Thomas Paget, 3rd Baron Paget (c. 1544 – 1590) was an English peer, the second son of William Paget, 1st Baron Paget. He succeeded to the barony in 1568 at the death of his elder brother,

Henry Paget, 2nd Baron Paget Henry Paget, Baron Paget (c. 1537 – 28 December 1568) was an English MP and peer. Life Henry Paget was the eldest son of William Paget, Baron Paget of Beaudesert, Staffordshire and his wife Anne Preston, the daughter of Henry Preston. He ...

Family

Thomas Paget, born about 1544, was the second son of William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, and Anne Preston (d. 1587), the daughter of Henry Preston. He had three brothers,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and Edward (died young), and six sisters, Etheldreda, who married Sir Christopher Allen; Eleanor, who married firstly, Jerome Palmer, esquire, and secondly, Sir Rowland Clarke; Grisold, who married firstly, Sir Thomas Rivett, and secondly, Sir William Waldegrave; Joan (or Jane), who married Thomas Kitson, son of Sir Thomas Kitson and Margaret Donnington; Dorothy, who married Sir Thomas Willoughby (d. 1559); and Anne (d. 1590), who married Sir Henry Lee.

Career

Paget

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

on 27 May 1559, and in 1561 was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. He succeeded his elder brother,

in 1568, 'and (according to the decision of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

governing the succession of this title in 1770) succeeded his niece Elizabeth as the fourth holder of the Paget

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

in 1570, accordingly receiving a summons to parliament in 1571'. By this time, he had married Nazareth Newton a wealthy widow and former lady-in-waiting. The marriage was unhappy and they separated by 1582.Laura Oliver Miller, 'Nazaret Newton Southwell Paget', Carole Levin, Anna Riehl Bertolet, Jo Eldridge Carney, eds, ''A Biographical Encyclopedia of Early Modern Englishwomen'' (Routledge, 2017), pp. 517-8.

Conspiracy

Thomas Paget and his brother

were both devout Catholics, and would not conform to the Protestant religion of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

. Aided by Henry Percy, Paget fled to Paris on the uncovering of the

Throckmorton Plot The 1583 Throckmorton Plot was one of a series of attempts by English Roman Catholics to depose Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots, then held under house arrest in England. The alleged objective was to facilitate a Sp ...

in November 1583, joining his brother

who had been in exile there since 1581. The failed conspiracy's plan was for an invasion of England by French forces under the command of Henry, Duke of Guise, financed by

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

. English Catholics would then rise up and depose Elizabeth, placing Catholic

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

on the English throne. After his flight to France Elizabeth issued a

proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

commanding Thomas Paget to return to England. In June 1584 a formal demand for the surrender of Paget was made to the King of France through the English ambassador, which was not carried out. Whilst in Paris in 1586 Paget with his brother Charles became embroiled in the

Babington plot The Babington Plot was a plan in 1586 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestantism, Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, her Catholic Church, Catholic cousin, on the English throne. It led to Mary's execution, a result of a letter s ...

to again depose the Queen and place Mary, Queen of Scots on the English throne. His activities were reported by Lewes Lewkenor, another Catholic exile, who wrote that Thomas Morgan,

drew wholly unto his faction the lord Paget, the
bishop of Dunblane The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane or Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotlan ...
, a Scotchman of great credit and gravity; C. Paget, T. Throckmorton, Ralfe Liggons, and sundry other that esteem themselves to be of the better sort. Notwithstanding all which, so effectual and forcible were the means with which they practiced against him, that they got him to be imprisoned in Paris, laying to his charge, that he was an intelligencer for sir Frances Walsingham, a traitor to the service of the Queen his mistress, and from time to time a discoverer of her practices, and withal procured the Queen to conceive exceedingly ill of him, and taking the
receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
of her
dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...
in France from him, to bestow the same upon the bishop of Ross.

Attainted

In 1587 Thomas and his brother were

attainted In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...

of treason by act of parliament. Thomas Paget's honours were forfeited and their properties were confiscated by the Crown. Paget received a pension of 180 crowns per month from Philip II and died in Brussels in early 1590. In 1603 Elizabeth I died. In 1604

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

, son of Mary Queen of Scots, restored the Paget family lands and honours to Thomas Paget's Protestant son,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Notes

References