ROBERT BEALE AND THE QUEEN OF SCOTS PATRICIA BASING IN 1953 the British Museum acquired the Yelverton manuscripts, now Add. MSS. 48000-48196,^ from Brigadier R. H. Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe and his trustees. The papers of Robert Beale (1541-1601), Clerk to the Council of Elizabeth I, form the core of this collection of historical papers, which never left the custody of Beale's descendants, the Yelverton family, and their heirs. Apart from the papers ofthe Marquess of Salisbury at Hatfield House, the Yelverton manuscripts constituted the most important source in private hands for the study of Queen Elizabeth's reign: the manuscripts reflect Beale's activities as an antiquary and diplomat as well as an administrator. One volume. Add. MS. 48049,^ contains papers relating to Scotland and Mary Queen of Scots, and in particular to negotiations with Mary, which took place between 1581 and 1584, in which Beale was involved. Many of these items, which include original instructions and copies of correspondence with Mary, are printed from other sources.^ Of the unpublished material, six letters, five from Mary and one written by Nau, her secretary, on her behalf, are the subject of the present article. All six items are related to the negotiations with Mary held in 1583-4. Since 1569 Mary had been in the custody of George Talbot, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury, chiefly at Sheffield, with shorter spells at other Shrewsbury properties, namely Chatsworth, Wingfield Manor and Worksop.^ The crises ofthe Northern Rebellion and the Ridolfi plot in the early years of her captivity were followed by quieter times. Mary's supporters in Scotland were finally defeated in 1573 when Edinburgh Castle fell and the government of Scotland under the Regent, the Earl of Morton, was friendly towards England. While unhappy with her confinement, she may have decided to bide her time: she had a strong claim to the throne of England and, since Elizabeth, then aged about forty, was nine years her senior and unmarried, it was possible that she might eventually inherit the Crown. However, as the years passed, desperation at her long imprisonment caused Mary not only to seek assistance from abroad, particularly from her cousins, the Guise, and from Phihp II, but to cast around for other means of improving her lot. Moreover, the situation in Scotland changed in 1579 with the arrival at the Scots court of Esme Stuart, Sieur d'Aubigny, the half-French cousin of James VI, a supporter of Mary and ally of the Guise. He soon exercised powerful influence over James, who created him Duke of Lennox, while the Regent Morton was deposed and subsequently executed. Belief that 65 the party in power in Scotland was favourable to her cause may have influenced Mary to make the proposal that was to be the basis of negotiations between Scotland, Elizabeth and Mary for the next few years, namely that James should be associated with her as joint ruler in the Crown of Scotland, and on 5 January 1581 she appointed the Duke of Guise her agent' specialement aux ouvertures proposees entre nous et nostre tres aime filz pour son association a la corone d'Escosse'.^ Mary's position, set out in detail in instructions dated 28 October 1581 which she drew up for James Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow, Mary's ambassador at the French court, whom she hoped to send as envoy to Scotland,^ was that since her abdication at Lochleven was forced, James was not King until she shared the right with him as joint ruler. Mary hoped to use the negotiations as a lever to secure her release from English captivity: on 10 October she had written to Elizabeth to suggest they send a joint embassy to Scotland, a letter that contained veiled threats of retribution from Scotland if the association were accomplished and she were not released.^ Elizabeth was at this time faced by hostility not only from the dominant party in Scotland but also from Spain. Relations between England and Spain were bad, owing to English depredations on Spanish shipping and support ofthe Protestant cause in the Netherlands, and Spanish involvement in intrigue and rebellion against Elizabeth, for example the invasions of Ireland in 1579 and 1580. Mary, who in her isolated position overestimated the lengths to which continental powers would commit themselves on her behalf, dwelt increasingly on foreign schemes: in July 1580 she wrote to Beaton of plans for a French marriage for her son, and the possibility of taking him abroad, to Spain or even to Ireland to link with a Spanish army there.^ Further, Elizabeth was disturbed by the influx of Jesuit missionaries to England, and probably worried more than was necessary about Mary's position as a focus for English Catholic discontent and foreign interference. Therefore, in spite of justifiable caution while Lennox remained the main infiuence on James VI, Elizabeth may have thought that a negotiated settlement would stabilize Scots affairs and reduce the threat from Mary.^ ^ Consequently, in November 1581, Beale was sent to Sheffield to treat with Mary about the proposed joint embassy to Scotland. ^^ Three weeks of inconclusive discussions took place, complicated by Mary's illness, which she exploited with dramatic effect, interviewing Beale on her sickbed. On one occasion she claimed to be dying, and after attempting to comfort her, Beale withdrew 'Because of her and her women weeping in the dark', noting later that 'the parties are so wily with whom a man deals'.^^ He finally left Sheffield around 4 December bearing promises from Mary to acknowledge Elizabeth as rightful Queen of England and not to have dealings with foreign powers or rebels to the prejudice of Elizabeth's person or estate.^^ In spite of these protestations, however, Mary wrote to Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador to England, on 6 April 1582, showing her involvement in a plot by Lennox to invade England and Scotland with help from Spain and the Pope, release Mary and establish Catholicism in England and Scotland. ^^ However, in August 1582, probably with Elizabeth's encouragement,^^ James was seized by a group of Protestant and pro-English nobles and taken to Ruthven Castle, while Lennox was forced to flee abroad. 66 Mary was much upset by this reverse: it is her son's predicament which forms the theme of letter I, addressed to Elizabeth and dated i8 February 1582/3. Mary refers back to a long letter to Elizabeth written on 8 November 1582 in which she set out all her grievances,^^ and asks that an agent may be sent to treat with her concerning her liberty. After representations from the French ambassador,^*^ Elizabeth despatched Beale again to Sheffield to assist Shrewsbury in negotiations with Mary. Their instructions of 6 April 1583, which refer to Mary's letters of November and February, contained orders to refute Mary's complaints and challenge certain aspects of her conduct towards Elizabeth.^^ Particularly mentioned in the instructions is 'a letter of comfort' sent by Mary to supporters abroad 'in her own hand, which contained many poisoned and spiteful terms and speeches meant for us, whom she terms "tyrant", "faithlesse", "antichrist"...'. This is undoubtedly letter II: it is dated 8 April and an endorsement by Beale states that the letter was written at the time ofthe Northern Rebellion, that is 1569-70. The letter was most probably sent to Beaton, and was intended to be shown to Mary's supporters in exile; a postscript asks that the letter be shown to ' them whose names are in mine ordinarie lettre'. The original was in cipher^^ and the present fair copy in English, which bears no marks of amendment or alteration, was almost certainly made in connexion with Beale's mission to Sheffield in April 1583. Mary urges her supporters to be cautious lest suspicions are aroused that could, even literally, prove fatal to her cause, refers to opposition from 'heretickes so muche against the marriage' and praises 'cuttinge of the most faithlesse antichrist and usurper of titles' as work acceptable to God. The letter was written either in April 1569, or April 1570, following the suppression of the rebellion in December 1569 and the defeat and flight of Leonard Dacre in February 1570. Evidence for 1569 as the date of the letter is strong: by April of that year Mary was actively seeking assistance from abroad. As early as September 1568 Mary wrote to her childhood friend Elizabeth, Queen of Spain, asking France and Spain to bring diplomatic pressure on Elizabeth to restore Mary to Scotland, 'elle n'oseroit le refeuser, car elle est assez en doubte elle mesmes de quelque insurrections'. Mary continues to mention supporters in England ready to take risks for her cause, asks for a cipher with the Spanish ambassador and states her intention 'me soubmetre a tous dangers pour establir toute ceste isle a l'antique et bonne foy'.^** Further, in January 1569 De Spes, the Spanish ambassador, reported to Philip II that the Bishop of Ross, John Leslie, Mary's agent in London, had visited him at midnight 'to offer the goodwill of his mistress and many gentlemen of this country'.^^^ Rumours of plans for a marriage between Mary and the Duke of Norfolk were already strong enough by December 1568 for Elizabeth to have challenged Norfolk about the matter, and by May 1569 Norfolk and Mary were corresponding.^^ Meanwhile Norfolk, who was involved with other nobles in the early part of 1569 in an abortive attempt to oust Cecil from his position as Elizabeth's chief adviser, was also in touch with De Spes. Relations between the English government and Spain had been bad since the English seizure of Spanish payships in December 67 1568: in February 1569 Norfolk and the Earl of Arundel, through the mediation ofthe banker Ridolfi, promised return of the Spanish money and ships and the establishment of a Catholic government with Elizabeth's consent, once they were rid of Cecil.^2 Further, if, as seems most likely, Mary's postscript 'my L.