Essex in Ireland - The Succession

The Succession

The detail of the earl's private parley with O'Neill became the subject of speculation in England. Sir Henry Wotton, the earl's personal secretary, complained bitterly of the duplicity of interpreters, saying that they were Essex's worst enemies, and rumours of the earl's disloyalty abounded. With the reduction of his favour at court, Essex chose to challenge the queen's authority by breaking house arrest and riding in force through London to gain an audience with Elizabeth, but was compelled to turn back. He was declared a traitor at Cecil's insistence, suffering the death penalty in February 1601 upon conviction on charges of treason after a speedy trial.

Intelligence received in Spain some years later from James Blake (the supposed assassin of O'Donnell) had it "that the Earl of Essex, the same who raided Cadiz, had dealings with the Prince Onel of Ireland about causing a rising against the Queen of England, for which reason he was beheaded in England, and the said Earl employed the deponent as intermediary between himself and the said Prince." It was also put about that O'Neill had almost persuaded Essex to leave the service of Queen Elizabeth and to join that of King Philip to whom "they would deliver the whole kingdom". To encourage Essex, O'Neill was said to have promised him great favour on behalf of the Spanish king. When Essex had expressed doubts because of "certain disservices he had done to the Crown of Spain", the rebel leader went so far as to offer him his son as a hostage in proof of his good faith.

As with so many late Elizabethan conspiracy theories, Spanish calculations were of less importance than those of the queen's councillors. At the outset in 1599, Essex had realised he was taking a risk in departing the court and leaving the field open to Cecil, a risk that would pay off only if he defeated O'Neill. The Irish experience proved far more difficult than anticipated - Essex was the last English commander of the age to underestimate rebel capability - and the situation at court deteriorated rapidly, with Cecil gaining an overwhelming influence over the queen. The private parley with O'Neill was especially significant at a time when Cecil was preparing the succession of the Scots king, James VI, to Elizabeth's throne. Essex's flight from Ireland was a desperate attempt to interfere with those preparations, and once this had failed his subsequent treason was down to his refusal to accept that it was Cecil, and not he, who would determine the succession.