THE ‘GUDE REGENT’? A DIPLOMATIC PERSPECTIVE UPON THE EARL OF MORAY, MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REGENCY, 1567-1570 Claire L. Webb A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St. Andrews 2008 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/459 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License The ‘Gude Regent?’ A Diplomatic Perspective upon the Earl of Moray, Mary, Queen of Scots and the Scottish Regency 1567-1570 Claire L. Webb Submitted for the degree of Ph.D. August 2007 -i- Declarations I, Claire Webb, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 100,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. Date: Signature of candidate: I was admitted as a research student in September, 2002 and as a candidate for the degree of Ph.D. in September, 2003; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2002 and 2007. Date: Signature of candidate: In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration. Date: Signature of candidate: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Ph.D. in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date: Signature of supervisor: -ii- Abstract This thesis examines and re-evaluates the political career and reputation of James Stewart, Earl of Moray, who acted as Regent of Scotland for the young King James VI from 1567-1570, after the deposition of Mary, Queen of Scots. Drawing upon a rich and varied body of evidence located in both the English and Scottish archives of state papers, together with contemporary propaganda, memoirs and histories, this work constructs a much needed political narrative of the period, investigating the often highly complex politics which lay behind the outbreak and the initial stages of the Marian Civil War. It questions Maurice Lee’s image of Moray as the ‘gude regent’, an image which was first present in Buchanan’s History, and which depicts Moray as a highly successful regent, and an altruistic Protestant reformer. Dispelling Lee’s view of Moray as a ‘reluctant regent’, it shows instead that the Earl was determined to gain, and then maintain, his position of power. It incorporates a discussion of the constitutionality of the actual regency itself, together with the theories of election which were drawn up to justify both it and the deposition of a monarch. In addition, the thesis sheds light upon the dynamics of Scottish political alignment during the period, emphasising the great fluidity which was to be found, and showing how issues of internal government, and attitudes towards England, affected men’s allegiances as much as, if not more than, the ostensible issue of monarchy itself. This study also builds upon recent work by Tudor historians such as John Guy and Stephen Alford, and sets Moray’s regency within an Anglo-Scottish context, demonstrating the importance of the interconnections between events in England, such as the Norfolk plot, and Scottish politics. It investigates the English attitudes towards Mary, and towards the two rival parties within Scotland, taking into account the sometimes conflicting objectives of Elizabeth I and her leading ministers, such as William Cecil, yet showing how they consistently sought to gain dominance over Scotland. Moray’s regency was cut short by his assassination, and this thesis concludes by considering both his murder and its aftermath. It explores how his death impacted upon the political situation, together with the way in which his reputation was shaped in the immediate period after his death. Finally, it investigates the opportunity that both Moray’s assassination and the Northern Rising of late 1569 had given England to intervene in Scottish affairs, and further pursue policies to that country’s own advantage. -iii- Acknowledgements I would like to begin by thanking my supervisor, Professor Roger Mason, for first suggesting the topic of the Marian Civil Wars to me, and for providing help and guidance both during my undergraduate career and during the period of my postgraduate research. I am also grateful to the School of History at the University of St Andrews for purchasing microfilm copies of the State Papers for Scotland, and the Border papers. This has greatly helped with my research. In addition, I would like to thank Lord Stewart of Doune for granting me access to the Moray Muniments (NRAS 217) and for depositing them with the National Archives of Scotland so swiftly. My greatest debts are to those who have supported me on a personal level. I want to thank my fiancé, Scott, for his constant love and support, and also for taking care of the day to day things over the past few weeks – cooking, shopping, fixing the car and much more. I also want to thank my little sister, Liz, for refusing to show any interest in history whatsoever, for forcing me to think about other things, and for always being able to make me laugh. Finally, I am incredibly grateful to my parents, who have always been there for me, and who have been a constant source of financial and emotional support. Boarhills, Fife, August 2007. -iv- Contents Declarations ii Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv Abbreviations vi Introduction 1 Chapter 1: The Deposition of Mary, Queen of Scots and Moray’s Assumption of the Regency. 1.1 Mary’s Deposition. 16 1.2 The Coronation of James VI and Moray’s Assumption of the Regency. 26 1.3 Anglo-Scottish Relations in 1567. 35 1.4 The Beginning of Moray’s Regency. 47 1.5 Moray’s Enemies. 56 Chapter 2: A British Problem? 2.1 The Battle of Langside. 65 2.2 Mary’s Arrival in England. 75 2.3 King’s Men and Queen’s Men. 82 2.4 ‘The First Trial’. 92 Chapter 3: ‘The Gude Regent’? 3.1 Moray’s Return to Scotland. 108 3.2 Anglo-Scottish Relations in 1569. 128 3.3 The Decline in Moray’s Position. 140 Chapter 4: ‘That schot, allace! Yis realme hes shot in tway!’ 4.1 ‘The Bridle Luisit’: The Aftermath of Moray’s Assassination. 157 4.2 ‘This matter wyll brede grete alteracyn’: Anglo-Scottish Relations 177 (January – July 1570). 4.3 The Choice of a New Regent. 191 Conclusion 201 Bibliography 207 -v- Abbreviations Add. British Library, London, Additional MSS. Alford, Cecil Stephen Alford, The early Elizabethan polity: William Cecil and the British succession crisis, 1558-69 (Cambridge, 1998). AQM Gordon Donaldson, All the Queen’s Men: Power and Politics in Mary Stewart’s Scotland (London, 1983). APS Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, ed. C. Innes and T. Thomson (12 vols., Edinburgh, 1814-75). Bannatyne, Memorials Bannatyne, Richard Memorials of Transactions in Scotland, MDLXIX-MDLXXIII, ed. R. Pitcairn (Bannatyne Club, 51, Edinburgh, 1836). BL British Library. Buchanan, History George Buchanan, The History of Scotland, ed. and trans. J. Aikman (4 vols., Glasgow, 1827). BUK ‘The Booke of the Universall Kirk of Scotland’: Acts and Proceedings of the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland, ed. T. Thomson (Bannatyne Club, 81, Edinburgh, 1839-45). Calderwood, History David Calderwood, The History of the Kirk of Scotland ed. T. Thomson (8 vols., Wodrow Society, 1839-45). Cot. Calig. British Library, London, Cotton Caligula MSS. CP Hatfield House Library, Hertfordshire, Cecil Papers. CSP Dom. Add. Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series of the reign of Elizabeth, Addenda, 1566-79, ed. M.A. Green (London, 1871). CSPF Calendar of State Papers, Foreign Series, Edward, Mary and Elizabeth, ed. J. Stevenson et al (24 vols., London, 1860-1911). CSP Scot. Calendar of State Papers relating to Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots, 1547-1603, ed. J Bain et al (13 vols., Edinburgh, 1898-1969). CSP Spain. Calendar of letters and state papers relating to English affairs, preserved principally in the Archives of Simancas, ed. R. Tyler et al. (13 vols., London 1862-1954). Diurnal A Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents that have passed within the country of Scotland since the death of King James the Fourth till the year 1575, ed. T. Thomson (Bannatyne Club, 43, Edinburgh, 1833). Harley British Library, London, Harley MSS. Herries, Memoirs Historical Memoirs of the Reign of Mary, Queen of Scots and a Portion of the Reign of King James VI by Lord Herries, ed. R. Pitcairn (Abbotsford Club, 6, Edinburgh, 1836). Hist KJVI The Historie and life of King James the Sext: being an account of the affairs of Scotland from the year 1566 to the year 1596, ed.