Steen Bille (1565–1629) was a Danish councillor and diplomat. He was the son of

Jens Bille Jens Bille (or Bilde; born January 26, 1531, on Varberg, died April 28, 1575) was a son of Claus Bille (1490-1558) and Lisbeth Ulfstand (died 1540). In his time he was a powerful servant of the Danish monarchy; but he is probably best known today ...

and Karen Rønnow, and is sometimes called "Steen Jensen Bille". His father compiled a manuscript of ballads, Jens Billes visebog. As a young man Bille travelled in Europe. He then worked for the council of Danish Regents for the young

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

Missions to Scotland

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

set out from Copenhagen to Scotland to meet her husband

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

in September 1590. The weather forced her to shore near

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. Steen Bille, William Stewart, and

Andrew Sinclair Andrew Annandale Sinclair FRSL FRSA (21 January 1935 – 30 May 2019) was a British novelist, historian, biographer, critic, filmmaker, and a publisher of classic and modern film scripts. He has been described as a "writer of extraordinary flu ...

brought Anne's letters to Edinburgh on 10 October. She described the delay and four or five failed attempts to cross the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

, and said she had decided to stay in Norway over the winter. An English man at court, Thomas Fowler wrote that Steen Bille was well "travelled, and some time in England."

Flekkerøy and Oslo

James VI decided to sail to Norway and escort her back to Denmark. Steen Bille sailed with James VI and went with Andrew Sinclair in advance to Anna of Denmark at Oslo. There was a cannon salute when Bille left the Scottish fleet at

Flekkerøy Flekkerøy or Flekkerøya is an island and residential district in Kristiansand municipality in Agder county, Norway. The district is located within the borough of Vågsbygd, and it consists of 4 main neighborhoods: Berge/Andås, Kjære, Lindeb� ...

and a sailor was hurt by mistake. It was said that he lost his arm.

Surveying the morning gift

James VI heard in April 1593 that Henrik Below and Steen Bille were coming as ambassadors. In May

Niels Krag Niels Krag (1550-1602), was a Danish academic and diplomat. Krag was a Doctor of Divinity, Professor at the University of Copenhagen, and historiographer Royal. Mission to Scotland In August 1589 the Danish council decided that Peder Munk, Breide ...

and Steen Bille travelled to Scotland. Anna of Denmark, with her friends the Countess of Huntly and the Countess of Mar, and the ladies in waiting of her household came aboard the ambassadors' ship at

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

on 31 May. She gave the sailors a gift of 100 gold crowns. In Edinburgh, they lodged in the

Canongate The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town. It began ...

at John Kinloch's house close to

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinbu ...

. The ambassadors' role was to accept the lands of

Dunfermline Abbey Dunfermline Abbey is a Church of Scotland Parish Church in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The church occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts of a large medieval Benedictine abbey, which was sacked in 1560 during the Scottish Reforma ...

given to Anna as a "

morning gift Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law. ...

", and recently re-confirmed in the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

. They negotiated with John Maitland of

Thirlestane Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley of the Leader Wate ...

who had held some of the lands. Bille and Krag visited the dowry lands as

Peder Munk Peder Munk of Estvadgård (1534–1623), was a Danish navigator, politician, and ambassador, who was in charge of the fleet carrying Anne of Denmark to Scotland. The events of the voyage led to witch trials and executions in Denmark and Scotland ...

had done in May 1590. The last week in July was occupied by the aftermath of an attack on Holyrood Palace by the

Earl of Bothwell Earl of Bothwell was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. It was first created for Patrick Hepburn in 1488, and was forfeited in 1567. Subsequently, the earldom was re-created for the 4th Earl's nephew and heir of line, F ...

which they recorded in a Latin journal of their embassy. James VI had to explain the circumstances of Bothwell's appearance at Holyrood to them in a meeting with the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in the

Tolbooth A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of three essen ...

. They left the Scottish court on 6 August 1593, escorted to

by the queen and the royal councillors. A few weeks later a lion arrived from Denmark as a present from

with a German lion-keeper, Wilhelm Fröhlich.

Baptism of Prince Henry

Bille returned to Scotland in 1594 with Christian Barnekow for the baptism of Prince Henry at

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

. It had been rumoured that

Manderup Parsberg Manderup Parsberg (24 December 1546 – 11 November 1625) was a Danish nobleman and politician who was member of the Royal Privy Council to King Christian IV of Denmark. Student life As a student at the University of Rostock, he participated in a ...

, one of the four Regents of Denmark would attend. Bille and Barnekow brought gold necklaces each worth 500 French crowns as gifts for the queen and prince. James VI gave them gold chains worth 400 crowns.

June 1596

In 1596 Bille was again sent as ambassador to Scotland. After his ship dropped him near

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...

in England by mistake, he arrived at

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...

on 10 June. The ambassadors had been expected in May when their presents of diplomatic gifts were ready prepared. Bille invited Anna of Denmark and her husband to the coronation of Christian IV, but Anna was pregnant, and the diplomats Lord Ogilvy and Peter Young were sent instead. James declined the invitation giving reasons of state and his wife's pregnancy, that she could not herself "bear the tossing of a voyage and sea-sickness" or "separation from her husband at such a time." The English ambassador in Edinburgh Robert Bowes heard that he had discussed James VI's plans for a Protestant league against Spain. Bille sailed back to Denmark on 26 June.Thomas Birch, ''Memorials of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth'', vol. 2 (London, 1754), p. 43.

Later life and death

He died in 1629 and was buried at

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...

Marriage and family

He married Rigborg Lindenov in 1597. Their children included: * Jens Bille (1599–1645) * Rigborg Bille (1600–1648) * Hans Bille (1601–1672), married secondly Beate Henriksdatter Gøye, sister of Anne Gøye, and was the father of

Steen Andersen Bille The name of Steen Andersen Bille is closely associated with one extended family of Danish naval officers over several generations. In a direct line from one Vice-Commandant of the City of Copenhagen in the later 17th century, a long list of disting ...

External links

BILLE, STEN (SSNE 732)

Acta Legationis Scotica, 1593: A journal of the Danish embassy (Latin). Rigsarkivet

Letter of thanks from James VI for the lion, 18 September 1593 Falkland Palace (Latin). Rigsarkivet

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bille, Steen 17th-century Danish people 16th-century Danish people 1565 births 1629 deaths Ambassadors of Denmark to Scotland Bille family 16th-century Danish diplomats 17th-century Danish diplomats