But the general opinion was that the command should go to him.

Father Parson's Green Coat was still very much in people's minds and it would be well for him to absent himself for a while.

Both Burghley and Walsingham remarked that he was a great figure in England and the fact that we sent him would make people understand how important the matter was to us; moreover, Robert, who wanted the glory of the expedition, had the means to use a great deal of his own money in promoting himself; and although he was not a general himself, he would have able commanders with him.

So it was decided that Robert should go to the Netherlands.


* * *

I SUMMONED HIM to Court and kept him with me before he left. There was so much business to discuss, I said. Even the night before he set out I made sure that he did not return to Leicester House where no doubt Lettice was waiting to say a fond farewell.

So I was with Robert till the time he set off for Harwich where a fleet of fifty sail was waiting to take him on the first stage of his journey.

I heard of the wonderful reception he was given on his arrival at Rotterdam, where the banks were lined with men holding cressets high in the air, and the cheers, ran the report, were deafening.

Poor people, they must have been very frightened; and who could wonder with those fanatical Spaniards noted for their cruelty ready to subdue them. And how Robert must have loved such a welcome! In his heart he had always wanted to be a king.

I felt quite ill after he had gone. I should not have allowed it. What if he should be killed in battle? Of course, he had looked so splendid, sitting at the head of his cavalcade, and when I had voiced my fears, he had said, with characteristic charm, that he wished he had a thousand lives that he might place them at my service.

But I worried and that brought on my headaches and I wished fervently that we had never become involved in the Netherlands controversy. I would never have done so but for my fear of the Spaniards who were growing more and more powerful every day. I thanked God for our fine seamen like Sir Francis Drake who robbed and pillaged their ships whenever possible. I wished there were more like him and we could drive the Spaniards off the seas. Why could not they live in peace in their country and leave me to mine? Why did they have to have this fanatical desire to impose their power and their religion on those who did not want it?

But so it was, and because of this, fine men like Robert Dudley had to go to war.

My feelings took a sharp turn when the news was brought to me that almost immediately after his arrival Robert, regarded as the savior of the Netherlands, was offered the Governor-Generalship of the United Provinces—the honor of sovereignty which first Henri Trois had refused and then I had. And Robert had dared accept without consulting me! My fury drove away my anxiety. Why had I worried about Robert? He had not gone there to fight but to make himself a king!

I sent for Thomas Heneage. I cried: “What think you of this news? My lord Leicester has taken the honor which I refused. I suppose he is now setting himself up as King of the Netherlands.”

Heneage was secretly pleased, of course, as they all were when I was angry with Robert, yet he was afraid to condemn him for they knew I was capable of turning on them if they attacked him.

“I shall write to him at once,” I said, “and put a stop to all this nonsense. You shall take my letter to him and let him know the full weight of my displeasure.”

Then I sat down and wrote to him in the heat of my anger:

“We could never have imagined had we not seen it fall out in experience, that a man raised up by ourself, and extraordinarily favored by us above any subject of this land, would have, in so contemptible a sort, broken our commandment in a cause which so greatly touches our honor…

“Our express pleasure and commandment is that, all delays and excuses laid apart, do you presently, upon the duty of your allegiance, obey and fulfill whatsoever the bearer shall direct you to do in our name: whereof fail you not or you will answer the contrary at your uttermost peril…”

Oh, I would have him humiliated! He had accepted the honor. Now he could publicly renounce it. I would have the whole of the Netherlands know that he was my servant and no one should forget it.

Such was my rage against Robert. But I suppose those about me, who knew me well, were aware that it would quickly subside and I would soon be feeling anxious for his dignity as well as his health.

Burghley advised caution. Let us discuss the matter. Let us not make hasty decisions.

I was already beginning to waver. I could imagine his joy when he accepted the great honor. Dear Robert, he would have done so with such charm and dignity. I wished I had been there to see him. Then I remembered what he had done. He had taken matters into his own hands. Moreover, how could he be Governor General of the United Provinces? His place was not in the Netherlands but in England at my side.

Then I heard news which infuriated me even more. Lettice was preparing to join him and she was proceeding in the state of a queen! She was assembling her wardrobe and in the city of London the merchants were busily making their way to Leicester House taking the finest materials for her approval—suitable for the wife of a man who was one step from a throne. She had ordered several coaches to be built and on these would be the arms of the Netherlands combined with those of Leicester.

Madam Lettice could only travel in the style of a queen!

I really gave vent to my feelings then. I swore by God that Madam Lettice was going to unpack her fine possessions with all speed. There was to be no triumphant royal trip for her.

“She is not going to join her King in the Netherlands,” I said grimly. “She might join him in the Tower, for he has lost his crown and will soon be returning to England in disgrace.”

So Lettice was commanded to stop her preparations. She could send the merchants back to their shops with their splendid materials; she could unpack her jewels. It was going to be very different from what she had imagined.

Heneage should leave at once for the Netherlands. He should tell Leicester that he must inform his dear subjects that his Queen, without whom he had no power whatsoever, had decided that he had acted rashly, foolishly and against her wishes in accepting what she would not allow him to take. And he must hand it back forthwith.

I had been getting over my anger with Robert but the thought of Lettice preparing to make a royal procession had sent it flaring up again.

Burghley was for keeping Heneage back for a while; so was Heneage himself. I know Burghley would have liked to see Robert humiliated, but he never allowed personal feelings to interfere with politics. That was what made him my most valuable servant.

He now pointed out the danger of publicly humiliating the man I had sent as my representative. Certainly Leicester must give up the GovernorGeneralship; this country could not take on such a responsibility; but he must be allowed to do so in a manner which would create the least fuss. Some excuse must be found. Leicester must be extricated from a position in which a momentary aberration on his part had placed him. It should be widely understood that England had no wish to take on the responsibility of the Netherlands. It was a different matter to give them military aid. As it was, we were not at war with Spain—although we were in fact fighting in the Netherlands. The position was delicate. This action of Leicester's had exacerbated it to some extent; but we must not make it more difficult.

I saw the point of this and of course I would never have hurt Robert with a public humiliation. It would be enough to berate him in private.


* * *

WHAT A DISASTER that campaign was! I should never have allowed myself to be persuaded to go to war—for that was what it was. Hadn't I always known that no one profited from war! It was too costly in lives and property; and the idea of wasting money on ammunition when it could be put to better use infuriated me.

Robert was not really a soldier; he was a courtier. Of course he reveled in the spectacles, all the feasting and adulation. But the Dutch did not want him there for that. They wanted the Spaniards driven out of their land.

I had agreed that Robert should continue in his office until some plan could be made to qualify his title. Perhaps my great desire after my first flush of anger, was to let all know that there had been no collusion on my part. My feelings for Robert were universally known and there would most certainly be suspicions that I had maneuvered this great honor for him. I had made it very clear that I had not, and now I was ready to allow the Council to find some way out of it.

Robert was not meant for such a task. We should never have sent him. He despised the Dutch for their homely manners and referred to them in their hearing as churls and tinkers. His great desire now was to come home.

Moreover, as I have said, he was not a soldier and was no true match for the Spaniards. It is true he relieved the town of Grave and then seemed to be of the opinion that this decided the entire campaign and he could rest from fighting. But it was not long before Parma had recaptured Grave and Robert was quarreling with his captains, blaming everyone for failure except himself.

I could imagine how he missed Court.

Then something very sad took place. Philip Sidney had accompanied his uncle to the Netherlands to take up his command at Flushing. I could imagine Robert's discussions with Sidney about my annoyance over the Governor-Generalship; and young Philip would of course believe that his uncle could do no wrong. What a beautiful relationship there was between those two! Now I wished more than ever that I had never embarked on this adventure; it was bringing misery to everyone. If I had my way I would have entrenched myself in England—building my ships, fortifying my land for the day when the Spaniards attempted to conquer us. Burghley was sure that they would come, and I was beginning to believe that he was right.