Albert Fontenay or Fontaine was a French servant of Mary, Queen of Scots and acted as her diplomat in Scotland in 1584. Fontenay wrote a frequently cited description of the young James VI of Scotland.Pauline Croft, King James (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), p. 19: David Bergeron, Royal Family, Royal Lovers: King James of England and Scotland (University of Missouri, 1991), pp. 36-7: George Akrigg, Letters of King James VI & I (University of California, 1984), pp. 7-8.Gareth Russell, Queen James: The Lives and Loves of Britain's First King (London: William Collins, 2025), pp. 86-89. Some of his correspondence with Mary, Queen of Scots, was decipherered and published by Sheila R. Richards in 1974.Sheila R. Richards, Secret Writing in the Public Records (HMSO, 1974), pp. 21-62: David Kahn, Cryptologia, 4:1 (1980), p. 22
French lawyers and secretaries and Mary's service Albert Fontenay was a chancellor or chamberlain to Mary,Calendar of State Papers, Spain (Simancas), vol. 3 (London, 1896), no. 2900. and secretary of her council,Alexandre Labanoff, Lettres de Marie Stuart, vol. 6 (London, 1844), p. 80. an administrator of her estates and dowry lands in France. Mary's supporter James Beaton, the exiled Archbishop of Glasgow was a key figure in her French affairs. Fontenay was related to other lawyers working for Mary, and was frequently described as a half-brother or brother of Mary's secretary Claude Nau, who was a son of Sebastian Nau and Claire Regnault.Emile Raunié, Épitaphier du vieux Paris: recueil général des inscriptions, vol. 1 (Paris, 1890), pp. 354-5.Samuel Jebb, De Vita Et Rebus Gestis Serenissimae Principis Mariae Scotorum (London, 1725), p. 626: Sheila R. Richards, Secret Writing in the Public Records (HMSO, 1974), pp. 21, 28: George Akrigg, Letters of King James VI & I (University of California, 1984), p. 55. Mary mentioned him a letter of 1 October 1584 "le frere de mon secretaire nommé Fontenoy",HMC Salisbury Hatfield: Addenda, vol. 13 (London, 1915), p. 258. and Fontenay wrote to Claude Nau as "mon frére".HMC Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Marquess of Salisbury, 3, p. 59.
Claude Nau wrote to Fontenay as "Albert".William Boyd, Calendar State Papers Scotland, 1584-1585, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1913), p. 685 no. 663. Nau mentioned the death of a sister-in-law, "de Lespine" in 1585, the wife of their older brother. They had a cousin, "de Beauvois".Sheila R. Richards, Secret Writing in the Public Records (HMSO, 1974), pp. 24, 42. Fontenay's family connections are mentioned in Mary's letters,Labanoff, Lettres, 6, p. 104, "le frere de Nau pourra passa icy d'Escosse". but were misinterpreted by older writers and historians such as Agnes Strickland. Fontenay was identified as Claude Nau. It has also been suggested that Fontenay was a "uterine sibling" of Claude Nau, having the same mother,Sheila R. Richards, Secret Writing in the Public Records (HMSO, 1974), p. 21. but this does not seem compatible with Claire Regnault's epitaph.Emile Raunié, Épitaphier du vieux Paris: recueil général des inscriptions, vol. 1 (Paris, 1890), pp. 354-5. Fontenay's family relationships with other members of Mary's council and secretariat are unclear.Gareth Russell, Queen James: The Lives and Loves of Britain's First King (London: William Collins, 2025), p. 87 fn.
Claude Nau mentions their older brother, whose wife, who died in 1584, was their sister-in-law "de Lespine".Sheila R. Richards, Secret Writing in the Public Records (HMSO, 1974), p. 21. Jean Champhuon, sieur du Ruisseau, an advocate who married Claude Nau's sister Claire in 1563, was also in Mary's service,Katy Gibbons, English Catholic Exiles in Late Sixteenth-century Paris (Boydell, 2011), p. 79: Fanny Cosandey, Dire et vivre l'ordre social en France sous l'Ancien Régime (Paris, 2005), p. 109.William Barclay Turnbull, Letters of Mary Stuart (London, 1845), p. 345.Claire Regnault gives a house to her daughter Claire Nau, Archives nationales from 1575 as master of her (French) accounts,'Nouvelles Acquisitions', Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes, 89 (Paris, 1928), p. 287 and his brother, Pierre de Champhuon, joined Mary's French council in 1584.Bulletin de la Commission historique et archéologique de la Mayenne, t. 4 (Laval, 1892), p. 252: Seymour de Ricci & William Jerome Wilson, Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada, vol. 2 (1935), p. 1164 no. 4 Jehan Champhuon was promoted to be Mary's chancellor and keeper of her seals for French administration on 2 May 1585. American Book Prices, 1979-1983 (Bankroft-Parkman, 1984), p. 274 Fontenay described Ruisseau's affection to their blood relatives of the surname Nau.Sheila R. Richards, Secret Writing in the Public Records (HMSO, 1974), p. 42. On 4 January 1592, a courtier described as "Procureur Champhuon" was executed by hanging for conspiracy with Philippe Dallier, an usher of accounts, and a soldier called La Fontaine at a crossroads or in the old market place during the siege of Rouen.Simon Goulart, Memoires de la ligue, (Amsterdam, 1758), pp. 111-2Le premier sixiesme et dernier recueil, contenant les choses plus menorables aduenues sous la ligue (1598), p. 118
Sieur de Fontenay, equerry As a territorial designation, "Fontenay" was the name of a French equestrian at the court of James VI and I. By 1611, Julian Bourdin, sieur de Fontenay, was naturalized as denizen of England, and served as squire or equerry to Prince Charles. He was granted an annuity of pension in 1619, as enjoyed by other French riding staff including his kinsman or brother Pierre Antoine Bourdin, seigneur de St Antoine.William Arthur Shaw, Letters of denization and acts of naturalization for aliens in England and Ireland (Lymington, 1911), p. 19: Foedera, 17, pp. 183–184.
Fontenay in England and Spain In August 1577, Claude Nau wrote from Sheffield Manor to his brother or brother-in-law about Mary's discontent with the services of Réné Dolu, a controller of her finances.Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1907), pp. 234 no. 263, 241 no. 273. During a recent visit to England, Dolu made several purchases for Mary in London, including confectionery, lemons for perfume, and a chess set.HMC 6th Report (London, 1877), p. 456 "une damyer ... avec cessetz" Nau hoped his relative would get Dolu's job and offered advice, but Dolu remained in post until 1581.John Daniel Leader, Mary Queen of Scots in Captivity (London, 1880), pp. 397-8, 401: Alexander Wilkinson, Mary Queen of Scots and French Public Opinion (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), p. 30: William K. Boyd, Calendar of State Papers relating to Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1907), xiv, no. 263: British Library Cotton Caligula C/III f.545.
Fontenay visited Mary in England in October 1582 and she decided to send him as her diplomat to Spain.Calendar of State Papers, Spain (Simancas), vol. 3 (London, 1896), p. 404 no. 287. He mentioned in 1585 that he had bought valuable commodities in Spain including musk and civet for perfumes.Sheila R. Richards, Secret Writing in the Public Records (HMSO, 1974), p. 31.
Fontenay later mentioned arriving with his brother-in-law, Jean de Champhuon, sieur du Ruisseau, to see Mary in England (in 1582) and finding she was out hunting. Du Ruisseau went to London and met Francis Walsingham.Mary Anne Everett Green, Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the reigns of Elizabeth and James I, Addenda, 1580-1625 (London, 1872), no. 120, he signs "Du Russeau". Some copies of Fontenay's letter have "Tutbury Castle" as the location, but this was probably a mistake made when Fontenay's letter was deciphered at Tutbury in January 1585 or an interpolation made by Thomas Phelippes. Fontenay wrote a symbol for the location.William Boyd, Calendar State Papers Scotland, 1584-1585, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1913), pp. 260 no. 247, 684 no. 663: TNA SP 53/13 f.124 & f.105, "Tutbury" appears in Phelippes' handwritten decipher but a French plain text has a blank space.
Fontenay's letters show that he was aligned with English supporters of Mary, including Thomas Morgan and Charles Paget, and was mistrustful of James Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow, Mary's primary diplomat in France. He complained that the Archbishop had not written to him while he was in Spain.Leo Hicks, An Elizabethan Problem (London, 1964), pp. 119–120.
Mission to Scotland in 1584
Fontenay travelled to Scotland as a diplomat for Mary in July 1584. At this time she was a prisoner in England at Wingfield Manor. He brought Mary's outlines and plans for her return to Scotland, perhaps even to become a joint ruler with her son.Maurice Lee jnr., John Maitland of Thirlestane and the Foundation of the Stewart Despotism in Scotland (Princeton UP, 1959), p. 62. The scheme was known as the "association".Patricia Basing, 'Robert Beale and the Queen of Scots', The British Library Journal, 20:1 (Spring 1994), p. 66. Fontenay was optimistic about Mary's plans and opportunities, and in one letter wrote "jamais si belle", that the time was never so good as now.Antonia Fraser, Mary Queen of Scots (London: Phoenix Press, 2002), p. 571.
Fontenay arrived at Leith on 4 July. A few days later he sent word to James VI who was at Falkland Palace, and the king sent James Stewart, 1st Lord Doune to meet him. An English diplomat in Edinburgh, William Davison, heard that he brought the king a sword, a gift from the Duke of Guise, and later discovered the gift was from Mary.William Boyd, Calendar State Papers Scotland, 1584-1585, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1913), pp. 217 no. 193, 222 no. 200, 230-1 no. 214, 239-40 no. 222.
James VI welcomed Fontenay, invited him to Falkland and gave him access to the palace.Steven J. Reid, The Early Life of James VI, A Long Apprenticeship (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2023), p. 252. Fontenay presented Mary's sword to James and they had a lighthearted discussion. James said he had been Mary's knight since he was in the cradle at Edinburgh Castle.Steven J. Reid, The Early Life of James VI, A Long Apprenticeship (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2023), p. 252: HMC Salisbury Hatfield, 3 (London, 1889), p. 248 Years later, an old servant Anthony Standen said he had been knighted by touching Mary's diamond cross on James' cradle clothes.Joseph Stevenson, The History of Mary Stewart by Claude Nau (Edinburgh: Paterson, 1883), p. ciii: Mrs Hubert Barclay, The Queen's Cause: Scottish Narrative, 1561–1587 (London, 1938), p. 151: Standen's "Relation" is in The National Archives, TNA SP14/1/237. James began to wear a diamond cross at the end of August, and perhaps his choice of jewellery was connected with these recollections and the idea of service to his mother.Thomas Thomson, Collection of Inventories (Edinburgh, 1815), pp. 308, 314 : Gottfied von Bülow, 'Journey Through England and Scotland made by Lupold von Wedel', Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, vol. 9 (London, 1895), p. 245
On the first Saturday after he arrived, James lent Fontenay a horse, a courser, so that he could follow the hunt. James seemed to like hunting best and would spend six hours in the saddle. James said that he had tried to spend six days in a row looking at the royal accounts, but the effort made him unwell, and he compared his stamina to Spanish jennet, which he characterised as better for a "brave course" or gallop than long endurance.Calendar State Papers Scotland, 1584-1585, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1913), p. 273. Fontenay thought that the Earl of Arran and the Master of Gray deliberately encouraged the king to pass his time in amusements and recreation, whilst Arran, the Earl of Montrose (who was at Falkland with Fontenay), and newly appointed Secretary Maitland wielded real power as a triumvirate.Calendar State Papers Scotland, 1584-1585, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1913), p. 270: Robert Vans-Agnew, Correspondence of Sir Robert Waus of Barnbarroch, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1887), p. 295.
A heart serves for the name of the king your son