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| Robert Cecil. |
In this series:
- The Essex Rebellion and the Earl of Southampton.
- The Secret Correspondence of Robert Cecil and James I.
- Who Saved Southampton from the Ax?
Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, must indeed have been a particularly charismatic man. He was constantly burnishing his credentials for bravery, energy and comradery — all the most valued traits of a Tudor nobleman. He sought out go-getters the likes of the Bacon brothers — Anthony and Francis — to advertise those credentials and to forward his projects. His allies were unusually devoted to him.
When he marched off to subdue Ireland, waving at the adoring
well-wishers that lined the streets of London, surely he believed that he had a
magic touch. Much beloved and supported
by a Queen who adored him, every success seemed to come easily.
As he was planning an armed attempt to “secure the person of
the Queen,” after having returned from the
country, in disgrace, and to force her to dismiss ministers who did not satisfy
him, he was waiting for a return letter from King James VI of Scotland. The King — intent not to be passed over as
heir to the throne after the ailing Elizabeth I — had been susceptible to
Essex’s swaggering comportment, his fame in England. Should Essex fail to regain his status, the
King’s carefully assembled support within the country was in danger of
evaporating.
James had wisely avoided becoming party to Essex’s military
schemes. The present letter, however,
pled for diplomatic support. There would
certainly be contenders for a throne with no declared heir. His right by heredity could all too easily
fail to carry the day and the matter descend to internecine warfare. He must begin to assert himself in terms that
made clear his intent to have his rights.
In spite of the 67 year old Queen’s often fragile health,
however, she kept on rising from the ashes and dancing a galliard, reported
throughout Europe, with one or another dignitary. A famous mathematician had predicted that she
would live beyond her 75th birthday.[1]
James needed to reestablish the position
of Essex in order to be prepared for the long haul.
Unfortunately for King James’s plans, Essex was considering
a treasonous rebellion in parallel with his diplomatic pleas. Elizabeth’s councilors were, by all appearances,
aware of his every move. A knock came at
the door that made it clear that their conspiracy had been discovered. The rebellion had to be initiated the next day.
For all James had expedited his special embassy to save the
Earl, Devereux was executed before they arrived. The Scottish ambassadors, however, were
ordered to continue to the English Court.
The King changed his instructions, becoming even more aggressive in his
posture:
ye must so deal with Mr Secretary [Robert Cecil], and her
principal guiders, as ye may assure them, that, as I find my requests answered
in these points, I will make account of their affections towards me accordingly;
and if in these points I be satisfied, that ye have power to give them full
assurance of my favour, especially to Mr Secretary, who is king there in effect.[2]
He needed to impress Elizabeth’s advisors that he would soon
be King and would not take it well if they did not assist toward that end in
every way they might. Especially Robert
Cecil, the First Secretary, who was actually ruling the country under the Queen’s
name. He should consider deeply that he
would no longer rule once James was King.
His fate would be utterly in the hands of the new Monarch.
Robert Cecil was a supremely practical man. He informed the ambassadors that he supported
the King as true heir. Acceptance by the
Queen, however, was not to be expected.
Should she think for a minute that Cecil was already executing orders
from James his duties as First Secretary would be impossible and he would be of
no use to the King.
The First Secretary would serve the Queen with perfect
dedication however true it was that his service often meant convincing her she
wanted what he considered best. While he
was transcribing her personal letters[3]
because her hand shook too much to be legible and announcing decisions that she
sometimes had only nominally made, matters of state could not possibly be discussed with the King. The King would decide no policies until the
Queen would die.
Nevertheless, Cecil and the King would secretly correspond.[4] Their names would be replaced with
numbers. James would send the first
dispatch confirming agreement with Cecil’s conditions and the ambassador’s
report that the First Secretary was an ally:
the honorable reporte that thay haue maid of him to 30 [James],
quhom to thay haue, upon the perrel of thaire credit, geuin full assurance of
the sinceritie of 10 [Cecil]; and because 30 [James] can not haue the occasion
to speake face to face with 10 [Cecil], that, out of his owin mouthe, he may
giue him full assurance of his thankefull acceptance, of his plaine and
honorable dealing,…[5]
Cecil’s invaluable guidance would be available this
way. Also, the King would be comforted
to know that he controlled the necessary levers of power to ascend the throne on
the natural death of the Queen.
It is certain that Cecil had for years favored James as heir
to the throne. To declare, however,
would have put the Queen in a rage. His
ability to keep the ship of state on course would have been destroyed (along,
perhaps, with his life). To have done so
secretly would have aligned him with Essex and his highly unstable allies thus
being tarnished with their activities and possibly leaving them at liberty to blackmail
him at any time should he refuse their demands on any matter.
Essex out of the way, the First Secretary could very
carefully declare his candidate to a tiny group of dependable power players in each
kingdom. Their secret correspondence
would continue until it transitioned into official state correspondence upon
the death of the Queen.
[2] Goldsmid,
Edwin. The secret correspondence of Sir Robert Cecil with James VI, King of
Scotland (1887), 8.
[3] Strickland,
Agnes. The Life of Queen Elizabeth
(1906, 1910), 692. "Endorsed in the
hand of Robert Cecil : 2— ' A copy of her Majesty's letter, lest you cannot
read it,' then in Lord Mountjoye's hand, 'received in January, at Arbracken.'" I am only aware of this one documented
instance but it can hardly have proven wise just once. Strickland does not give a citation and I’ve
yet to find one. The content indicates
it was written after Essex returned from
Ireland and before the Essex Rebellion.
[4] Bruce,
John. Correspondence of King James VI. of Scotland with Sir Robert Cecil and
others (1861), xxxv. The names of
the various correspondents that would form the confidential group (upon the
approval of Cecil) would be replaced with code numbers.
[5] Bruce,
1.
Also at Virtual Grub Street:
- The Fascinating Itinerary of the Gelosi Troupe, 1576. June 10, 2019. “The Spanish soldiers had not been paid and unpaid soldiers tend to rob and loot. The citizens were prepared to give them a fight. Violent flare ups were occurring everywhere.”
- A Thousand Years of English Terms. June 2, 2019. ‘One person did not say to another, “Meet you at three o’clock”. There was no clock to be o’. But the church bell rang the hour of Nones and you arranged to meet “upon the Nones bell”.’
- A Most Curious Account of the Funeral of Queen Elizabeth I: April 28, 1603. April 28, 2019. “Once it was clear that James I would face no serious challenges, Cecil and the others could begin to give attention to the matter of the Queen’s funeral.”
- The Battle Over Shakespeare's Early and Late Plays. September 24, 2018. “The answers to the post-Oxford dilemma, of course, are three.”
- Stratford Shakespeare’s Undersized Grave. July 22, 2018. “Mr. Coll’s considers this evidence to support an old rumor that Shakspere’s head had been stolen in 1794. But I submit that he is merely making his observation based upon a coincidence.”
- Check out the English Renaissance Article Index for many more articles and reviews about this fascinating time and about the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
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