Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll (30 April 1564 – 16 July 1631) was a Scottish nobleman. A convert to Catholicism, he openly conspired with the king of Spain to try to unseat the Protestant Queen Elizabeth.
Contents
Biography
He was the son of Andrew Hay, 8th Earl of Erroll by his first wife, Lady Jean Hay, daughter of William Hay, 6th Earl of Erroll. He was the second eldest son, but his older brother Alexander, who was a deaf-mute, was declared "insane" and skipped in the succession. Francis succeeded to the earldom upon the death of his father in 1585.
In 1587 he married Mary Stewart, sister of the Earl of Atholl. She died soon after, and it was alleged he was cruel to her. Her family withheld his dowry money, and her brother took revenge in 1589 when Erroll was declared a rebel.
Early in his life he converted to Roman Catholicism, and as the associate of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly joined in the Spanish conspiracies against the throne of Queen Elizabeth. In 1589, he began engaging in treasonous correspondence with King Philip II of Spain, who was also briefly King of England by his marriage to Queen Mary.
A letter he wrote to King Philip declaring his allegiance to Spain was intercepted and sent by Elizabeth to James VI. In February 1589, he was ordered to appear in front of the Privy Council. Failing to appear, he was denounced as a rebel.