Her Majesty’s Secret Service - Chapter 89



089. Butterfly Effect – Spy Captain

A few days ago, news reached London that King Henry of France, who had been in critical condition due to injuries sustained in a joust, had finally passed away.

After King Henry’s death, François, Duke of Guise, uncle of the newly crowned King François II and a war hero who defeated Philip in the last war and briefly occupied northwest Flanders, ‘assisted’ the young king, who was only 17 years old. With a justification, he quickly seized power.

As soon as the Duke of Guise, a devout Catholic, took power, he openly took steps to drive out Protestant nobles called ‘Huguenots’ from the court, and the Huguenot nobles began to unite to oppose the Duke of Guise.

In this way, signs gradually began to appear that the conflict between Protestants and Catholics, which had been barely resolved during the lifetime of Henry II, was being reignited.

Meanwhile, in Scotland… .

“Mary of Stuart, who claims to be our queen, has forgotten the sacred duty bestowed upon her by the Lord. She has been in France for over ten years without a queen who should rule the country, and there is no sign of our Scottish strife ending!

Brothers, look at England! Look at their city, London! See England prosper, with a ruler who does the duty the Lord has given her! See with your own eyes how the country prospers when those who rule it fulfill their duties!

We can no longer stand by and watch Scotland fall into chaos, so we seek a new ruler who will fulfill her sacred duties in place of the Queen who has abandoned her duties.

As the ruler of England, Queen Mary of the Tudor Dynasty, is a relative of Queen Margaret, the wife of King James V, she is fully qualified to become the owner of the crown of Scotland, so we would like to have her as our new ruler. . “Hasn’t he been performing his duties as ruler well for the past eight years since he was on the throne?!”

John Knox, a Scottish religious reformer and founder of Presbyterianism, united the Protestant forces in Scotland and declared that he would dedicate the crown of Scotland to Queen Mary of England.

Mary, who had been paying close attention to the situation in France, urgently convened a court meeting as soon as the news reached London, and when the nobles heard of the situation, they also responded to the convocation without delay.

From noble mtl dot come

* * *

June 26, 1561.

Unlike usual, so many people attended the court meeting convened on the last Sabbath of June that it was difficult to find an empty seat. During regularly held court meetings, there were often empty chairs, but today, not only were the chairs full, but some of the nobles were standing in their seats.

“I really appreciate you gathering here even though it is the Sabbath.”

Mary’s stern face as she looked around the office filled with nobles seemed to show how urgent this matter was.

When the nobles who had entered the office seemed to have found their places to some extent, Mary announced the start of the meeting in a quiet voice.

“It looks like everyone has gathered, so let’s get started. So, what do you think Nox was thinking when he made this declaration? “Well, tell me what you think.”

As soon as Mary’s words fell, the English nobles attending the court meeting began to express their opinions as if competing.

Somehow, the opportunity to gain the queen’s attention had come.

“Could it be that France was sponsoring Scottish Catholic nobles without our knowledge?”

“Or maybe they were scared because they thought they would sponsor us. The Queen of Scotland became the Queen of France. Besides, isn’t the Queen of Scotland the niece of the Duke of Guise, who has recently emerged as the real power of France?”

“In any case, the internal balance of power has collapsed, so shouldn’t it come out that way? “It is the Protestants called ‘Presbyterians’ who have reached out to Her Majesty the Queen.”

“Hmm… My opinion is different. If the balance of power within Scotland had collapsed and power had tilted toward the Catholic lords, there was no way France would just sit there… .”

“King Henry has fallen out of the joust, so can he afford to take a hand in Scotland? “Isn’t it rather that you have no choice but to stay still?”

“Isn’t it François, Duke of Guise, who now holds real power in France? Clearly, Duke François was the Regent of Scotland… .”

While the nobles were speculating as to why John Knox and the Protestant forces in Scotland were trying to bring the crown to England, a young official cautiously raised his hand and opened his mouth.

“Her Majesty the Queen and other nobles, may I please say a word?”

The sleepy eyes and quietly closed lips of the young bureaucrat who asked Mary to speak seemed to indicate his temperament.

“Who are you? “Is this your first time seeing this face?”

Mary looked at him with a puzzled expression. The other nobles also looked at him with the same expression as Mary, because it was truly the first time they had seen him at the ‘court meeting’.

“The introduction is late. My name is Francis Walsingham, who attended the meeting on behalf of the high-ranking treasurer, the Marquess William Perlet. Since the Marquis is away at the estate, I will attend the meeting in his stead. “Please forgive my rudeness.”

The young bureaucrat, ‘Francis Walsingham’, showed his composure by confidently completing his introduction and bowing politely to Mary even though the eyes of numerous nobles were focused on him.

* * *

The ‘Walsingham’ family was a family with a devout Protestant faith. Francis Walsingham was also a devout Protestant. After the death of Edward VI, who supported Protestantism, when Mary, known as the ‘Catholic Queen’, ascended the throne, she planned to escape England and go into exile in another country to avoid possible persecution. It was.

However, contrary to Walsingham’s expectations, after her coronation, Mary declared that she would embrace Anglicanism. Walsingham, who found no reason to leave England, decided to remain in England.

Walsingham, who decided to remain in England, worked as a lawyer at Gray’s Inn for several years, and it was not until 1557 that he took advantage of his father’s connections and entered the Treasury.

Walsingham’s father died when he was four years old, but his power was so great that he was once part of the committee to elect Cardinal Wolsey, and thanks to this, he was able to start his life at court as a ‘parachute’.

His position was to manage the daily routine of High Treasurer William Perlett and bring documents to his office; in short, he was the High Treasurer’s secretary.

Walsingham, who started out as the treasurer’s secretary, was able to win the Marquis’ trust within two years with his characteristic reticence and competence, and recently, he would represent or assist in the Marquis’s work when the Marquis was absent or busy with work.

About two days ago, the Marquis went down to Winchester, his fiefdom, for a while on the Sabbath, saying that something had happened in his fiefdom, but today, which happened to be the Sabbath, an urgent palace meeting was convened.

Thanks to this, Walsingham was able to attend court meetings on behalf of the Marquis.

“I am the agent of the Marquis Perlet… Given his personality, he wouldn’t entrust his services to just anyone. Yes, did he say Walsingham? “Tell me what you think.”

‘It is done. I took my chance.’

On the outside, Walsingham nodded as if nothing had happened, but when he heard Mary’s voice, he was inwardly bursting with joy.

Among the lawyers registered at Gray’s Inn, he was a very promising lawyer, but the reason he worked as a court official was so that he could one day get noticed by the queen and become successful. Just like ‘Baron Grinstead’.

In fact, Walsingham began his career as a court official because he heard rumors about Baron Grinstead.

No matter how much merit he had made, the fact that a mere foreigner cook received the title of baronet was not enough and that he ended up marrying the queen’s niece, which ignited a fire in Walsingham’s heart. Isn’t she the queen this time, a queen who gives back more than just being loyal to herself?

Since the day he heard the rumor, Walsingham had been trying to find a way to get the Queen’s attention, and it wasn’t until today that he got the chance.

“Thank you for the opportunity, Your Majesty.”

Walsingham politely greeted the Queen and the nobles in the office and began to express his thoughts in earnest. He cannot waste the opportunity given to him.

“Do you really need to know what their plan is and why they are trying to hand over the crown? “I think what’s important is ‘who’ will wear the Scottish crown and ‘how’ Scotland will be incorporated into England.”

“The one who will wear the crown… For someone so young, you have a bright view of the situation. “Keep going.”

Walsingham, who heard Mary’s voice sounding interested, continued speaking with confidence.

“Yes, Her Majesty. Although France is said to be in turmoil following the recent death of King Henry, there is no way she will stand by and allow Her Majesty the Queen to wear the Crown of Scotland. Because their queen is the Queen of Scotland.

Naturally, it is clear that the Protestant forces in Scotland, including Knox, do not expect Her Majesty the Queen to accept their proposal. Instead of… .”

Walsingham, who trailed off, took a deep breath and spoke in a firm and confident voice.

“They must be thinking that they will send Princess Elizabeth to be king. “Except for Her Majesty the Queen, there is no other royal family member who has inherited the bloodline of Her Majesty Henry VII except Princess Elizabeth.”

As Walsingham continued to speak, one of the nobles who had been quietly listening to him opened his mouth with a displeased expression on his face.

“Let me ask you one thing. Let’s say they made this declaration to make Princess Elizabeth their king. Is there any reason they would want Princess Elizabeth?

You don’t seem to know much because you are young, but the Seymour family is the only family that supports Princess Elizabeth. “What do they stand to gain by supporting Princess Elizabeth?”

Before answering the nobleman’s words, Walsingham glanced at Mary’s face, and after seeing a light of interest on Mary’s face, he answered the nobleman’s question while maintaining a confident attitude.

“Why do you think there isn’t one? “Couldn’t we get Princess Elizabeth’s support?”

“What do you mean? What guarantee is there that Princess Elizabeth will support them? What if they enthrone the princess as her queen and use her… .”

“If we had gotten that guarantee, wouldn’t it be a different story?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“If we assume that Princess Elizabeth reached out to them first, wouldn’t everything be explained?”

“what… what?”

“Think about it. They suddenly… .”

Just as Walsingham was about to open his mouth again, the voice of Mary, who had been watching him, interrupted him.

“Yes, I understand what you are saying. “If your thoughts have reached that point, you probably know what I’m going to say, right?”

“If there is a way to bring back the Scottish crown without sending Princess Elizabeth to Scotland, I have already thought of one.”

“okay? Would you like to talk about it somewhere?”

In response to Walsingham’s still confident answer, Mary pressed him for an answer.

“It’s simple. May Her Majesty the Queen promise more than what Princess Elizabeth has promised to give them. And may she present Her Majesty the Queen, a trusted royal, to be the holder of the Scottish Crown.”

“Regardless of bloodline or not? Wouldn’t the backlash be normal? “If we do something wrong, the civil war in Scotland could become more intense.”

“What does that have to do with your Majesty the Queen?”

“What?”

“Anyway, even if Princess Elizabeth wears the crown, civil war is inevitable. At best, the issue will be how much more neutral nobles who act for a cause can be attracted. “The more devastated Scotland becomes, the easier it will be for Her Majesty the next Queen to annex Scotland.”

At Walsingham’s naturally virtuous attitude, in which he secretly flattered Catherine that she could become the next queen, Mary burst out laughing with great satisfaction.

“The next queen… Contrary to what he looks like, he knows how to use his tongue quite a bit. So then who should be crowned? “Do you have anyone in mind?”

“of course. Miss Jane Lee, Her Princess of Suffolk and Baroness Grinstead… .”

“Please wait a moment!”

Walsingham’s voice, as he continued to talk passionately about seizing the opportunity given to him, cut off midway.

“I have an objection. Her Majesty the Queen. Now, what is the author talking about? “What are you doing to Jane?”

The voice of Logan, Baron Grinstead, was directed at Walsingham, who mentioned Jane Gray as the owner of the Scottish crown.

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*In actual history, Francis Walsingham was known as Queen Elizabeth’s chief spy. She served as Queen Elizabeth’s secretary and later rose to the position of Secretary of State for England. She was a devout Protestant and left England to avoid Mary’s persecution. She returned to England after Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558.

*Grace Inn is one of the four courts located in London, and you still need to register your name here to practice law in the UK. In short, you can think of it as a legal association or a legal society.