The Holder of this blog uses no cookies and collects no data whatsoever. He is only a guest on the Blogger platform. He has made no agreements concerning third party data collection and is not provided the opportunity to know the data collection policies of any of the standard blogging applications associated with the host platform. For information regarding the data collection policies of Facebook applications used on this blog contact Facebook. For information about the practices regarding data collection on the part of the owner of the Blogger platform contact Google Blogger.

Sunday, January 10, 2021

Bishop Quadra to King Philip II, June 20, 1562.

Last week I presented an English translation of the letter of Bishop Quadra to the Duke of Alva, June 6, 1562, in which Quadra, the Spanish ambassador to the English court, explained that he had been betrayed by one of his trusted servants who revealed Spanish ambassadorial secrets to his hosts. In this long follow-up letter to his King, the Bishop reviews gratifyingly many details of Queen Elizabeth’s court and her relations to the rest of Europe. It is the kind of behind the scenes look that can only garnered from the various  ambassadors that attended at close quarters upon the Court — and then only on lucky occasion.

 

Since writing to your Majesty on the 6th instant by Gamboa the courier, I have spoken with the Queen, who tried to hide her anger with me, but could not refrain from telling me that she was going to complain to your Majesty of me for the bad offices I did in always writing ill of her and her affairs. I told her that as she had my servant in her house and he had revealed more than it was meet for her to know, and as against all precedent she thought fit to call me to account for my communications to your Majesty, I thought it was time that I also should speak plainly and tell her that my dispatches to your Majesty, good or bad, had all been consequent on her own proceedings, and I had treated her matters with your Majesty in accordance therewith in all honesty and straightforwardness. If this did not meet with her approval it was at all events in accord with my duty to God and your Majesty and satisfactory to my own conscience. 

She tried to convince me by citing particular cases, and at last said I could not deny that I had sent Dr. Turner to Flanders to try to get her turned off the throne and substitute others (meaning Lady Margaret). I told her I had sent the doctor to arrange my private affairs and took the opportunity of his going (he being a person well informed of events here) to tell him to give an account to the duchess of Parma of the state of the French negotiations and designs in this country which might be directed to securing the adherence of Lady Margaret[1] to their side by taking her son and marrying him in France, by which means, even if the queen of Scotland, who was then in bad health, were to die, they would still have some claim to a footing in this country. These things were of such a character that I could not avoid informing your Majesty of them and warning the Duchess, seeing that war was being prepared between the king of France and her (the Queen), he having again taken the title and arms of king of England and publicly announced his intention to invade England, as I was assured by the bishop of Valence and M. de Raudau when they returned from Scotland. * * * This was during the life of King Francis when war was to be feared, but since his death I had written about nothing but her marriage with Lord Robert[2] (which if it had not yet been effected was from no lack of good offices on my part)… * * * She tried to find excuses for what I said, but in vain, and at last I said that as I desired to satisfy and convince her I should accept it as a favour if she would have me informed of the things my servant had said to my detriment in order that I might tell her frankly the truth, but that if she did not want to be satisfied, it would suffice for me to give an account of my actions to your Majesty, and as for the rest, she could do as she thought fit. She answered that she would send someone who could tell me, and subsequently the Lord Chamberlain and Dr. Watton came to my house who told me verbally what is contained in the statement I send herewith, and I answered to the effect of the copy also enclosed, reserving to myself however the right of replying at length to the Queen when I should see her. I have thought well to advise your Majesty in detail of all this in order that an answer may be given to the Queen's ambassador when he speaks on the subject. The most important part of the affair is the information the servant has given them about Turner's report, which remained in the possession of this man after Turner died in Brussels at a lodging occupied by both of them. Although I got back the original in the doctors own handwriting this man must have kept a copy by means of which and a few drafts he has stolen from time to time since he has been here he is now able to do all this harm….

It seems the queen of Scotland is very anxious to have a meeting with this Queen, and has offered to come as far as Nottingham to meet her, which is a hundred miles from here on the road to York. Secretary Lethington is here trying to obtain this, but it does not seem likely that he would stay so long here simply for this and from other indications I cannot help suspecting; that the coming of the queen of Scotland so confidently and so far hither involves some mystery. This Queen (Elizabeth) had made up her mind to go some days since, and preparations were being made but she has since cooled in the matter, and I know that Cecil is of opinion that the interview should not take place and that the Queen should not leave here this summer.

 

 

Source: Calendar of Letters and State Papers Relating to English Affairs, Preserved Principally in the Archives of Simancas., Elizabeth, I.244- 246.

 

Also at Virtual Grub Street:

  • Gossip as History: The Murder of Amy Robsart. February 17, 2020. "The first sudden death Leicester was rumored to have caused was that of his wife, Amy Robsart, in 1560. In that year, it was still not clear whether the Queen would marry. But certainly not her beloved Leicester if he were married."
  • 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.”
  • Queen Elizabeth I’s Heart and the French Ambassador.  April 3, 2019.  “…the Queen of England, with the permission of her physicians, has been able to come out of her private chamber, she has permitted me… to see her…”
  • Account of a Performance of Macbeth: April 20, 1611. September 30, 2018. “One detail of this account, in particular, promises to go a long way toward understanding the date of composition and a key detail as to the state of the text in 1611.”
  • Check out the English Renaissance Article Index for many more articles and reviews about this fascinating time and about the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
  • Check out the English Renaissance Letter Index for many letters from this fascinating time, some related to the Shakespeare Authorship Question.


    •  

     


    [1] Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, the mother of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.

    [2] Robert Dudley

    Posted by at

    No comments:

    Post a Comment

    Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)