John Wood's connection with Queen Mary's half brother, Lord James Stewart, afterwards Earl of Moray, began as early at least as 1548, when he accompanied him to France.
[1] John Wood was a supporter of the Scottish Reformation, and at the first General Assembly of the kirk in December 1560 he was selected as one of those at St. Andrews "best qualified for preaching of the word and ministering of the sacraments.
[4] John Knox wrote that in December 1562 Wood distanced himself from the Assembly of the New Kirk to join with the "rulers" of the Scottish royal court of Mary, Queen of Scots.
[6] During the Chaseabout Raid rebellion against Mary in 1565, led by the Earl of Moray, Wood was commanded to surrender himself to imprisonment in Dumbarton Castle within six days, and failing to do so, he was denounced a rebel.
[8] Wood remained in obscurity until Mary abdicated and Moray returned to power as regent, when he became his secretary, in preference to William Maitland of Lethington, and was employed in all his more confidential political missions.
To raise his status in order that he might have "ane honorable style, to set out the better his embassage", according to James Melville of Halhill he used indirect methods to obtain from the Regent the bishopric of Moray.
[15] In a propaganda piece circulated by his party's enemies in January 1570, known as the Pretended Conference, a Machiavellian speech was attributed to John Wood urging Regent Moray to ruthless action against his adversaries and to use any means possible to increase his popular support.
Wood continued working as the special "serviteur" of Agnes Keith who was pregnant, and had helped arrange Moray's funeral, and made the contract for the Regent's tomb .
[22] George Buchanan, in his Admonitioun to the Trew Lordis (Robert Lekprevick: Stirling, 1571), wrote that Wood was assassinated "for na uther caus, bot for being ane gude servand to the crowne and to the Regent his maister".