The Courtships of Queen Elizabeth

mission-Leicester's attempts to have Simier murdered-Alen?on's first visit to England-Elizabeth's infatuation for him-His departure and letters to the Queen-

husband then went his way and came on his mission to England. He was lodged and entertained at the Queen's cost,200 and brought with him twelve thousand crowns' worth of jewels to win over the courtiers to his master's cause. At his first interview with the Queen on the 11th of January she was not very cordial, and said that Alen?on could not have been very eager, as Simier had tarried three months on his way since his coming was first announced, but she soon melted under the influence of the envoy's dulcet words and the casket of jewels he handed her from his master. After the interview Leicester entertained him at supper, and the same night a grand ball was given by the Queen in his honour, at which we are told the

her. Alen?on's own words, she tells him, are worthy not of being written on parchment, but graven on marble. She bids him consult his wisest friends about coming over, but if he thinks his honour will suffer the least thereby she would not have him come for untold gold. Sh

s divintés qui y sont. Je supplie tres humblement vostre majesté pardonner a mes pations (i.e., passions) si trop presontuheuzement je dis se qui est dans mon ame." It is evident that the Queen was playing with him again, but she must have deceived many of her ministers as well, for in the Hatfield Papers there exists a whole series of documents, mostly in Burleigh's hand, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the match from every conceivable point of view at prodigious length, at which grave State papers doubtless her Majesty and Leicester laughed heartily in their sleeves. The Queen told the Spanish ambassador203 that it "was a fine idea for an old woman like her to talk about marriage," and more than hinted to him that the negotiations had only been undertaken for the purpose of getting the French out of the Netherlands, as she did not want them there. She assured him that nothing would be arranged about the marriage unless Alen?on came. All through March the negotiations for Alen?on's visit continued, whilst the Puritan pulpits rang with denunciations of the proposed popish match, and London was in a fever of apprehension of the coming of a French King consort. At last it was settled that the Prince should come over in April; and it was then considered necessary to secure Leicester's neutrality at least. He and Hatton had very soon got jealous of the bewitching "monkey," who rarely left the Queen's side now, so Castelnau, the ambassador, had to be the intermediary. Some letters signed by the King of France, but really concocted by Castelnau in London, were delivered to the Queen and Leicester, saying that Alen?on would come in May, and assuring Leicester on the King's word that the marriage should in no way injure his honour or position. Leicester urged that Alen?on should come whilst Parliament was sitting, even though the conditions were not agreed upon beforehand, and said he would move the House to demand the marriage. As the match was extremely unpopular in Lond

e desired to free herself from personal blame, and ordered each member of her Council to give her his opinion on the match in writing. This they all refused to do, and confined themselves to stating the arguments on both sides, leaving her to draw the conclusion. During the stay at Wanstead, almost day and night, Sussex, Leicester, Burleigh, and Walsingham remained in conference, but could come to no conclusion; and the Court had to return with the Queen to London still without an answer206 being given. At Whitehall on the 3rd of May, a full meeting of the Council was held to finally discuss the conditions, and Simier was invited to be present. The second demand of the association of Alen?on with the Queen in the government and distribution of offices was at once declared to be impossible, and was abandoned by Simier after some demur; but the other two conditions were insisted upon by him. Simier then retired to an adjoining room whilst the Council discussed these points. The first councillor to speak was the new Lord Chancellor Bromley, who set

his was by no means welcome news to Elizabeth, who at the time certainly had no intention of marrying him, and who feared the visit might either force her hand or throw upon her personally the responsibility of breaking off the match. The Council, however, decided unanimously that the Duke should not be affronted by a refusal to receive him, and that the Queen could not decently draw back now without at all events seeing her suitor. So it was settled with Sim

not dressed. He was obliged to come out to see her with only his doublet on, and she took him with her. Those who are against it are cursing him, and declare that Simier will cheat her, and has bewitched her." Castelnau now quite believed in the marriage. The Queen told him she really was co

the outrageous letter published by Labanoff, accusing her of immorality with both Simier and Alen?on. The murmurs were industriously fostered (and paid for) by the Spanish ambassador, who did his best to stir up trouble and make the match unpopular. He writes to his King at the end of June: "Although there is no binding undertaking about the marriage, the Queen gives every sign of being most anxious for it, and affirms that she will never marry a man

rrectly, that it had been done at the instance of Leicester and Hatton. The Queen was in a red-hot rage, and so was Simier himself, who determined to strike a blow at his rival, which no other had yet dared to do. Leicester had been secretly married some time before to the widowed Countess of Essex, the daughter of Elizabeth's cousin, and Vice-Chamberlain Sir Francis Knollys: it was a secret de polichinelle to every one but the Queen, but no one had ventured to tell her until Simier, choosing the propitious moment, did so. Her fury210 passed all bounds of decency and decorum; she raged and swore against the "she-wolf," as s

f possible, to get rid of so troublesome an element as Alen?on was in France. In England the match was looked upon as settled; but still gloomy, patient Philip, in his cell, was incredulous. "Whatever may be said," he wrote to Mendoza, early in August, "I do n

where rooms were also prepared for the Prince. Various attempts at mystification were made to prevent the knowledge of his arrival becoming public and to throw people off the scent, but as he was delayed by bad weather at Boulogne for some days, the news spread and his arrival was after all an open secret. The Queen coyly told the Spanish ambassador that her lover ha

said, been met in the street by many persons, but had not been recognised. He was, says Simier, tired to death, but notwithstanding that, entreated Simier to go at once to the Queen and beg her to let him go and salute her, all travel-stained and weary as he was. "But I showed him how impossible this was, as he would212 have to pa

fficulty been able to entertain the Duke, being captivated, overcome with love: she told me she had never found a man whose nature and actions suited her better. She begs me to write to your Majesty asking you not to punish him too213 much for the great folly of risking so much in coming to see a woman so unworthy as she is." The young Prince had been brought up in a Court where love-making was the great business of life, and flattered and languished as successfully as La Mole and Simier had done, and Elizabeth's overweening vanity had probably never been so satisfied before. She gave a ball on Sunday, the 23rd of August, 1579, at Greenwich, Alen?on, being only half hidden behind the arras. The Queen danced and posed even more than usual, and ever and anon made signals to her guest, of whose presence all the courtiers pretended to be ignorant. On the same night news came to the Duke that his staunch friend, Bussy d'Amboise, had at last been killed in a duel, and on the 27th Alen?on started by coach to Dover to take the ship w

of his tears. The monkey takes the liberty of humbly kissing your lovely hands."111 These letters were sent on the 28th of August, and on the two following days similar extravagant missives were sent by the Prince, by Castelnau, and Simier; and then, on his arrival at Boulogne, more lovelorn epistles followed, by the hands of Admiral Howard and Edward Stafford, who had escorted the Prince so far. The Queen could only talk of her ardent young lover,215 who, by the way, had scattered liberally amongst the courtiers the rich jewels his mother had provided for the occasion, the Queen herself receiving a splendid diamond ring worth 10,000 crowns; and in conversation with the Spanish ambassador she could find no words of praise strong enough for Catharine de Medici, "whom she had formerly abominated." The circumstances indeed again rendered a close alliance between England and France desirable either by marriage or otherwise. Catharine had managed to disarm Henry of Navarre, and the signing of the treaty of Nerac in F

ed, did not please their mistress. She wept and railed at them in no measured terms that their tedious disputations217 should seem to imply a doubt as to the wisdom of her marrying and "having a child of her own body to inherit and continue the line of Henry VIII.; and condemned herself of simplicity in committing this matter to be argued by them, for that she thought to have rather had a universal request made to her to proceed in this marriage than to have made a doubt of it, and being much troubled thereby she requested them to forbear her till the afternoon." When they went to her again they found her even more indignant, "and shewed her mislike of such as she thought would not proffer her marriage before any device of surety." She complained very bitterly that they should think so "slenderly" of her as to assume that she would not be as careful to safeguard religion as they were, and that they should begrudge her marriage and child-bearing for that reason. We are told (in Burleigh's own hand) that "her answers were very sharp in reprehending all such as she thought would make argument against her marriage, and though she thought it not meet to declare to them whether she would marry or not, yet she looked from their hands that they should with one accord have made special suit to her for the same."113 This meant, of course, that the responsibility should rest on other shoulders than her own whilst she had her way. Stubbs's famous book, "The discovery of a gaping gulf wherein England is like to be swallowed by another French marriage," had recently been published, and

their hearts be galled, if not alienated, when they shall see you take a husband, a Frenchman and a papist, in whom, howsoever fine wits may find further dealings or painted excuses, the very common people well know this: that he is the son of a Jezebel of our age; that his brother made oblation of his sister's marriage, the easier to make massacres of our brethren in belief. That he himself, contrary to his promise and all gratefulness, having his liberty and principal es