Ralph Liggons or Lygon (1540-1619) was an English Catholic involved in conspiracies and a supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Family background

He was a member of the Worcestershire

Lygon family Earl Beauchamp () was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The peerage was created in 1815 for William Lygon, 1st Baron Beauchamp, along with the subsidiary title Viscount Elmley, in the County of Worcester. He had already been crea ...

, a son of William Lygon (died 1567) and his wife Eleanor Denys. His brother Richard (died 1584) was head of the family, based at Madresfield Court, his brother Roger Lygon was a

Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher and Lady Usher are titles for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. For a list of office-holders from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day see List of Lady and Gentleman Ushers. Gen ...

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

, and his nephew William Lygon was a Member of Parliament. Several contemporary records include his surname written as "Liggons" or "Ligons". These spelling are preferred by historians.

Career

Ralph Liggons attended the

baptism of James VI The baptism of James VI of Scotland was celebrated at Stirling Castle in December 1566 with a masque, fireworks, and a staged assault on a mock fortress. The entertainment was devised by George Buchanan and Bastian Pagez. Prince James James VI an ...

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

in December 1566.

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 ...

gave him a gold chain. He was involved in the

Rising of the North The Rising of the North of 1569, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls, Northern Rebellion or the Rebellion of the Earls, was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholicism, Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of En ...

in 1569, and plotted with

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1536 or 1538 2 June 1572), was an English nobleman and politician. He was a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth I and held many high offices during the earlier part of her reign. Norfolk was the s ...

and Mary, Queen of Scots. He received a pension from

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 ...

. Mary's secretary

Claude Nau Claude Nau or Claude Nau de la Boisseliere (d. 1605) was a confidential secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots, in England from 1575 to 1586. He was involved in coding Mary's letters with cipher keys. Career Nau was a successful lawyer practicing in Par ...

sent him a cipher code to use in correspondence in January 1577. He was an exile in Brussels and Paris after the revealing of the

Ridolfi Plot The Ridolfi plot was a Catholic plot in 1571 to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. The plot was hatched and planned by Roberto Ridolfi, an international banker who was able to travel between Bruss ...

. Mary, Queen of Scots also left him a pension in her will.Teulet, vol. 5, p. 503. Liggons was involved in the 1605

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lygon, Ralph 16th-century English people 1619 deaths 1540 births

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...