Elizabeth I's Secret Lover

by Robert Stedall

  parliament for heavy assistance … Peace, with its inseparable concomitant, economic stability, was the basis of her extraordinary success and the unique hold it gave her on the people’s affection. The States now wanted her to cancel the policy of nearly thirty years, which had brought such great and growing rewards, and, by declaring war on Spain on their behalf, pour out men and treasure until she or Spain fell back exhausted or bled white.10

  Nevertheless, if the Dutch collapsed she knew that England would be Philip II’s next objective.11 By March 1578, she had again lost her nerve. To Robert’s great personal disappointment, he had to tell Davison that she was not going to support the Dutch even with German mercenaries, despite him having ‘done [his] best and bettermost to get it forward’. He went on: ‘I have almost neither face nor countenance to write to the Prince, his expectation being so greatly deceived.’ He was extremely depressed, and with the complexity of his private life arising at the same time, it is little wonder that he sought the restorative waters at Buxton to regain his wellbeing.

  With the Spanish pushing northwards, Robert received a letter while at Buxton from Casimir, who was desperate for English support. He wrote to Hatton advocating that Sidney should meet Casimir but wanted Hatton’s advice on whether Elizabeth would send Sidney officially, or whether he should go privately. In early 1579, Casimir made a second three-week visit to England, during which Robert spent much time with him. Mendosa reported that when the Queen had attended the Council she had twice called for Robert, only to learn that he was occupied with Casimir. When Robert at last appeared, she told him: ‘You have quite forgotten us all, and business too, apparently, since we cannot get you here for the discussion of it!’ Mendosa claimed that Sussex and Burghley were not displeased at Elizabeth’s criticism.12 Elizabeth secretly advanced £50,000 to finance Casimir, but faced with the might of the Spanish army under Parma, he achieved nothing. William of Orange now hoped that Robert could persuade Elizabeth to declare herself unequivocally as a Dutch ally.13 He invited Robert to make a short visit to provide advice, not wanting his influence to be absent from the English Council for any longer than necessary. He proposed that Robert should bring a deputy. Davison had suggested either Ambrose or Sidney, both of whom would be acceptable. All this appealed greatly to Robert’s growing self-esteem.

  In 1580 two further factors accelerated the prospect of conflict with Spain. The Duke of Alva overran Portugal, and Drake returned from his circumnavigation on the Golden Hind. In 1573, Alva had been brought back from the Netherlands by Philip II after his repressive policies seemed to have failed. In 1578, at the age of 73, he was employed to promote Philip’s claim through his mother, Isabella, to the Portuguese throne. With no legitimate male heir, the Portuguese crown had been claimed by Don António, Prior of Crato, a bastard grandson of Manuel I. In June 1580, Alva marched into Portugal with 20,000 men, entering Lisbon after defeating Don António’s forces at the Battle of Alcântara. Philip II now appointed Alva as the first Viceroy of Portugal. Portugal not only provided the Spanish empire with the entire Iberian Peninsula, but a large military and mercantile fleet and a colonial empire that rivalled that of Spain.14 Meanwhile the Golden Hind arrived in Plymouth laden with Peruvian silver and Indonesian spices. ‘Francis Drake had rifled Philip’s supposedly secure treasure houses, sailed across … the Pacific Ocean – and traded in his supposedly reserved markets. He returned with breathtaking wealth.’15 He did not initially receive the greeting that he had expected. Having arrived in London, he found the Queen obsessed with the consequence of war with Spain. He was summoned to a Council meeting, where only Burghley, Sussex and Sir James Croft (a Spanish agent – as will be seen) were present, but with Wilson as secretary. They called for the treasure to be brought to the Tower, so that an inventory could be made prior to its restitution. ‘When the order was taken to [Robert], Walsingham and Hatton, they refused to sign, and exerted their influence with the Queen to get it suspended.’16 It had not taken much persuasion for the Queen’s greed to overcome her sensibilities. ‘After paying himself and his crew and making lavish presents to the Queen and chosen courtiers, [Drake] was able to pay his backers [including Robert] £47 for every £1 invested.’17 Mendosa protested at Drake’s piracy in the strongest possible terms, but Drake was extremely popular. With the Golden Hind being placed on public display at Deptford, on 15 April 1581 he entertained Elizabeth on board with ‘a dinner of such lavishness as had not been known since the days of Henry VIII.’18 He presented her with a silver casket, and a frog made of diamonds. She arranged to knight him on deck and even persuaded Anjou’s representative, Nicholas Clausse de Marchaumont, a Catholic bishop, to perform the ceremony. Drake was later elected to the Inner Temple. To add salt to the Spanish wound, Don António was welcomed to England, where he was installed at Baynard’s Castle, Pembroke’s London home.19 Robert spent much time with both Drake and Don António, helping Drake to plan an expedition to seize the Azores in Don António’s name. Eventually prudence prevailed, and Burghley swayed ‘the majority of the Council and the Queen against the enterprise’.20

  Philip II was stung into action. He launched a military attack into southern Ireland in support of Irish rebels. He backed the Guises to send the Catholic Esmé Stuart into Scotland to ingratiate himself with the adolescent James VI. This included a plan for the Guises to lead the Enterprise of England by invading through Scotland. At Jesuit insistence, the invasion force was to consist of Spanish troops to support Mary’s return to the Scottish throne and to claim the English one. With Parma having overrun Flanders, the sphere of influence of William of Orange was restricted to Holland, Zeeland and the United Provinces. England was now threatened on three sides.

  Despite the Dutch rebels’ desperation, Elizabeth continued her refusal to provide direct aid, but professed her reliance on Anjou. Much to Robert’s surprise, Anjou appeared on an unexpected visit to England in June 1581 anxious to gain Elizabeth’s confirmation that she would marry him. Although Robert had cultivated a close friendship with Marchaumont and had approached Anjou’s commissioners, he was unable to establish why he would visit at this time. Anjou admitted to Elizabeth that Henry III no longer supported his Netherlands policy, leaving him completely dependent on English aid. This suited her objective of avoiding direct English involvement. By reposing every confidence in his military competence and providing £50,000 to establish him as the Netherlands’ regent, she could divert him from his marriage suit. She could also maintain the Netherlands rebellion without overt English involvement, retaining the option for a protective alliance with France if the Spanish should threaten invasion.21

  Although Sussex continued to support the Anjou marriage, his only objective was to thwart Robert. When Sussex was granted a licence to breed horses, Robert took it as a personal affront. In July, while in the Queen’s presence at Greenwich, they ‘almost came to blows in the council chamber’, calling each other ‘traitor’.22 This resulted in Elizabeth confining them to their chambers.23

  By July, Anjou was back in France, but in November he returned to England, and for a few dangerous moments, it seemed to Robert as if his marriage to Elizabeth would become a reality. She had already admitted to Stafford in Paris that the match was extremely unpopular but continued with her game (although it did not seem like a game). She walked with Anjou in the gallery at Greenwich, where she kissed him. She said to the French ambassador: ‘You may tell his Majesty that the Prince will be my husband.’ She drew a ring from her finger and put it on Anjou’s.24 Robert now feared that it was irrevocable. It is claimed that he asked her bluntly ‘whether she were maid or a woman’, and she laughed and said: ‘A maid!’25 Elizabeth Jenkins argues that this demonstrates that Robert had never deflowered her. If he had, the question would have been superfluous. It seems more likely that he was asking if she was claiming to Anjou that she was a virgin.

  Elizabeth now had to begin the process of extricating herself from the web she had woven. She argued tha
t as Anjou had now taken up arms against Spain, their marriage would ‘bring us and our realm into war, which in no respect our realm and subjects can accept’.26 She saved Anjou’s face by offering to conclude an offensive and defensive alliance with him and allowing his credit in the European money markets to be enhanced. She made marriage to Anjou conditional on terms that Henry III was likely to refuse, and she could always raise the bar higher if he agreed to them.27 It took three months. Anjou blamed Simier for having antagonised Robert by telling Elizabeth of his marriage to Lettice. Simier could not understand why Robert had been restored to favour. Elizabeth told Mendosa that she could not dismiss Robert because, on her instruction, his men manned all the ports. Mendosa accepted this explanation, although it was certainly within her power to recall them. The truth was very simple: despite Elizabeth’s ardent wooing, it was all an elaborate game. She did not want to marry, and certainly would not choose Anjou, but she had achieved the substance of an alliance with France.28 Had she married him, there can be little doubt that Robert would have raised his standard in revolt.29

  Anjou’s departure was one of ‘indescribable absurdity’,30 full of tears, recriminations, broken vows and protestations. He did not formally relinquish his position as Elizabeth’s lover, but everyone knew that the romance was over. On 7 February 1582, he was escorted to Flushing by Robert (who travelled sorely against his will) with Hunsdon, Sidney, Willoughby, Howard of Effingham, Norreys and 100 gentlemen in fifteen large ships. His task was to counter Spanish power. He was without French support but enjoyed an English alliance and £50,000 provided by Elizabeth, which she paid to the States General. It was a diplomatic triumph for her. She had wriggled out of marrying him and England had not, officially at least, been dragged into the Netherlands conflict.

  On arrival at Flushing, Anjou was met by William of Orange and a host of local dignitaries. They were unimpressed with him, and it was Robert whom William considered more useful to his interests. This was their first meeting and they spent many hours together, often with Sidney present.31 On 19 February 1583, William and Robert escorted Anjou to Antwerp where William presented Robert with a most handsome gilt cup covered in jewels as a gift for Elizabeth. She was soon greatly concerned at the warm relationship developing between them. She had hoped to use Anjou’s presence ‘to resist the inevitability of [Robert’s] Netherlands policy’,32 and quickly ordered Robert’s return. So long as the fiction of Anjou’s rule there could be maintained, Elizabeth could retain Robert at home, but Henry III quickly repudiated his brother’s actions. In January 1583, her ‘frog’ left the Netherlands, completely discredited after trying to wrest control of Antwerp from his Flemish allies and died eighteen months later on 10 June 1584. With Elizabeth having shown her hand in antagonism towards the Spanish, she was now left without a French alliance.

  The death of Anjou caused the French another much greater concern. It made the Huguenot Henry of Navarre the heir to the French throne to succeed the childless Henry III. The ultra-Catholic Guise faction at the French court entered into a ‘Holy League’ with Spain to guard against a Protestant succession in France. This freed Philip II from French interference in the Netherlands, allowing Parma’s strength in the south to become seemingly irresistible. Although the United Provinces again looked to William of Orange as their saviour, on 10 July 1584 he was assassinated in Delft by a Catholic fanatic. There were fears that Elizabeth would be next.33 Robert readied himself to take up William’s cause. ‘In May 1584, he wrote urging Elizabeth to forswear foreign alliances and rely on “the mighty and assured strength you have at home”.’34 Many feared that a ‘Protestant-Catholic Armageddon was almost upon them’.35

  By this time, Sussex was ill (Mendosa claimed he was consumptive) and he died on 9 June 1583, ‘implacable to the last in his hatred of Robert’.36 His dying words to Hatton were: ‘Beware of the gipsy, he will be too hard for you all. You do not know the beast as we do.’37 Elizabeth arranged his burial in St Edward’s Chapel at Westminster Abbey.

  His chivalry and integrity, his brusque honesty and protective tenderness had been Elizabeth’s assets ever since she came to the throne twenty-five years before … He had seen her through a policy of caution, economy, vigilance, self-dedication and single-minded passion, come to a state of hived-up riches and power, and a place in the people’s hearts which even her father had not surpassed.38

  His death had lost her the voice of caution that had been ever-present at her ear. It left the door open for Robert’s pursuit of a more aggressive foreign policy that Sussex had so much feared. Nevertheless, Robert was considered two-faced and remained unpopular.

  The Holy League began to infiltrate both England and Scotland with plotting in support of Mary Queen of Scots. In July 1582, Mendosa had claimed to Philip II that he had recruited Norfolk’s brother, Lord Henry Howard, and Sir James Croft, the Comptroller of the Household, as agents for the Spanish cause. Walsingham immediately blackmailed Howard into silence and Robert seems to have threatened Croft, whom he strongly disliked, to prevent further information being divulged. To deal with the threat posed by Mary in England, Walsingham had employed two moles: Charles Paget in Archbishop Bethune’s office in Paris, and Louis Feron, a clerk in the French Embassy in London. As soon as Paget received Mary’s correspondence, he divulged its content to both Elizabeth and James VI.

  By late 1583, Esmé Stuart in Scotland had successfully ingratiated himself with the young James VI and had been created Duke of Lennox (he was a kinsman of the Lennox Stuarts and was granted the Lennox title despite the claims of Arbella’s father, Charles, who also used the title of Earl of Lennox). Nevertheless, when Philip II dragged his feet over providing military support for Esmé, Walsingham’s spy network had time to uncover his plotting to place Mary on the Scottish and English thrones. This resulted in Esmé being expelled from Scotland and the Guise-led Enterprise of England having to be abandoned. This did not prevent Mary from continuing to harbour romantic notions of rescue. Feron reported that the Catholic Francis Throckmorton (a nephew of Sir Nicholas) was carrying her correspondence to both Paris and Madrid. Throckmorton was arrested and, before his execution, was tortured to reveal the extent of the plot to rescue her. It became clear that Mendosa was masterminding the invasion plan and Mary was conversant with its details. Mendosa had undertaken to contact justices of the peace with Catholic sympathies with a view to levying English Catholic support for invading forces. By this time, the Catholic hierarchy in England had been so infiltrated by Walsingham’s double agents that Cardinal Allen at Douai believed that papist support against Elizabeth was much greater than it was. The revelations of Throckmorton’s Catholic plotting also intensified ‘the severity and cruelty with which missionary priests were treated’ after arrest.39 When Mendosa was hauled up before the Council, he was given fifteen days to leave. The French ambassador, Castelnau, was also thoroughly implicated, but Walsingham preferred to use blackmail to force him to divulge the full extent of Mary’s correspondence. Thoroughly disgraced, he was replaced in September 1585 by Guillaume de l’Aubéspine, Baron de Châteauneuf. Although Mary was aware of the planning, her letters were carefully worded and Elizabeth did not feel that she had sufficient evidence to implicate her.

  Walsingham and Robert now argued that Elizabeth could not assure her personal safety and the security of her Crown, unless Mary were dead.40 Although James VI was safely back in Protestant hands, there was still strong support for Mary in Scotland, and it would be difficult to resist her claim for either Crown if Elizabeth should die childless. Elizabeth was in no doubt of the danger. In March, she had told Parliament: ‘I know no creature that breathes whose life standeth hourly in more peril for religion than mine own.’41 Nevertheless, she refused ‘an armed bodyguard, declaring she had sooner be dead than in such captivity’.42 Her instinct was to go freely among her people.

  Chapter 24 Leicester’s Commonwealth

  It was becoming clear to English Catholics living on the Conti
nent that they needed to undermine anti-papist propaganda in Britain. Their objective was to turn ‘popular anger away from the Queen of Scots and her supporters … directing it upon Dudley and his faction’.1 A group of unidentified Catholics collaborated to write an attack on Elizabeth’s Protestant Government, recognising that the pen was mightier than the sword!2 The objective was to gain acceptance of Mary Queen of Scots as Elizabeth’s heir.

  On 29 September 1584, Walsingham reported that the Lord Mayor of London had received a printed document which libelled Robert. He described it as ‘the most maliciously written thing that ever was penned since the beginning of the world’.3 He claimed that he had been warned by his agents three years earlier of the existence of such a document, with an intention to provide a similar one about Elizabeth. From the outset he believed that it emanated from English Catholics living in Paris, but it was thought to have been printed in Antwerp or Paris during the summer of 1584. To limit its circulation, he instructed the Lord Mayor to send him his copy so that it was kept securely out of view. Nevertheless, other printed versions in England needed to be hunted down.

  With Robert being a leading Puritan and the wealthiest and best known of Elizabeth’s advisers, he was an obvious target. He was probably singled out because he was ‘the firmest and most influential advocate of the Protestant faith’.4 His Puritanism was considered hypocritical when compared with his indisputably blemished private life, and the treatise provides a vitriolic personal attack on his perceived shortcomings. With his control of patronage having given him an ‘unassailable position in the royal household’, enabling him to filter access to the monarch, he is portrayed as an over-mighty subject aiming at supreme power. This criticism wasn’t new. He had been the subject of hostile comment and even assassination attempts throughout the reign. Nevertheless, the document has had a profound impact on the way he has been viewed by historians. ‘Camden was just one of many who contributed to his blackened reputation.’5 Robert was not alone in facing hostility; Elizabeth was hardly ever free from plots (or perceived plots) against her rule. Cecil, Bacon, Walsingham, Hatton and others had all faced threats.6 Furthermore, ‘calumny was an established weapon in the armoury of religious and political pamphleteers’.7