List of The Queen's Spies characters

The majority of the following article contains the fictional portrayal of one or more historical figures. Details in this article may differ from real world facts. For more information on the historical figure(s), consult the links provided within or at the bottom of the article.

Kitty as pictured on the cover of the second edition

All of the characters that appear in The Queen's Spies by Valerie Wilding.

Main characters

Kitty Lumsden

Main article: Catherine Lumsden

Catherine Anne "Kitty" Lumsden (born May 1571) was the daughter of Tilly and Nicholas. She had five siblings, including Richard, Joseph, Harry, George, and Elizabeth. Her brother Joseph was her favorite sibling and she felt protective of him, despite him being older than her. Kitty's best friend was her cousin Edmund Middleton, whom she frequently visited at the Tower of London. In 1583, Kitty began keeping a diary after her mother gave her one. She became extremely curious about Mary, Queen of Scots, whom was the focus of many Catholic plots against Queen Elizabeth. Kitty was also suspicious of Joseph's new friend, Anthony Babington.

Supporting characters

Anthony Babington

Anthony Babington (1561 – 20 September 1586) was an English gentleman. He was from an old Catholic family and had lost his father at the age of ten. Anthony was working as a page for the Earl of Shrewsbury, when he became acquainted with Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. In late 1583, he befriended Joseph Lumsden. He and his friends often used Joseph's home as a meeting place never involved him in their plotting. In 1585, Anthony travelled abroad for several months with his friends. Once back in England, he plotted with Ballard to free Mary Stuart. Their plan was exposed by Francis Walsingham, leading to Anthony's execution along with his co-conspirators.

Edmund Middleton

Edmund Middleton was Kitty Lumsden's favorite cousin and best friend. He lived at Tower of London with his parents, William and Frances, and his nosy elder sister, Kathryn. His father worked as the Tower's physician. Edmund desired to become his father's apprentice, but he wanted Edmund to have more choices. In June 1584, his father agreed to take him on after his previous apprentice died unexpectedly. From then on, Edmund had little time to see Kitty though they devised a way to meet by pretending to study Latin. His sister, Kathryn would usually follow him to spoil his and Kitty's fun. They later started leaving secret messages for each other, but Kathryn found out their secrets both times.

Joseph Lumsden

Joseph Lumsden was Tilly's favorite brother and the twin of Richard. Joseph was amiable and trusting, but not very bright. His personality would often cause him trouble since, according to Kitty, he had "no natural suspicion of others." In late 1583, he met and became friends with Anthony Babington. Joseph sometimes felt hurt by Anthony whom seemed to prefer his other friends and used the Lumsdens' home as a meeting place. He never realized his friend's intentions to have the Queen murdered. Joseph was distraught at thought of letting Anthony down, even after learning the truth about him. He left his studies to studied to become a lawyer after Francis Walsingham offered him a position as a messenger.

Kathryn Middleton

Kathryn Middleton (born c. 1567) was Kitty's "bad-tempered" cousin. She lived at the Tower of London with her parents and brother, Edmund. Kathryn was the opposite of her mother, who Kitty remarked "remember[ed] what it was to be young" while Kathryn already "seem[ed] ancient." She was constantly criticizing Kitty for not being more ladylike. Kathryn also relentlessly followed Edmund and Kitty wherever they went, possibly to ruin their fun. When Edmund and Kitty devised a hiding place for their notes, Kathryn was able to find it relatively quickly and later worked out the cypher they created for their notes. She also developed a one-sided crush on Anthony Babington and believed him to be "a true-born gentleman."

Tilly and Nicholas Lumsden

Main article: Matilda Middleton

Lady Matilda "Tilly" ("Mother"; née Middleton; born 7 September 1540) and Nicholas "Nick" Lumsden ("Father") were the parents of Joseph, Richard, Kitty, Harry, George, and Elizabeth. In her childhood, Tilly did a favor for Queen Elizabeth, which led to her meeting Nicholas. He worked for the Queen as a spy under Francis Walsingham, which was kept a secret from most of their children. Sir Francis often came to the Lumsdens' home and trusted Nicholas and Tilly implicitly. Nicholas was usually away from home for his work. Tilly managed their household, though they had servants who did the cooking and cleaning. She often scolded Kitty for ruining her shoes and clothes.

Minor characters

• Amyas Paulet was the gaoler of Mary, Queen of Scots. He was chosen as he was a "loyal servant" of Queen Elizabeth.
• Anne, Lucy, Sal, and Tom, the Lumsdens' servants. Lucy primarily looked after the younger children, while Anne and Sal did the household chores and Tom took care of the horses.
• Ballard (died September 1586), a priest, who conspired to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. He was helped by Anthony Babington and his friends. Ballard was executed for his involvement in the plot.
• Charles Tilney, Chidiock Tichborne, Henry Dunn, John Savage, and Robert Barnwell (died September 1586), the friends and co-conspirators of Anthony Babington. They along with Babington were tried and found guilty. They were all executed on 20 or 21 September.
• Dolly was the Middletons' maidservant. She would watch Pawpaw when Kitty came to visit.
• Edward Arden (died 1583), a man found guilty of conspiring against the Queen and executed.
• Elizabeth I (born 7 September 1533 – 1603) was the Queen of England. Many Catholics plotted to assassinate Elizabeth and place Mary Stuart on the throne.
• Elizabeth "Beeba" Lumsden was the youngest daughter of Tilly and Nicholas.
• Frances Middleton was the wife of William. She was best friends with Tilly, whom she had known since childhood. Frances had two children, Edmund and Kathryn.
• Francis Throckmorton (died July 1584), a prisoner accused of plotting to overthrow the Queen. He confessed his involvement and was executed for his crimes.
• Francis Walsingham was Queen Elizabeth's secretary of state and her spy. He organized the plan that made Mary Stuart complicit in Anthony Babington's plot to kill the Queen, which led to Mary's execution. Francis was friends the Lumsdens' and worked closely with Nicholas and Richard.
• Geoffrey, a Yeomen Warder at the Tower of London. He could not resist correcting the mistakes of others, which was how Kitty and Edmund often learned information from him.
• George and Harry Lumsden were Kitty's younger brothers. Harry still attended school and mostly saw Kitty during the evenings. George was younger than Kitty and had just started wearing breaches in 1583.
• Gilbert Gifford was a double agent for Francis Walsingham. He originally arrived in England to help Mary Stuart, but instead joined Francis. Gifford later vanished without a trace.
• John Somerville, another man opposed to Queen Elizabeth. He was later found strangled in his cell.
• Master and Mistress Lumsden were Nicholas's parents. They lived in Winchester and were not fond of children.
• Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587) was the Queen of Scotland. After a rebellion, she fled and sought refuge in England. Elizabeth had her imprisoned her since many Catholics supported Mary instead of her. Mary was later implicated in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth. Despite this, Elizabeth was reluctant to have Mary executed though she eventually was.
• Mendoza was Spain's ambassador to England. He was involved with Francis Throckmorton's plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and banished from England.
• Pawpaw was Kitty's pet dog. He was named after a fruit and often bit anyone he thought was threatening Kitty. Pawpaw became close to the Lumsdens' servant, Tom, while Kitty was away.
• Richard Lumsden was Kitty's older brother and Joseph's twin. He worked at court as a secretary. Kitty eventually discovered that he actually worked for Francis Walsingham.
• Robert Poley, a double agent that worked for Francis Walsingham.
• Thomas Phelippes, a man who worked under Francis Walsingham. He was an expert at deciphering codes. His work eventually led to Mary Stuart's arrest.
• Lady Ursula Walsingham was the wife of Francis. She was a dinner guest of the Lumsdens' once.
• William Middleton was Tilly's brother and the husband of Frances. He worked at the Tower of London as a physician. At first, he was reluctant to accept Edmund as his apprentice as he wanted his son to have more options than himself. He eventually allowed him to be his apprentice.
• William Parry (died March 1585), a prisoner who had planned on killing the Queen. He was executed at Old Palace Yard in Westminster.

Further reading

• ElizabethI.org
• Mary, Queen of Scots at Biography
• Anthony Babington at Tudor Place
• The Babington Plot at Britannica