Sir Robert Carey - Adventurer and Courtier Quiz

Answer: The English had recently executed Mary, Queen of Scots.

Anglo-Scottish relations were often stormy, and there were real fears of war following Queen Mary's execution. King James warned Robert Carey against entering Scotland because he heard of plans to kill him, and Carey had to hand over his message at the border to James' men.
In the end there was no war; James hoped to become Elizabeth's successor when she died (which he did), and didn't want to jeopardise this, not even to avenge his mother's execution.
Carey visited Scotland later, and was on good terms with King James throughout his life.

Answer: The storms that drove many of the Spanish ships on to Scotland's west coast.

The Spanish Armada was sent to escort a large army to England from a stretch of Belgian coast that had no natural harbour. English tactics and bad weather combined with the Spanish army's unpreparedness to prevent this. A strong southerly wind prevented the Armada's return, forcing them to sail north and round Scotland.

The English warships chased them as far as Yorkshire. There was a fear that the Spanish might land in Scotland, but King James refused to allow this. As the Armada eventually turned south down the Scottish west coast and past Ireland, the bad weather became a violent storm, destroying many of the battle-damaged ships. Only half of the Armada returned to Spain. Robert Carey described sailing from Plymouth as far as Flamborough, where the ship he was on turned back after running out of ammunition.

Answer: He did it to win a £2,000 bet.

£2,000 was an enormous amount of money at the time, which reflected the extravagance of court life. Carey tended to live above his means in order to maintain appearances at court.
We only have Carey's word that he did this, but given the poor quality of the roads at the time, and the lack of specialist clothing and footwear, it would have been quite an achievement, and reflected a high level of physical fitness.
Carey was the youngest grandson of Mary Boleyn (Anne Boleyn's sister) and a cousin of Queen Elizabeth. This was enough to give him a place at court, but he still had to pay his way!

Answer: Essex was in disgrace for disobeying orders and he wanted to thank Carey for defending his reputation at court.

As the general in the field, Essex was allowed to confer knighthoods. However, he had a reputation for abusing this privilege and his knights weren't always viewed as bona fide. However much courage Sir Robert may have showed in standing up to the Queen, his knighthood wasn't for valour in battle!
Even so, Carey saw plenty of action and was promoted to become the colonel of a regiment.

Answer: The Wardens policed the Scottish border, which was lawless and violent.

Carlisle was no unhealthier than anywhere else. The Warden, Lord Scrope, was Carey's brother-in-law and they worked well together.
The border was divided into three sections, or Wardenries, each covered by a warden from both sides. The wardens enforced the law, defended the border and gathered intelligence. Local life was a combination of farming and raiding, often exploiting national tensions. The situation improved after James became King of both England and Scotland and the border ceased to provide a refuge for criminal activity.
Carey's Memoirs describe his role in detail, from his initial naivety to his eventual ability to impose some stability, much of it corroborated by the Calendar of Border Papers.

Answer: He got married.

Queen Elizabeth usually tried to control her courtiers' lives, who often fell out of favour for illicit affairs or marrying without permission. Carey was no exception when he married Elizabeth Widdrington "more for her worth than her wealth". While this seems to have been a genuine love match, her ability later proved to be a great asset. The Calendar of Border Papers records officers getting into trouble for travelling without permission, or using their position for their own criminal activities, and relations between town and garrison were often strained, especially in Berwick-upon-Tweed, another major border garrison town.

Answer: She was unwell, and her heart had been sad and heavy for ten or twelve days.

Carey wrote: "Having little to do, I resolved upon a journey to court, to see my friends and renew my acquaintance there". He arrived just as Queen Elizabeth entered her final illness. This may have been coincidence, but given Carey's dealings with King James, there may be more that he chose not to say about his timing. Queen Elizabeth was clearly very low in mood, and contemporary accounts suggest that she effectively gave up living. Throughout her life she had refused to name her successor, and only at the end indicated by signs her acceptance of James.

But did the only account of this come from those who wanted James to be king?

Answer: He rode to Edinburgh to be the first to tell King James that he was King of England

Carey reached Edinburgh within three days of Elizabeth's death. His admitted motive for this epic ride was self-advancement:
"I could not but think in what a wretched state I should be left, most of my livelihood depending on her life. And hereupon I bethought myself with what grace and favour I was ever received by the King of Scots ... Hereupon I wrote to the King of Scots (knowing him to be the right heir to the crown of England) ... I would be the first man that should bring him news."
However, there are hints that Carey was part of a wider plot. He may not have ridden alone, and there was a rumour that he carried a ring that James had given Carey's sister Lady Scrope, an attendant of Queen Elizabeth's, to be returned as a sign that Elizabeth had died.

Answer: To look after the Duke of York, King James' sickly four year-old younger son.

Whatever his motives, Carey was widely criticised for his journey north and gained nothing. Also, with James ruling both countries, his role as border Warden ceased to exist and Sir Robert describes becoming friendless and impoverished!
Caring for a sickly younger prince was some improvement, though no-one else wanted the role in case the child died. However, under Lady Carey's care, the boy began to thrive and, after James' older son Prince Henry died, the younger Prince Charles would become King Charles I.

Answer: His extravagant lifestyle and dress sense.

In jockeying for domestic positions at court, the least likely of Carey's qualities now proved the most useful! The Earl of Suffolk said of him:
"He ever spent with the best, and wore as good clothes as any ... there is none about the Duke (Prince Charles) that knows how to furnish him with clothes and apparel so well as he!"
Carey became Master of the Robes to Prince Charles, and then Chamberlain. As a result he was created a baron and finally stepped onto the lowest rung of the aristocracy.
Further honours followed, and when Prince Charles became King Charles I in 1625, Carey was created the Earl of Monmouth. He died in 1639, aged 79, shortly before the start of the Civil War.