[4] Hay also made a notarial copy of the deposition or confession of Nicolas Hubert alias French Paris concerning the murder of Lord Darnley.
[5] In November 1570 he wrote to Earl of Mar at Stirling Castle describing his recent conversation with the English ambassador Thomas Randolph.
[6] The jewel was no bigger than the palm of a man's hand and made "in form of a heirse of harthorne", well-decked with gold and enamelled.
[8] Richard Bannatyne, a secretary of John Knox, also described the jewel, thought to allude to the English succession, in his memoir.
[14] When James VI and John Maitland of Thirlestane went to Norway to meet Anne of Denmark in 1589, Hay was temporarily Secretary.
[15] James VI wrote to him, probably in December 1591, asking him to make sure exchequer officials and administrators attended to royal business and the management of his household.
The manuscript includes material connected with the York conference, coinage, the English subsidy of James VI, cost-saving measures for the royal household in 1591, and gifts received at the baptism of Prince Henry.