling into an octagonal basin, maintained there ‘two feet of the fresh falling water’. The apple, pear and cherry trees in fruit, the beds of flowers, the breeze on the terrace, where one could pick ‘delicious strawberries’ and eat them from the stem, the sight and sound of the water, the fluttering and warbling in the aviary, all seemed to Laneham to form a terrestrial paradise, which glorified the great Earl, who had called it into being.15