Role of Secretary

Question 1

Cromwell 1534

Answer 1

essentially a member of Household ( lay in access to the king + intimate knowledge of royal affairs)

• important in 1530s w/ personal access w/ control of privy seal + influencial virtually every area of public life
• recognised in 1539 Act of Precedence (one of the great offices in the realm)
• C became Henry VIII’s secretary in 1534 but manipulated his position e.g controlled meetings

Question 2

Fall of Cromwell 1540

Answer 2

declined in political importance
- role split - Wriothesley and Sadler - no man gain too much power / exploit + duties increased as gov became larger and complex

Question 3

Elizabeth

Answer 3

William Cecil - bueraucrat served during Edward VI + trusted by Elizabeth
- was apart of the member of the Privy Council

S- built a network (access to queen’s correspondence w/ info abt positions avaliable + requests) - ensured patronage was distrubited to his own clients & none to the Earl of Essex (rival)
- Jobs - tactful, council and gov meeting well run, written communication to & from - closest to ta chief minister

L- dangerous & exposed - Davison imprisoned after Mary Queen of Scots death warrent - Sir Francis Walsingham held for 17 years Cecil appointed in 1596

Question 4

William Cecil (1558-72)

Answer 4

-transformed role of secretary once again
- professional bureaucrat - served during Edward VI’s reign
- trusted by Elizabeth - very important to her
- politically active in the top levels of gov
- used the job to build up a network of supporters through his access to the Queen’s correspondence - inluded info and positions available as well as requests
- competent and able
similar levels of power to cromwell but maybe was less self serving??
- controlled finances and intelligence services which were under direction of Francis Walsingham who gets promoted after Cecil steps down
- this set a precedent - role of secretary shifted around into different positions in council and government

Question 5

William Davison (1586-87)

Answer 5

• demonstrated the danger of the role of the secretary
• Elizabeth was hesitant to send Mary Queen of Scot’s death warrant and so entrusted it to Davison
• the council decided to act in the name of royal authority and send the warrant anyway despite knowing its not what Elizabeth wanted
• this angered Elizabeth - Davison was tried, imprisoned and fined for £10,000 - released in 1589 but never employed again
• was this a tactic to avoid responsibility - distancing herself from the mistakes of the government - demonstrates power balance

Question 6

Arc of the significance of the role of the secretary

Answer 6

• not the job itself that is important but how the person in the role chooses to act
• Cromwell and Cecil had similar power bases but only Cromwell chose to elevate his power through exploitation whilst Cecil did it through building a network of patronage to his clients ad, not his rivals , the Earl of Essex
• the person holding the role needs to be ambitious and smart