Steen Bille (1565–1629) was a Danish councillor and diplomat. He was the son of Jens Bille and Karen Rønnow, and is sometimes called "Steen Jensen Bille". His father compiled a manuscript of ballads,

Jens Billes visebog Jens Billes visebog ('Jens Bille's song-book', Odense, Landsarkivet for Fyn, Karen Brahe E I,2, also called 'Jens Billes håndskrift' and 'Jens Billes poesiebog' and once known as 'Steen Billes Haandskrift') is the second oldest major collection of ...

. As a young man Bille travelled in Europe. He then worked for the council of Danish Regents for the young Christian IV.

Missions to Scotland

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

set out from Copenhagen to Scotland to meet her husband

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

in September 1590. The weather forced her to shore near

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. Steen Bille, William Stewart, and Andrew Sinclair brought Anne's letters to Edinburgh on 10 October. She described the delay and four or five failed attempts to cross the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, and said she had decided to stay in Norway over the winter. An English man at court, Thomas Fowler wrote that Steen Bille was well "travelled, and some time in England."

Flekkerøy and Oslo

James VI decided to sail to Norway and escort her back to Denmark. Steen Bille sailed with James VI and went with Andrew Sinclair in advance to Anna of Denmark at Oslo. There was a cannon salute when Bille left the Scottish fleet at Flekkerøy and a sailor was hurt by mistake. It was said that he lost his arm.

Surveying the morning gift

James VI heard in April 1593 that Henrik Below and Steen Bille were coming as ambassadors. In May Niels Krag and Steen Bille travelled to Scotland. Anna of Denmark, with her friends the Countess of Huntly and the Countess of Mar, and the ladies in waiting of her household came aboard the ambassadors' ship at

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

on 31 May. She gave the sailors a gift of 100 gold crowns. In Edinburgh, they lodged in the

Canongate The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town. David ...

at John Kinloch's house close to

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

. The ambassadors' role was to accept the lands of

Dunfermline Abbey Dunfermline Abbey is a Church of Scotland parish church in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The church occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts of a large medieval Benedictine abbey, which was confiscated and sacked in 1560 during the S ...

given to Anne as a "

morning gift Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settlement (law), settled on the bride (being given into trust instrument, trust) by agreement at the time of t ...

", and recently re-confirmed in the

Parliament of Scotland In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. They negotiated with John Maitland of

Thirlestane Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley of the Leader Wat ...

who had held some of the lands. Bille and Krag visited the dowry lands as Peder Munk had done in May 1590. The last week in July was occupied by the aftermath of an attack on Holyrood Palace by the Earl of Bothwell which they recorded in a Latin journal of their embassy. James VI had to explain the circumstances of Bothwell's appearance at Holyrood to them in a meeting with the Privy Council in the

Tolbooth A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scotland, Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of th ...

. They left the Scottish court on 6 August 1593, escorted to

by the queen and the royal councillors. A few weeks later a lion arrived from Denmark as a present from Christian IV with a German lion-keeper, Wilhelm Fröhlich.

Baptism of Prince Henry

Bille returned to Scotland in 1594 with Christian Barnekow for the baptism of Prince Henry at

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 ...

. It had been rumoured that Manderup Parsberg, one of the four Regents of Denmark would attend. Bille and Barnekow brought gold necklaces each worth 500 French crowns as gifts for the queen and prince. James VI gave them gold chains worth 400 crowns.

June 1596

In 1596 Bille was again sent as ambassador to Scotland. After his ship dropped him near

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...

in England by mistake, he arrived at

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the Anglo–Scottish border, English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and ...

on 10 June. The ambassadors had been expected in May when their presents of diplomatic gifts were ready prepared. Bille invited Anna of Denmark and her husband to the coronation of Christian IV, but Anna was pregnant, and the diplomats Lord Ogilvy and

Peter Young Peter or Pete Young may refer to: Sports * Peter Dalton Young (1927–2002), English rugby union player * Peter Young (cricketer, born 1961), Australian cricketer * Pete Young (born 1968), American baseball player * Peter Young (rugby league) (fl. ...

were sent instead. James declined the invitation giving reasons of state and his wife's pregnancy, that she could not herself "bear the tossing of a voyage and sea-sickness" or "separation from her husband at such a time." The English ambassador in Edinburgh Robert Bowes heard that he had discussed James VI's plans for a Protestant league against Spain. Bille sailed back to Denmark on 26 June.Thomas Birch, ''Memorials of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth'', vol. 2 (London, 1754), p. 43.

Later life and death

He died in 1629 and was buried at

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; ), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a coastal city in northeastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 63,953 on 1 January 2025, making it the 23rd most populated municipality in Denmark. Helsin ...

Marriage and family

He married Rigborg Lindenov in 1597. Their children included: * Jens Bille (1599–1645) * Rigborg Bille (1600–1648) * Hans Bille (1601–1672), married secondly Beate Henriksdatter Gøye, sister of Anne Gøye, and was the father of Steen Andersen Bille

External links

BILLE, STEN (SSNE 732)

Acta Legationis Scotica, 1593: A journal of the Danish embassy (Latin). Rigsarkivet

Letter of thanks from James VI for the lion, 18 September 1593 Falkland Palace (Latin). Rigsarkivet

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bille, Steen 17th-century Danish people 1565 births 1629 deaths Ambassadors of Denmark to Scotland Bille family 16th-century Danish diplomats 17th-century Danish diplomats