'Most Trusty and Beloved': Nicholas Throckmorton

Sir Nicholas Throckmorton is not a name we routinely see amid the titans of Elizabethan England. He never entered the Privy Council. Yet, his importance to Elizabeth in the first decade of her reign belies our disregard. He was intimately connected with Elizabeth's circle long before her coronation in 1558, a man at the heart of the Elizabethan 'Project'.

Fiercely intelligent, witty, handsome and ambitious, Sir Nicholas Thockmorton was a man who made an impression. A Spanish ambassador reported him to be dangerously 'clever'; he was considered 'a man of intelligence' by the major players in English politics. William Cecil held a healthy respect for his capacities, in 1560 being prepared to resign if he could be assured Throckmorton would replace him. Robert Dudley was widely 'believed to be controlled by him. Even the hostile William Camden could only admit his remarkable personal attributes: 'a man of great Experience, very ready Wit, and singular Diligence'.