Nicholas Wotton was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 diplomat

Diplomat

A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

Life

He was a son of Sir Robert Wotton of Boughton Malherbe

Boughton Malherbe

For other "Boughtons" in Kent see Boughton under Blean; Boughton Malherbe; and Boughton MonchelseaBoughton Malherbe is a village and civil parish in the Maidstone district of Kent, England, situated between Maidstone and Ashford...

, Kent, and a descendant of Nicholas Wotton, lord mayor of London in 1415 and 1430, and member of parliament for the city from 1406 to 1429.

He early became vicar of Boughton Malherbe and of Sutton Valence

Sutton Valence

Sutton Valence is a village some five miles SE of Maidstone, Kent, England on the Greensand Ridge overlooking the Vale of Kent and Weald. One of the main landmarks in the village is , of which only the ruins of the 12th century keep remain, under the ownership of English Heritage, open any...

, and later of Ivychurch

Ivychurch

For Ivychurch, Wiltshire, see Ivychurch PrioryIvychurch is a village and civil parish in the Shepway District of Kent, England. The village is located on the Romney Marsh, three miles north-west of New Romney. The parish council consists of five members.The village has a public house but has...

, Kent; but, desiring a more worldly career, he entered the service of Cuthbert Tunstall

Cuthbert Tunstall

Cuthbert Tunstall was an English Scholastic, church leader, diplomat, administrator and royal adviser...

, bishop of London

Bishop of London

The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...

. Having helped to draw up the Institution of a Christian Man, Wotton in 1539 went to arrange the marriage between Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

 and Anne of Cleves

Anne of Cleves

Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...

 and the union of Protestant princes which was to be the complement of this union.

He crossed over to England with the royal bride, but, unlike Thomas Cromwell, he did not lose the royal favour when the king repudiated Anne, and in 1541, having already refused the bishopric of Hereford

Bishop of Hereford

The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...

, he became the first post-Reformation dean of Canterbury

Dean of Canterbury

The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The office of dean originated after the English Reformation, and its precursor office was the prior of the cathedral-monastery...

 and in 1544 dean of York

Dean of York

The Dean of York is the member of the clergy who is responsible for the running of the York Minster cathedral.-11th–12th centuries:* 1093–c.1135: Hugh* c.1138–1143: William of Sainte-Barbe...

.

In 1543 he went on diplomatic business to the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, and for the next year or two he had much intercourse with the emperor Charles V He helped to conclude the Treaty of Ardres between England and France in 1546, and was resident ambassador in France from 1546 to 1549. Henry VIII made Wotton an executor of his will and left him £300, and in 1549, under Edward VI

Edward IV of England

Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...

, he became a secretary of state

Secretary of State (England)

In the Kingdom of England, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary....

, but he only held this post for about a year.

In 1550 he was again sent as envoy to Charles V, and he was ambassador to France during the reign of Mary

Mary I of England

Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...

, doing valuable work in that capacity. He left France in 1557, but in 1558 he was again in that country, helping to arrange the preliminaries of the peace of Cateau Cambrésis. In 1560 he signed the treaty of Edinburgh

Treaty of Edinburgh

The Treaty of Edinburgh was a treaty drawn up on 5 July 1560 between the Commissioners of Queen Elizabeth I with the assent of the Scottish Lords of the Congregation, and French representatives in Scotland to formally conclude the Siege of Leith and replace the Auld Alliance with France with a new...

 on behalf of Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

, and he had again visited the Netherlands before his death in London.

He was buried at the east end of the Trinity Chapel

Trinity Chapel

Trinity Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The chapel was added by William the Englishman as a shrine for the relics of St. Thomas Becket. The shrine became one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in England....

 of Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....

.

Relatives

His brother, Sir Edward Wotton (1489–1551), was made Treasurer of Calais

Treasurer of Calais

Calais was in English hands from 1347 to 1558. The task of the Treasurer, in conjunction with the Captain of Calais was keeping the defences in order, supplying victuals and paying the garrison...

 in 1540, and was one of those who took part in the overthrow of the protector Somerset

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....

.

His nephew, Thomas Wotton (1521–1587) was the father of Sir Henry Wotton

Henry Wotton

Sir Henry Wotton was an English author and diplomat. He is often quoted as saying, "An ambassador is an honest gentleman sent to lie abroad for the good of his country." -Life:The son of Thomas Wotton , brother of Edward Wotton, 1st Baron Wotton, and grandnephew of the diplomat...

. His sister Margaret was the second wife of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset‎, the mother of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk

Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk

Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, KG was an English nobleman of the Tudor period and the father of Lady Jane Grey.-Henry VIII's reign:...

, and the grandmother of Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...

.