Francis Walsingham

Sir Francis Walsingham (c. 1532–1590) was Queen Elizabeth I's principal secretary from 1573 until his death, her spymaster. A committed Protestant exiled in Switzerland and Italy under Mary I, he later served as ambassador in Paris, where he witnessed the St Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572.

As secretary he built a network of agents across Europe that penetrated Spanish Armada preparations, exposed the Babington Plot against Elizabeth and gathered evidence that sent Mary, Queen of Scots to the block in 1587. He also supported the English navy and worked to bring England and Scotland closer together. He died in 1590.