Duke of Northumberland

“ Master of the royal forces, wielding at his will the royal authority, Northumberland used the voice of the dying Edward to set aside rights of succession as sacred as his own. But the attempt proved an utter failure. The very forces on which the Duke relied turned against him. The whole nation fronted him in arms. The sovereign whom the voice of the young king named as his successor passed from the throne to the Tower, and a sovereign whose title rested on parliamentary statute took her place. ”

“ Dudley, duke of Northumberland, then became paramount in the privy council, and easily obtained the sanction of the young king to those schemes for altering the succession which led immediately after his death to the usurpation of Lady Jane Grey. ”

“ But the person most likely to succeed, was a younger son of the late duke of Northumberland, Lord Robert Dudley, who, by means of his exterior qualities, joined to address and flattery, had become in a manner her declared favorite, and had great influence in all her counsels. The less worthy he appeared of this distinction, the more was his great favor ascribed to some violent affection, which could thus seduce the judgment of this penetrating princess; and men long expected that he would obtain the preference above so many princes and monarchs. ”

“ Among those conspicuous for elegance and loveliness were the young Duchess of Northumberland and Lady Clementina Villiers, the famous Court beauty.
"Toward one o'clock the Peers began to come in, clad in their robes of State. Taken as a whole they are a noble and refined-looking set of men. But few eyes dwelt on any of these, when there slowly entered, at the left of the throne, a white-haired old man, pale and spare, bowed with years and honors, the hero of many battles in many lands, the conqueror of conquerors,—the Duke! ”

“ Make a man a duke and give him an income commensurate, and he goes mad and builds and rebuilds, burying himself in masonry like a maggot in a cheese. But it is good for trade; and perhaps that is why Providence allows a duke to be created now and then.
This magnificence for a long time created its own Nemesis, and the Dukes of Northumberland, in their gigantic castle, were worse off in one respect than a clerk in London suburbs in a six-roomed, nine-inch walled, jerry-built “villa” at £30 a year. They could never get a hot dinner! ”

“ His grandson Henry, the 6th earl (c. 1502–1537) , left no direct heir, and the latter’s nephew, Thomas Percy, was debarred from the succession by an attainder passed on his father for his participation in the Pilgrimage of Grace. In 1549, however, Thomas was restored in blood, and in 1557 he became by a new creation earl of Northumberland, 7th of his line. Meantime, in 1551, John Dudley, earl of Warwick, was created duke of Northumberland (q.v.) , his title being, however, forfeited by attainder in 1553. ”

“ It was intended that he should retain his post until the Duke of York was of age to succeed him (Strafford Letters, ii. 154; Gardiner, viii. 338) . The troubles in Scotland brought Northumberland military office also. In July 1638 the king appointed a committee of eight privy councillors for Scottish affairs, of which Northumberland was one. The consideration of the discontent of the people and of the king's unpreparedness for war made him think it safer for the king to grant the Scots the conditions they asked than rashly to enter into a war. ”

“ His troops melted away, leaving their captain at the mercy of his enemies. In the camp confusion prevailed. Northumberland was first put under arrest, then set again at liberty upon his protest, based upon the orders of the Council that “all men should go his way.” Was he, the leader, to be prevented from acting upon their command? Young Warwick, his son, was upon the point of riding away, when, the morning after the scene in the market-place, the Earl of Arundel arrived from Queen Mary with orders to arrest the Duke. ”

“ Were the Queen ever so much inclined to pardon, those who ruled her would destroy Northumberland, whoever else were spared.
The churchman proved to have judged more accurately than the soldier. An hour later the Duke received letters from the Council, indicating the treatment he might expect at their hands. He was thereby bidden, on pain of treason, to disarm, and it was added that, should he come within ten miles of London, his late comrades would fight him. Could greater loyalty and zeal in the service of the rising sun be displayed? ”

“ He bitterly complained of the ill equipment of his troops and want of money, and his energetic personal efforts failed to retain Boulogne. When the Duke of Northumberland obtained full power in 1550, Huntingdon was made a privy councillor, 4 Sept. ”

“ Finding that his appeal had done him no service, Northumberland and his fellow prisoners pleaded guilty. The duke prayed that his sentence might be commuted into decapitation, as became a peer of the realm, and he prayed the queen that she would be merciful to his children on account of their youth. He desired also that an able divine might be sent to him for the settling of his conscience, thereby intimating that he was at heart a Romanist, in hopes, no doubt, of winning upon the mind of the queen, for he was very anxious to save his life. ”

“ The Duke passed on, and the procession moved forward to Tower Hill.
The last words of a worthless man are in themselves of little moment; but the effect of the dying speech of Northumberland lends to it an artificial importance. Whether to the latest moment he hoped for his life, or whether, divided between atheism and superstition, he thought, if any religion was true, Romanism was true, and it was prudent not to throw away a chance, who can tell? At all events, he mounted the scaffold with Heath, the Bishop of Worcester, at his side ”

“ His energy was not of the kind that increases with difficulties, and when he heard that Jane's grandfather, the duke of Suffolk, had signed with his own hand the order for the proclamation of queen Mary, he rightly 352 judged that all was lost, and tried to escape. But it was too late, and next day he was charged with high treason and lodged in the Tower.
Nobody cares what became of Northumberland, as he only got what he deserved; but every one must mourn for the Nine Days Queen, who never could have been a danger either to Mary or Elizabeth. ”

“ An heir upon whom all must unite would save strife and it may be bloodshed.”
“That might well be,” said the king thoughtfully. Then Northumberland suggested boldly, though with some inward fear:—
“The sisters of your Majesty’s illustrious father, could you——” the duke hesitated.
“The granddaughter of Margaret Tudor is the Queen of Scots, the little maiden who refused my hand,” said the king with a faint smile, “but she is of the false faith. The granddaughter of Mary Tudor is my old playmate, the lady Jane Grey, or is she not now Lady Dudley, my lord? ”

“ Lady Northumberland and Lady Northampton entered, and the Duke, as President of the Council, rose to speak.
'The King,' he said, 'was no more. A godly life had been followed, as a consolation to their sorrows, by a godly end, and in leaving the world he had not forgotten his duty to his subjects. His Majesty had prayed on his death-bed that Almighty God would protect the realm from false opinions, and especially from his unworthy sister; he had reflected that both the Lady Mary and the Lady Elizabeth had been cut off by Act of Parliament from the succession as illegitimate ”

“ But if we acquit Northumberland of treason, it is not so easy to acquit him of treachery; for that the dying prince should have made a will, not merely withholding the crown from its rightful owner, the Princess Mary, (for considering the hearty desire he entertained for the maintenance of the Protestant cause this might have been his own act and deed,) but from his sister Elizabeth, herself a Protestant, and to settle it upon a cousin who happened to be the duke’s daughter-in-law, this looks like the machination of another head than his own. This will Cranmer long refused to subscribe ”

“ A few days later Morryson was told to go no further with it. [74] On the 24th he was informed doubtfully that he might feel his way towards it with the Emperor again. Had the Duke intended merely to throw the Emperor off his guard, vacillation would have been unnatural and out of place. Deliberate hypocrisy cannot afford to be inconsistent.
It is needless to credit Northumberland with anxiety for the public interest. He must first have endeavoured to satisfy himself of the effects which Mary's accession would produce upon his own fortunes. ”

“ The state of feeling in the capital must have been curiously mixed. Mary was the lawful sovereign, and had been brought to her rights amidst universal rejoicing. Northumberland was an object of detestation to the populace. Yet, whilst the Queen was undisguisedly devoted to a religion to which the majority of her subjects were hostile, the Duke was regarded as, with Suffolk, the chief representative and support of the faith they held and the Church as by law established. ”

“ Meanwhile, the dukedom of Suffolk having become extinct by the deaths of Charles Brandon and his two sons, the title was conferred upon the marquess of Dorset, Lady Jane’s father. Northumberland, who was now all-powerful, fearing a great reverse of fortune in case of the king’s death, as his health began visibly to decline, endeavoured to strengthen himself by marriages between his family and those of other powerful noblemen, especially of the new-made duke of Suffolk. ”

“ Yet it was Northumberland who, with the blindness born of a sanguine ambition, was to trust, six weeks later, to the populace to join with him in dispossessing the King’s sister, for whom they had always shown affection, and in placing his daughter-in-law and her boy-husband upon the throne. So glaring a misapprehension of the situation demands explanation, and it is partly201 supplied by a French appreciation of the Duke’s character. According to M. Griffet, he was more heedful to conceal his own sentiments than capable of discerning those of others ”

“ When prices fell after the peace he reduced his rents twenty-five per cent.; and the tenantry, to show their gratitude, erected a memorial column in 1816. But when some gave up their farms in expectation of a further reduction, they were forbidden to compete for them again; this prohibition remained in force till the time of the fourth duke.
Northumberland was elected F.S.A. in May 1787, and F.R.S. on 6 March 1788. When Earl Percy, he presented to the king a petition, with twenty thousand signatures, in favour of Dr. ”

“ There had not long before been a secret negociation [Pg 185] entered into between some of the Scottish and English nobility, to bring about a marriage between Mary Q. of Scots, at that time a prisoner in England, and the Duke of Norfolk, a nobleman of excellent character. This match was proposed to all the most considerable of the English nobility, and among the rest to the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, two noblemen very powerful in the North. ”

“ In the space of forty years, subdued England, and was itself subdued by that kingdom, xvi. 37.
Northumberland (George Fitzroy, duke of) . Designed by the duke of Marlborough to be made lieutenant of the Tower; but disappointed by a contrivance of Mr. Harley, iv. 290. 374.
Northumberland (Robert Mowbray, earl of) . Repelled a Scottish invasion, xvi. 17. Overating his late services as much perhaps, and as unjustly, as they were undervalued by the king, he broke out into open rebellion, 19. Being taken prisoner, confined for the rest of his life, which was thirty years, 20.
Nottingham (Earl of) . ”

“ But at the last moment a real trial came upon him, and then he showed, as he did all his life, a want of that element of hardness, that backbone as it is sometimes called, which is an indispensable constituent in a really great man in troublous times. Northumberland, as we have seen, had all but completed his scheme by gaining over the young King himself, as well as the most important members of his Council. The King himself, in his zeal for what he called 'the religion,' became impatient for the completion of the arrangement which he had made for its maintenance. ”

“ All factions sought to control his person, not because of his personality but because of his position; he was like the Great Seal, only more so, an indispensable adjunct to the wielder of authority. The Protector’s brother tried to bribe him with pocket-money; Northumberland was more subtle and established a complete dominion over his mind, and then put him forward at the age of fourteen as entitled to all the power of Henry VIII. But he was only Northumberland’s mask ”

“ In the early years of George III's reign he attached himself to Lord Bute, whose daughter married his son in 1764. Both Northumberland and Bute were members of the king's private junto, which met daily at the house of Andrew Stone [q. v.] in the Privy Gardens. On 29 Dec. 1762 Northumberland became lord lieutenant of Middlesex. ”

“ It is extraordinary that amid all these storms men actively and zealously pressed for the high offices of state. Northumberland gave himself immense trouble to obtain for his brother-in-law, Leicester, the post of Lord Deputy of Ireland, or Secretary of State. He entered into negotiations with the elder Vane, with Hamilton, with every one who could in any way help him to this end: he even approached the King himself [234] . In fact the King was thinking very seriously of filling the most important places with members of the now dominant opposition. ”