of a rebellion, and had been in familiar relations with Edward Courtenay [q. v.] Throckmorton defended himself with resolute pertinacity, and, in spite of the marked hostility of Sir Thomas Bromley and other judges, he was acquitted by the jury. The trial was memorable as affording an almost unprecedented example of the independence of a jury at the trial of one who was charged by the crown with treason. The London populace rejoiced, but the government marked its resentment by ordering the jurors to the Tower or the Fleet; they were kept in prison till the end of the year, when they were released on the payment of a fine amounting to 2,000l. (Holinshed, Chronicle, ii. 1747; State Trials). Nor was Throckmorton allowed to benefit immediately by the jury's courage. He was detained in the Tower till 18 Jan. 1554–5 (Machyn, Diary, p. 80); and next year, when a kinsman, John Throckmorton, was arrested on a charge of conspiring with Henry Dudley to rob the treasury, he was again brought under suspicion, but no action was taken against him. His kinsman was executed on 28 April 1556 (cf. Cal. State Papers, 1547–80, p. 78). Meanwhile he was a frequent and a welcome visitor of the Princess Elizabeth at Hatfield, though his protestant zeal exceeded that of the princess, and at times drew from her an angry rebuke.
Elizabeth's accession to the throne opened to him a career of political activity. He was at once appointed chief butler and chamberlain of the exchequer, and was elected M.P. for Lyme Regis on 2 Jan. 1558–9. In the following May the more important office of ambassador to France was bestowed on him (cf. Cal. State Papers, Dom., 1547–80, p. 128). On 9 Jan. 1559–60 the queen signed instructions in which he was directed to protest against the assumption of the arms of England by Francis II, who had married Mary Queen of Scots on 24 April 1558, and had ascended the French throne on 10 July 1559 (Hatfield MSS. i. 165–7; State Papers, Foreign, 1559–60, No. 557). Francis died on 5 Dec. 1560, and Throckmorton was much occupied in the weeks that followed in seeking to induce Queen Mary to forego ‘the style and title of sovereign of England,’ and to postpone her assumption of her sovereignty in Scotland. Throckmorton had many audiences of her, and acknowledged her fascination. They corresponded on friendly terms, and despite differences in their religious and political opinions, he thenceforth did whatever he could to serve her, consistently with his duty to his country (cf. Labanoff, Lettres de Marie Stuart, i. 94, 128). He now succeeded in reconciling Elizabeth to the prospect of Queen Mary's settlement in Scotland. But he endeavoured to persuade Mary to tolerate protestantism among her subjects, and did not allow his personal regard for her to diminish his zeal for his own creed. The Venetian ambassador in France described him (3 July 1561) as ‘the most cruel adversary that the catholic religion has in England’ (Cal. Venetian State Papers, 1558–80, p. 333). He showed every mark of hostility to the Guises and of sympathy with the Huguenots, and urged Elizabeth to ally herself publicly and without delay with the Huguenots in France and the reformers in Scotland. Little heed was paid to his proposals.
On 28 Oct. 1560 he wrote with disgust to Cecil of the rumour that the Earl of Leicester was contemplating marriage with the queen (FROUDE, vi. 439 sq.). In November he sent his secretary, one Jones, to remonstrate with the queen on the injurious effect that the reports of such a union were having on her prestige abroad (Hardwicke, State Papers, i. 165). Elizabeth was displeased with his frank importunity, and in September 1561 Throckmorton begged for his recall. Cecil, to whose son Thomas he was showing many kindly attentions in Paris, recommended him to remain at his post, but in September 1562 Sir Thomas Smith (1513–1577) [q. v.] arrived to share his responsibilities, and, as different directions were given by the home government to each envoy, Throckmorton's position was one of continual embarrassment, and his relations with his colleague were usually very strained (cf. Wright, Queen Elizabeth, i. 155, 174). Throckmorton never ceased to warn the queen that Europe was maturing a conspiracy to extirpate protestantism, and that it was her duty to act as the champion of the reformed faith. Largely owing to his representations, Elizabeth reluctantly agreed in October 1562 to send an English army to the assistance of the French protestants, who were at open war with their catholic rulers, and were holding Havre against the French government. Throckmorton joined the Huguenot army in Normandy, and after the battle of Dreux (19 Dec. 1562) was carried as a prisoner into the camp of the catholics and was detained. He arrived at Havre in February 1563. On 7 August 1563 he was arrested by the French government on the plea that he had no passport. Cecil expostulated with the French ambassador in London, and Throckmorton was set at liberty (Hatfield MSS. i. 277; cf. Cal. Venetian State Papers, 1557–80, p. 373;
