Chapter 277: Eternal Rest (2)
Elizabeth, in her twilight years, could pursue bold and sometimes reckless policies without concern for dynastic repercussions. She acted with the freedom of one who knew her lineage would end with her final breath. There would be no Tudor heirs to inherit the consequences of her actions, no Tudor children to face retribution for her choices. This liberation from dynastic responsibility had emboldened her to take risks that a younger monarch, or one with direct descendants, might have avoided.
James, by contrast, had been stability-oriented throughout his reign in Scotland, cautious and deliberate in his decisions. His every action was made with the knowledge that his sons and their sons after them would inherit both his throne and the consequences of his governance. The Stuart line stretched before him like a chain of obligation, each link binding him to prudence.
After holding a splendid funeral for his political rival – a ceremony of such grandeur that it nearly emptied the royal treasury, with black-draped processions winding through London streets and nobles from across Europe in attendance – James moved with remarkable swiftness. The body of Elizabeth had scarcely cooled when a messenger, riding day and night with fresh horses at every post, delivered news of the Queen’s passing. This herald traveled the long and treacherous route from James’s court in Glasgow to Madrid, where the Spanish king resided in his imposing Alcázar palace.
Felipe III, the young Spanish monarch still living in the shadow of his formidable father Philip II, and his chief minister the Duke of Lerma, who had recently returned to Madrid from the new capital Valladolid, received the news through the messenger from Glasgow. The implications were immediately clear to both men as they exchanged knowing glances across the ornate council chamber. The chessboard of European politics had been upended with the removal of its most cunning queen.
The responsible party for the war had changed.
The Spanish immediately dispatched Duke of Frías, Juan Fernández de Velasco y Tovar, to Glasgow.
For peace negotiations.
"Spain recognizes that England is a Protestant country and shall not attempt to revive Roman Catholicism in England."
"Also, England shall cease all interference and obstruction of Spain’s Atlantic navigation and colonial establishment, and open the English Channel."
"Ships of both countries may use each other’s ports for repairs, refuge, and food supply. Fleets of fewer than eight ships need no permission."
Various provisions were added by the diplomatic envoys of both countries.