1. Sir Francis Walsingham

3. Sir Francis Walsingham's Life Francis Walsingham was born in Scadbury Park to William Walsingham and Joyce Denny. Francis was one of seven children. His father died in 1533, and later, his mother married the courtier Sir John Carey. Walsingham studied at King's College in Cambridge from 1548.Upon the death of Edward VI and accession of Catholic Queen Mary I, he fled to continue his studies as a law student at the University of Padua. Between April 1556 and November 1558, he visited Switzerland. He cultivated contacts with Protestant statesmen on the continent and then,in 1559 his friendship with Sir William Cecil helped him to become a member of Parliament . In 1570 Elizabeth I asked Walsingham to help the Huguenots in France negotiate with Charles IX because he had built up a good relationship with them. In 1573, Walsingham returned to England and was rewarded for his hard work by being made the Queen’s principal secretary. William Cecil worked also (n the mid to late 1580s)on preparing England for war with Spain.