The date is August 1586.

The Babington Plot (a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth) has just been stopped.

Walsingham needs more help because another plot is surely around the corner.

It's true that he dressed in black (image 1) and was known as Elizabeth's Moor. His Barn Elms residence did have a lot of horses outside so obviously suspicious! He is often said to be the founding father of MI5 and MI6 but he wasn't in charge of formal government departments, rather he had an informal network of spies and informers that all reported into him. He hired everyone that had a use.

He was the English Ambassador in France during the St Bartholomew massacre and his home became a safe house. It's true that a man carried mutton and then disguised himself as a groom. Elizabeth did once throw a slipper in his face. Secretary really does mean 'keeper of secrets'.

There were a lot of plots against Elizabeth during her reign. He was adept at turning people that he interrogated into spying for him. He was obsessed with ciphers and those that created them and could crack them (image 2). The ingredients of invisible ink are real. His forger, Arthur Gregory did restore wax seals on letters. The Throckmorton plot was as described. The story about Babington in the tavern is true.

If you want to find out more about Francis, check out the sources and places below:

The Queen's Agent: Francis Walsingham at the Court of Elizabeth I - John Cooper

Her Majesty's Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham and the Birth of Modern Espionage - Stephen Budiansky

Elizabeth's Spy Master: Francis Walsingham and the secret war that saved England - Robert Hutchinson

St Pauls Cathedral