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| "John Dee Performing an Experiment before Elizabeth I" Henry Gillard Glindoni (1852-1913), Public Domain |
John Dee, advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, is often remembered as "The Queen’s Conjurer." Dee chose the astrologically favorable date of her coronation, advised her on calendar reform, tutored her in alchemy, trained her seafarers in navigation, and was summoned to Windsor Castle in 1577 to explain the ominous appearance of a comet.
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| From the Archive of the Bodleian Library MS Ashmole 1789 |
On September 17, 1580, Elizabeth did something unusual—she visited Dee at his own home. Despite being her trusted advisor, Dee was not a nobleman, and monarchs did not visit the homes of their subjects unless, perhaps, being formally hosted by wealthy nobles while on progress.  |
Detail from what remains of Richmond Palace
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Dee’s house at Mortlake lay just two and a half miles from her palace at Richmond. She visited him more than once, often pausing by the wall that bordered his property and the neighboring church. Usually, she traveled by barge along the Thames, but on this day she arrived by coach. |
| The Thames River, Mortlake, front John Dee's former property |
We know of the visit through Dee’s own hand. In the margins of his almanacs—ephemerides—he recorded the moment in detail. Elizabeth, he wrote, came by coach across the fields, turned toward his house, and when she saw him, beckoned with her hand. He approached the coach, whereupon she removed her glove for him to kiss her hand and asked that he “resort to her court.” Why not just send a messenger?
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| The wall between Dee's property and St. Mary the Virgin, Mortlake (note church tower in background) |
That a queen should ride to the home of a commoner, no matter how scholarly, and stand at his garden wall is both surprising and telling of the value she placed on Dee.
