William Belo or Below or Belou (1579–1635) was a German servant of

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 ...

in Scotland and England. Belo was a member of the aristocratic

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

Below family. He may have been a relation of the councilor and diplomat

Henrik Below Henrik Below (1540–1606) was a Danish nobleman and diplomat. He was the son of Claus Below and Dorothea Golitz. He attended the University of Rostock. He acquired Spøttrup Castle from the Danish crown in 1579 and made substantial alterations to ...

. As a ten-year-old he joined the household of Anne of Denmark in 1589. He was probably a page boy. Belo was given expensive clothes to wear as a child and teenager at the Scottish court, and may have been of small stature. The accounts of Thomas Foulis mention that the "littil Duchman" at court was given a New Year's Day gift of diamond ring in 1596 worth 50 French crowns. There was another servant from Mecklenburg in Anne's household, Jacob, who was a lackey attending the queen's horse. Hennink Mildenitz was another young male servant, who returned to the Danish court in 1602 after serving the queen since 1589. Mildenitz may have been the " Brunswick" lackey mentioned in the queen's clothing accounts. In July 1592 Belo was dressed in green and orange, colours worn by Marie Stewart, Margaret Vinstarr, and the queen herself. The account of

Robert Jousie Robert Jousie (or Joussie or Jowsie or Jossie; died 1626) was a Scottish merchant, financier, and courtier. Life Jousie was a cloth merchant based in Edinburgh with a house on the High Street or Royal Mile. He became an exclusive supplier of fa ...

records other garments in violet, red, purple, yellow, black, brown, and columbine. Belo came to England with the court at the

Union of the Crowns The Union of the Crowns ( gd, Aonadh nan Crùintean; sco, Union o the Crouns) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas dip ...

and in November 1604 was granted an income £100 yearly. These pensions were not always paid. After the queen's death in 1619, Belo lost his income. He joined the service of Anne of Denmark's brother, Ulrik, Duke of Holstein, and was employed by the Duke in England. In 1622

Christian IV of Denmark 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 ...

wrote to

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

asking for his help to get Belo's pension of £150 paid, mentioning Belo's 30 years of service to his mother. Christian IV wrote again in 1624 to King James announcing the death of Anne of Denmark's brother, Ulrik, Duke of Holstein and requesting he pay Belo his pension. Belo petitioned for payment and claimed that he had been poorly rewarded for his 37 years service and paid less than

Tom Durie Tom Durie, Duri, Dury or Derry ( fl. 1600–1620) was a Scottish fool or entertainer to Anne of Denmark. Career Tom Durie appears on record at the Scottish court in May 1603, when he was bought clothes to accompany Anne of Denmark on her journey ...

, who was "a natural fool", or

Archie Armstrong Archibald Armstrong (died March 1672), court jester, called "Archy", was a native of Cumberland, and according to tradition first distinguished himself as a sheep thief; afterwards he entered the service of James VI, with whom he became a favour ...

, "a counterfeit". He said the King of Denmark put him with Anna of Denmark when he was ten years old. In a later petition he explains that King James gave him a reward that was owed to Ulrik, Duke of Holstein and he had to go to Denmark to see Christian IV to pursue it, to collect this debt, and then he served the king of Denmark for a while, meanwhile when Mecklenburg was invaded he lost his property there. According to his petition of 1626, he had a wife and daughter, who he had left in a country house within the reach of Wallenstein's army.John Doran, ''The History of Court Fools'' (London, 1858), pp. 201–4: TNA SP16/44 f.116.

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BELOV, VILHELM (SSNE 14930
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belo, William Household of Anne of Denmark 1579 births 1635 deaths Below family People from Mecklenburg Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire Immigrants to the Kingdom of Scotland