Francis Walsingham

Politician, spymaster

• Born: c. 1532
• Birthplace: Kent, England
• Died: September 6, 1590
• Place of death: London, England

Education: King's College, Cambridge; University of Padua

Significance: Francis Walsingham served as the head of Queen Elizabeth I's secret service. As Elizabeth's chief spymaster, he was in charge of protecting her majesty from assassination attempts. Walsingham uncovered several such plots in his service to the queen.

Background

Francis Walsingham was born around 1532 in Kent, England, where his family had purchased a manor. The Walsingham family had become wealthy members of the gentry by making and selling wine. He was the only son born to William Walsingham, a lawyer, and Joyce Denny, the daughter of Sir Edmund Denny, who was a politician. Walsingham's father died when he was a baby, and his mother soon remarried, becoming the wife of Sir John Carey. Carey was related to the family of Anne Boleyn, the mother of Elizabeth I, the future queen. Walsingham went on to study at King's College at Cambridge but did not complete a degree.

When Walsingham was a young man, King Henry VIII died. During his reign, Henry had cut ties with the Catholic Church and established the Church of England, which was a Protestant denomination. Henry outlawed Catholicism throughout the country. His daughter, Mary, had never agreed with her father's decision and remained Catholic. When her father died in 1547, her half-brother, Edward VI, became king when he was only nine. Edward ruled for only six years before dying. The crown briefly passed to Lady Jane Grey before Mary took the throne in 1553. She became Mary I, queen of England, and quickly began an effort to bring Catholicism back to the country.

During Edward's reign, Walsingham had spent time traveling across Europe. In his travels, he learned to speak French and Italian. When he returned to England, he studied at an inn of court in 1552 to become a lawyer. However, after Mary took the throne in 1553, Walsingham, a devoted and outspoken Protestant, returned to Europe. By 1555, he was studying civil law at the University of Padua in Italy. In 1558, Mary died, and her younger sister Elizabeth became queen. Unlike Mary, Elizabeth was a Protestant, which meant that it was safe for Walsingham to return to England.

Political Career

Walsingham first returned to his family's estate in Kent before going to London to be a Member of Parliament for Lyme Regis. While in Parliament, Walsingham met William Cecil, who served as first minister to Queen Elizabeth. Now that Elizabeth was queen and Protestantism was back in favor, Cecil worried over attempts on the queen's life. He was particularly concerned about enemies from France and Spain, both Catholic countries, and employed Walsingham to learn what he could about foreign threats to the monarchy. By 1570, Cecil had recommended to Elizabeth that Walsingham serve as an ambassador to France. During his time in France, Walsingham traveled to Paris to try to assist in negotiations for the French Huguenots, who were Protestants living in a country ruled by a Catholic monarch, Charles IX. While serving in this position, Walsingham witnessed the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572, during which about three thousand Protestants were slaughtered. This only increased Walsingham's dislike and distrust of Catholics.

Walsingham returned to England in 1573 and became part of the queen's Privy Council. That same year, Walsingham took over the position of secretary of state, which he held until his death. He was re-elected to Parliament in 1576, and Elizabeth made him a knight in 1577.

Spymaster

Walsingham's job as secretary of state gave him control of a vast network of spies. He also hired more spies to help protect against threats to his queen and his country. Several threats involved Mary Stuart. Mary, Elizabeth's cousin, had been queen of Scotland but was forced to give up the throne. She was a Catholic, and English Catholics at home and abroad wanted to force Elizabeth from her position and install Mary as the new queen.

One of the first major plots to bring Mary to the throne occurred in 1583. Francis Throckmorton, an English Catholic, had made contact with other English Catholics living in Europe. The plan was to have France invade England. The French would free Mary, who would then rule as a Catholic. Walsingham uncovered the plot, and Throckmorton was eventually executed. However, the queen's chief spy could not prove Mary's involvement in the plan.

This changed a few years later. In 1586, Walsingham discovered that a young priest named Gilbert Gifford was acting as a messenger to send correspondence between Mary and Catholics on the continent. He was also in contact with a group of English Catholics led by Sir Anthony Babington. Walsingham was able to convince Gifford to work for him as a double agent, gathering information that would finally prove Mary's treasonous intentions. Gifford carried letters between Mary and her supporters, but they always passed through the hands of government agents first. The agents would decipher the letters and then send them to their original destination as if nothing had happened. Finally, the agents intercepted a letter from Mary to Babington that said she supported a scheme to assassinate Elizabeth.

Walsingham had Babington arrested and executed. Despite the evidence, Elizabeth did not want to execute her cousin. Walsingham and Parliament disagreed. Eventually, they had Elizabeth sign a warrant against her cousin and executed Mary against Elizabeth's wishes. The queen was not happy with Walsingham. However, he remained in her service until his death.

Impact

Walsingham prevented several attempts on taking the life of Elizabeth, whom experts consider one of the greatest monarchs in history. Walsingham protected his queen and prevented England from being invaded by foreign forces many times.

Personal Life

Walsingham was married twice. Both women were widows. He married his first wife, Ann Carteill, in 1562 and became stepfather to her son. She died two years after their marriage. In 1566, Walsingham married Ursula St. Barbe Worseley, who had two sons. Tragically, shortly after she married Walsingham, her two sons died in an accident while playing with gunpowder. She and Walsingham eventually had a daughter, Frances.

As an adult, Frances married Sir Philip Sydney, who became a good friend of Walsingham's. When Sydney died, Walsingham became responsible for his debts. This left Walsingham in debt until his own death on September 6, 1590.

Bibliography

Briscoe, Alexandra. "Elizabeth's Spy Network." BBC, 17 Feb. 2011, www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/tudors/spying‗01.shtml. Accessed 15 Sept. 2017.

Budiansky, Stephen. Her Majesty's Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, and the Birth of Modern Espionage. Penguin, 2006.

Freer, Alan. "Francis Walsingham: Elizabethan Spymaster." British Heritage Travel, 12 June 2006, britishheritage.com/francis-walsingham-elizabethan-spymaster/. Accessed 15 Sept. 2017.

Hasler, P.W. "Walsingham, Francis (c. 1853–90), of Scadbury and Foots Cray, Kent; Barn Elms, Surr. and Seething Lane, London." The History of Parliament, www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/walsingham-francis-1532-90. Accessed 15 Sept. 2017.

Johnson, Charlotte. "Francis Walsingham: The Eyes and Ears of Elizabeth I." Manchester Historian, 14 May 2013, manchesterhistorian.com/2013/francis-walsingham-the-eyes-and-ears-of-elizabeth-i/. Accessed 15 Sept. 2017.

"Walsingham, Francis." Elizabethan World Reference Library, edited by Sonia G. Benson and Jennifer York Stock, vol. 2: Biographies, UXL, 2007, pp. 235–42.

"Walsingham, Sir Francis (1532–1590)." Encyclopedia of Tudor England, edited by John A. Wagner and Susan Walters Schmid, vol. 3, ABC-CLIO, 2012, pp. 1148–50.