The King's Assassin

by Benjamin Woolley

  Anne then rose from her bed … Goodman, 1839, v. I, p. 224. Both James and Charles suffered from apparently congenital ailments that have been the subject of much medical speculation but which are hard to identify, given the discretion courtiers needed to use when describing the health of a royal. See Holmes, 2003, Beasley, 1995, and Peters et al., 2012.

  After the ceremony was over … John Rushworth, ‘Historical Collections: 1627 (part 1 of 2)’, in Historical Collections of Private Passages of State: Volume 1, 1618–29 (London, 1721), pp. 422–89. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rushworth-papers/vol1/pp.422–89 [accessed 23 Sep 2016].

  The Matter of the Garter

  John Holles, an experienced observer of courtly affairs … Holles, 1983, vol. 1, p. 66; Weldon, 1650, p. 28.

  As the day of the investiture approached … Nichols, 1828, vol. 3, p. 91; Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 1, p. 597.

  For more than a year … Birch, 1848, vol. 1, p. 337.

  In July 1615 … Weldon, 1650, p. 29.

  Around this time … Nichols, 1828, vol. 3, p. 100.

  May suggested to George … Weldon, 1650, p. 30.

  The strange performance … Stewart, 2003, p. 269.

  Some time in August … Weldon, 1650, p. 30. Only Weldon mentions Gotly, its modern location is unknown, however. Some (e.g. Lockyer) assume that Weldon was referring to Goadby Marwood, but that was hundreds of miles away from the course of James’s progress at this time. Nichols shows that Gotly was likely to have been a stop-off between Purbeck and Lulworth, both West Country locations. Lockyer, 2014, p. 22; Nichols, 1828, vol. 3, pp. 97–8.

  Many years later … Bergeron, 1999, p. 179.

  Carr was now estranged … Weldon, 1650, p. 29.

  Reflecting some time later … Bergeron, 1999, p. 180; Stewart, 2003, p. 176.

  Some could not keep up, some fell; Nicholas Brett … Nichols, 1828, vol. 3, p. 100.

  As these ancient bonding rituals … Somerset, 1997, pp. 287–8; DNB, Sir Ralph Winwood (1562/63–1617); http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604–1629/member/winwoodsir-ralph-1563-1617 [accessed 1 Dec 2016].

  Two contemporary accounts … Bergeron, 1999, p. 96.

  Then suddenly George’s rise faltered. Lockyer, 2014, p. 27.

  Then George recovered and rallied. Nichols, 1828, vol. 3, p. 138.

  Neither a God nor an Angel

  On 2 May 1616 … Jardine and Stewart, 1999, p. 464; DNB, Francis Bacon, Viscount St Alban (1561–1626).

  Bacon’s initial contact … Jardine and Stewart, 1999, pp. 373–4.

  George intuitively grasped … Bergeron, 1999, pp. 106–7.

  Bacon, whose snobbery … Jardine and Stewart, 1999, p. 388.

  The title was conferred at Woodstock … Lockyer, 2014, p. 27.

  The following month … Bergeron, 1999, p. 104.

  Keeper of the Seal

  In an address … Bergeron, 1999, p. 113.

  He became particularly attached … Minor, 1986, p. 93; Howell, 1726, p. 116; TNA SP 14/89 f50.

  But James enjoyed her company. Nichols, 1828, vol. 3, p. 175; Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 141.

  James and George left London … Stewart, 2003, p. 284 ff.

  Memories of the kidnapping … Nichols, 1828, vol. 3, p. 327.

  From London came Bacon’s … Jardine and Stewart, 1999, p. 398.

  Some were not so approving. Weldon, 1650, p. 41.

  Sir Francis wrote to George … Jardine and Stewart, 1999, pp. 401–5.

  This devastatingly calm … Luciani, 1947, p. 30.

  Bacon moved quickly to redeem himself. Jardine and Stewart, 1999, p. 410.

  By this point … Bacon and Spedding, 1861, p. 248.

  A few days later … Jardine and Stewart, 1999, p. 412.

  Weldon noted with admiration … Weldon, 1650, pp. 41–2.

  Sir Edward Coke was given back … Lockyer, 2014, p. 44; Jardine and Stewart, 1999, p. 421.

  Made or Marred

  By the late 1610s … MacDonald, 1981, pp. 21, 256; Lockyer, 2014, p. 57.

  The greatest obstacle … TNA SP 14/113 f78v; Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, pp. 296–7; Goodman, 1839, pp. 189–92.

  The reason for the king’s enthusiasm … Jaffé, 1990.

  George used the windfall … Lockyer, 2014, pp. 62–4.

  Following the nuptials … Bergeron, 1999, p. 149.

  For James, the title of ‘dear dad’ … Bergeron, 1999, p. 150; Lockyer, 2014, p. 120.

  And so the rise … Ball, 1885, p. 153.

  Wickedest Things

  In the late 1610s … Casaubon, 2010, pp. 16, 35, 77, 81, 83.

  Simonds D’Ewes recorded his shock … D’Ewes, 1974, pp. 92–3; Stewart, 2003, pp. 278–9.

  Above in the skies … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 52.

  Heaven bless King James our joy … ESL, L10.

  ‘You are a new-risen star … Cecil, 1663, p. 44.

  For example, he had arranged for a distant relation … http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/mompesson-giles-1584-1651; http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/villiers-siredward-1585–1626 [accessed 26 Jan 2017].

  Hail, happy genius … Jardine and Stewart, 1999, p. 442.

  Poor George Villiers

  That winter, while Bacon … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 337; Kindleberger, 1991.

  A combination of factors … Van Zanden et al., 2012; Hirst, 2005, pp. 104–5, http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/ volume/1604–1629/survey/i-nature-functions-and-remit-house-commons [accessed 1 Dec 2016].

  If any institution … For the size of the Parliament, see:

  http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/survey/ii-membership [accessed 1 Dec 2016]; Stewart, 2003, p. 208.

  Bacon was James’s representative … Oldys and Park, 1808, p. 12.

  Complaining bitterly … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 351.

  The performance might be thought … Hacket, 1693, p. 49.

  Foreign observers … Lockyer, 2014, pp. 98–9.

  ‘Swim with the tide’ … Hacket, 1693, p. 50; ‘House of Commons Journal Volume 1: 13 March 1621’, in Journal of the House of Commons: Volume 1, 1547–1629 (London, 1802), pp. 551–3.

  Charges of corruption … British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/commons-jrnl/vol1/pp551–53 [accessed 27 Aug 2016]; ‘House of Commons Journal Volume 1: 15 March 1621’, in Journal of the House of Commons: Volume 1, 1547–1629 (London, 1802), pp. 554–6. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/commons-jrnl/vol1/pp554–6 [accessed 14 Jun 2016].

  Bacon wrote to George … Jardine and Stewart, 1999, pp. 451, 464–5.

  Within this sty a hog doth lie … ESL, Mii3.

  ACT II: TWO VENTUROUS KNIGHTS

  The Favourite and the Fountain

  In 1611, a factory in Florence … Strong, 2000, pp. 149–50.

  Charles could not have been more different … Strong, 2000, p. 6; Keevil, 1954, p. 415.

  Then Prince Henry had fallen ill. H [Haydon], 1634, p. 33 ff; Strong, 2000, p. 166.

  But where James had harboured jealousies … Carlton, 1995, pp. 10, 20.

  Once again, Charles found himself eclipsed. James, VI of Scotland and I of England, 1984, p. 367; Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 29.

  The second incident … CSPD, 14 Mar 1616, item 14; CSPD, 31 May 1616, item 40; Carlton, 1995, p. 24.

  A Masque on Twelfth Night

  In 1616, Francis Bacon … Cecil, 1663, p. 66.

  A turning point … TNA SP 14/113 f78v.

  Since the ambassador’s arrival in England in 1613 … Redworth, 2003, p. 28.

  In response to the king’s growing affection … Lockyer, 2014, p. 71; Redworth, 2003, pp. 40–1. Lockyer says that George never received a pension; the DNB entry on Gondomar suggests otherwise.

  Now that Gondomar’s embassy … Nichols, 1828, vol. 3, p. 500. This seems to hav
e been misdated by Nichols, who suggests the masque was performed a year later.

  It began a little inauspiciously … CSPV, 24 Jan 1618 [NS], item 188.

  Up until this stage … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 128.

  Charles wrote in desperation … Nichols, 1828, vol. 3, pp. 484–5.

  George did so by staging … Birch, 1848, vol. 2, p. 78.

  The Spanish Match

  Then, in 1617, Anne had aroused shock … CSPV, 9 Oct 1615 [NS], item 54; CSPV, 8 Sep 1617 [NS], item 14.

  One explanation for the volte-face … Payne, 2001, pp. 72, 237.

  The queen’s opposition to the Spanish match … CSPV, 19 Dec 1618 [NS], item 658.

  Convinced that he too was about to follow … Stewart, 2003, p. 301.

  Even the usually shy … CSPD, 15 May 1619, item 34; Stewart, 2003, pp. 303, 298.

  James’s only consolation … DNB, Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, Count of Gondomar in the Spanish nobility (1567–1626).

  Their private talks began … Gardiner, 1907, vol. 3, p. 338.

  Others did not find … CSPV, 19 Mar 1620 [NS], item 295.

  Elizabeth now began to write … Lockyer, 2014, p. 83.

  The reaction in London … CSPV, 11 Dec 1620 [NS], item 652; Stewart, 2003, p. 308.

  Parliament was recalled in late November … http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604–1629/survey/parliament-1621 [accessed 1 Dec 2016].

  James acted promptly. Nicholas, 1766, vol. 2, p. 252.

  Goring had been … http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/goring-sir-george-1585-1663 [accessed 2 Dec 2016].

  After lodging the motion … Russell, 1977, p. 309.

  Whatever qualms … Halliwell, 1848, p. 157.

  This outcome has been taken … Nicholas, 1766, vol. 2, p. 220; Lockyer, 2014, p. 109. See also Robert Bireley, 2012, pp. 6–7 for details on the relationship between the Spanish and German empires at this time.

  Just before he was due to depart … Pursell, 2000, p. 445.

  As he was about to leave … Redworth, 2003, p. 154, n. 2.

  The prince had been sending letters … Lockyer, 2014, p. 134; Carlton, 1995, p. 36.

  [note] According to Glyn Redworth … Redworth, 1994, p. 409; Redworth, 2003, pp. 58–9.

  Periwigs

  After Charles had first broached … D’Ewes, 1974, p. 118; Redworth, 2003, p. 59.

  Breaking diplomatic protocol … Redworth, 2003, p. 172.

  Encouraged by these diplomatic signals … Stewart, 2003, p. 111.

  In the event, it was James … Porter, 1897, p. 41.

  Cottington’s intervention … Bergeron, 1999, pp .150–1.

  The sight of Anne … Lockyer, 2014, p. 139.

  As she pirouetted … Moote, 1989, p. 147.

  Their coats once more attracted … Wotton, 1672, pp. 214–17.

  Having ‘saucily’ opened … Bergeron, 1999, p. 185.

  The House of the Seven Chimneys

  At 5 p.m., on 7 March 1623 … Howell, 1726, p. 132; Redworth, 2003, p. 82.

  Nevertheless, here they were … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 488; Bergeron, p. 186.

  Gondomar went off immediately … Redworth, 2003, p. 82.

  Though there might be something intriguing … Redworth, 2003, p. 65.

  Nevertheless, the sheer audacity … Redworth, 2003, pp. 82–3.

  Crowds gathered … Porter, 1897, pp. 48–9; Bergeron, 1999, p. 187.

  On Sunday, barely a week … Anon., 1623b, p. 18 ff.

  A few days later … Bergeron, 1999, pp.155–6, 188–9.

  George also enclosed ‘consolatory’ letters … Lockyer, 2014, pp. 152–3; Porter, 1897, p. 52.

  In the midst of all this … Howell, 1726, p. 135.

  The infanta played her part … Redworth, 2003, pp. 90, 97–8.

  The awkwardness and lack of encouragement … Redworth, 2003, p. 92.

  On Saturday 17 May … Howell, 1726, p. 136.

  [note] The reasons for the break-down of negotiations … Cross, 2007.

  There was also the position of Charles’s sister … Howell, 1726, p. 136.

  A despondent mood … Bergeron, 1999, p. 190.

  The patent formally conferring … Hacket, 1693, p. 125; Bergeron, 1999, p. 193.

  The promotion made … Porter, 1897, p. 61.

  A previous English envoy … Porter, 1897, p. 38; Bergeron, 1999, p. 190; Bellany and Cogswell, 2015, loc. 3600.

  Back home, Charles owned … Burke and Cherry, 1997, pp. 148–9; Redworth, 2003, p. 112 ff; Brotton, 2006, pp. 23, 17.

  They arranged for five camels … Redworth, 2003, pp. 112–15.

  Secret Intelligencers

  Wallingford House stood next … ‘The Admiralty’, in Survey of London: Volume 16, St Martin-in-The-Fields I: Charing Cross, ed. G. H. Gater and E. P. Wheeler (London, 1935), pp. 45–70; British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol16/pt1/pp45–70 [accessed 13 Nov 2016].

  Before leaving for Madrid … Hacket, 1693, pp. 125–6.

  Speculation erupted, and was picked up … D’Ewes, 1974, pp. 134–5.

  James Hay – the Earl of Carlisle … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 499.

  However, with the rumours … D’Ewes, 1974, pp. 135–6, 144; Cogswell, 2005, pp. 36–8.

  Fears swept through the country … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 494.

  Around the same time, two senior members … D’Ewes, 1974, p. 147; Whiteway and Murphy, 1939, p. 55; D’Ewes, 1974, p. 139; Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 499; CSPD, 21 Jun 1623, item 35.

  William Whiteway, a Dorchester merchant … Whiteway and Murphy, 1939, p. 53.

  The Wallingford House circle became … Hacket, 1693, pp. 137–8; Lockyer, 2014, p. 160.

  Then, on 14 June … Bergeron, 1999, p. 167.

  A Farewell Pillar

  George and Charles had been in Madrid … Lockyer, 2014, p. 148.

  A departure date of late August … Bergeron, 1999, pp. 197–9.

  Fool’s Coats

  When George’s father-in-law … D’Ewes, 1974, p. 156.

  Reaching London Bridge … DNB, George Abbot (1562–1633).

  Elsewhere in the kingdom … D’Ewes, 1974, pp. 163–4; Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 515.

  James, meanwhile, raced south … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 516. Chamberlain writes that they met at Royston, but D’Ewes noted that James had gone to Theobalds: D’Ewes, 1974, p. 164; CSPD, 9 Oct 1623, item 31.

  The three retired … Hacket, 1693, p. 165.

  The day after the reunion … CSPD, 10 Oct 1623, item 32; James, VI of Scotland and I of England, 1984, pp. 427–8.

  Meanwhile, the news-mongers … Whiteway and Murphy, 1939, p. 57.

  Hinojosa and Coloma … Nichols, 1828, vol. 4, p. 932.

  ‘Matters are still kept … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 516; CSPD, [16] Oct 1623, item 59.

  George seemed to be … Hacket, 1693, p. 133.

  Bedraggled members … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 516.

  A deadly incident … Paisey, 2005; Walsham, 1994; Anon., 1623a, pp. 12–13.

  The king took little interest … CSPD, 20 Oct 1623, item 81.

  As the weeks passed … Ruigh, 1971, p. 21.

  The king made a show … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 524.

  These overtures were followed up … Paisey, 2005.

  All was not as it seemed, however. Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 519.

  In November, James’s loyal servant … Ruigh, 1971, p. 23.

  ACT III: THE GREATEST VILLAIN IN THE WORLD

  The Honey and the Sting

  The mission to Madrid … Bergeron, 1999, p. 195.

  Yet his reception … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 516; Ruigh, 1971, p. 23.

  Since plummeting from power in 1621 … Bacon and Spedding, 1861, p. 432.

  George was responsive. For observatio
ns about the poverty witnessed in Madrid, see Redworth, 2003, p. 80; Villiers writes of how the nuncio ‘works as maliciously, and as actively as he can against us’ (Bergeron, 1999, p. 187); for references to the witch and the devil, see Bergeron, 1999, p. 195.

  George sent off … Bacon and Spedding, 1861, pp. 423, 442–3.

  The English Junta

  George reacted … CSPV, 15 Dec 1623 [NS], item 219.

  The prince joined in … Stewart, 2003, p. 330.

  Meanwhile, George set about … Bacon and Spedding, 1861, p. 443.

  George adopted a similar approach … Lockyer, 2014, p. 175.

  George responded by staging … Laud, 1695, pp. 8, 10; Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 532.

  ‘They are very closely united’ … CSPV, 2 Feb 1624 [NS], item 260.

  A select group of privy councillors … Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, pp. 535, 542, 543, 539.

  In an extraordinary declaration … Bergeron, 1999, p. 175.

  A Secret Matter

  Thursday, 12 February 1624 … CSPV, 23 Feb 1624 [NS], item 275.

  On 19 February, the ceremonies … Ransome, 1996, p. 11.

  Looking tired and ill … Baker, 2015: ‘19th February 1624’; D’Ewes, 1974, p. 181; Chamberlain and McClure, 1939, vol. 2, p. 546.

  But James had not been … Baker, 2015: ‘19th February 1624’.

  The Banqueting House

  Francis Bacon had compared ambition to choler … Bacon and Kiernan, 1985, p. 115.

  The duke struck … Wilson, 1653, p. 264.

  The MPs were entranced. Bellany and Cogswell, 2015, loc. 3372, 795; Hacket, 1693, p. 190; Lockyer, 2014, p. 193; Wilson, 1653, p. 264.

  Even the libellers … ESL, Oi2.

  The appreciative and patriotic mood … Baker, 2015: ‘1st March 1624’.

  Countless Difficulties

  The vigilant Venetian ambassador … CSPV, 23 Feb 1624 [NS], item 275.

  As the diplomatic machinations … CSPD, 2 Mar 1624, item 13.

  James, meanwhile, lingered … Bergeron, 1999, p. 200.

  Though his ‘rheum’ … CSPV, 22 Dec 1623 [NS], item 225.

  The French ambassador … Stewart, 2003, pp. 332–3; Lockyer, 2014, p. 185.

  The Forger of Every Mischief

  As the king moped … CSPV, 29 Mar 1624 [NS], item 317; CSPD, 1–2 Mar 1624, items 8–17.

  Delegates were swiftly chosen … HoL, 8 Mar 1624, ‘Advice of both Houses to the King, concerning Treaties with Spain’.

  Nevertheless, despite this litany … HoL, 8 Mar 1624, ‘King’s Answer’.