Edward Wotton, 1st Baron Wotton
Born in 1548, Edward was the eldest son of Thomas Wotton (1521–1587) by his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Rudston, Lord Mayor of London in 1528.
"[dnb 1] He was certainly an accomplished French, Italian, and Spanish scholar; Mendoza also thought him "a creature of Walsingham's," but was unable to discover what his religion was.
Edward's grand uncle Dr Nicholas Wotton was an ambassador for Mary I of England in France, during the negotiation of the peace of Cateau Cambrésis.
Edward came to the French court anonymously as a simple countryman, Melville uses the Scots language word "landwart" (Landward) which means "countryside", accompanied only by his interpreter.
Montmorency guessed that this was Dr Nicholas' plot to discredit him, and Edward remained a while in France, but now publicly known as the ambassador's grandnephew.
[2] He was early given diplomatic assignments by Walsingham, and in 1574-6 was secretary to the embassy at Vienna, Sir Philip Sidney being for a time associated with him in these duties.
In May 1579 Wotton was sent to congratulate Henry, the new king of Portugal, on his accession, and on his way back had an audience with Philip II of Spain at Segovia.
In January 1583-4 it was proposed to send him to Spain to protest against Mendoza's conduct in England and to explain his summary expulsion by Elizabeth.
[5] Assisted by Robert Zinzan alias Alexander, he also brought a gift of horses and hunting dogs which delighted the young king.
[7][8] In May 1586 Elizabeth, alarmed at the progress of the Catholic League in France and the success of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma in the Netherlands, selected Wotton as envoy to Scotland to persuade James VI to enter into an offensive and defensive alliance and to take the Dutch under his protection.
"[dnb 2] At first Wotton's success appeared complete; James agreed to the proposal for an offensive and defensive league, and on 28 June the lords and estates approved.
Wotton's position was now precarious, and in August Arran's ally, Sir William Stewart openly insulted him in the king's presence.
Elizabeth, however, hesitated to risk an open breach with James by effectively supporting her ambassador, but the despatch of Castelnau de Mauvissière by Henry III of France to Scotland reinforced French influence at Edinburgh, strengthened James in his refusal to give up Arran, and made Wotton's success hopeless.
In 1586, however, he was sent to France to explain to Henry III the intrigues against Elizabeth of Mary, Queen of Scots, certified transcripts of her letters in connection with the Babington Plot being sent him with directions on how to use them.
About the same time it was proposed to make him secretary of state,[dnb 16] but, this failing, Wotton made strenuous but vain efforts to secure a peerage.
On 23 December 1602 he was made Comptroller of the Household and was sworn of the Privy Council; on 17 January 1602-3 Chamberlain wrote: "The court has flourished more than ordinary this Christmas.
He was named in the first line of his friend Sir Philip Sidney's "The defense of poesie" (1595): "When the right virtuous Edward Wotton and I were at the Emperor's court together, we gave ourselves to learn horsemanship of John Pietro Pugliano, one that with great commendation had the place of an esquire in his stable; and he, according to the fertileness of the Italian wit, did not only afford us the demonstration of his practice, but sought to enrich our minds with the contemplations therein which he thought most precious."
[dnb 30] Wotton had issue by his first wife only, a son Thomas and a daughter Philippa, who married Sir Edmund Bacon.
