The story behind

A new historic fiction book, The Queen’s Lender, gives the spotlight to George Heriot, royal goldsmith during the reign of King James VI

The name George Heriot may sound familiar, even if you’re not au fait with 16th and 17th-century Scottish history.

It’s the name of what is arguably Edinburgh’s most prestigious school, which stands just south of the city’s Old Town and which some say was the chief inspiration behind J K Rowling’s Hogwarts.

But have your ever wondered who George Heriot was, and how he came to amass such fortune and fame that he founded a major learning institution? Well, a new novel sheds light and intrigue on the man himself.

George Heriot was a goldsmith, who followed in the footsteps of his father (also George), who came from a well-connected Haddingtonshire family, and was himself a goldsmith, and a member of the Parliament of Scotland.

The younger George quickly made a name for himself in Edinburgh, selling jewellery from a luckenbooth (a common style of lockable booth on the Royal Mile) and by the 1590s was the favoured jeweller of Queen Anne of Denmark, James VI’s wife, who in 1597 appointed him as her official goldsmith. It’s this relationship that author Jean Findlay explores in her new book, The Queen’s Lender.

The title may seem incongruous with the story at first glance, but it’s this aspect of George Heriot’s career, that makes for such an enthralling read.

Though in the late 16th century James VI was King of Scotland, it was considered small fry compared with the position of his cousin (twice removed) Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland, and the role came with far fewer riches.

Anne had a penchant for expensive jewels and when money was short, George worked for promises of payment from the queen, which were recorded by the Chancellor – so Heriot was effectively lending her money.

It may seem an unusual arrangement, but with his eyes

LEFT TO RIGHT:

George Heriot, royal goldsmith for Queen Anne of Denmark and King James VI; Queen Anne of Denmark

TOP TO BOTTOM:

Heriot Hospital, later George Heriot’s School, Edinburgh; Jean Findlay, author of The Queen’s Lender on the bigger prize of becoming King of England upon the death of Elizabeth, James decided he must spend to accumulate, and so he too became indebted to George.

With Anne bearing him three children in six years – the rst a boy – and Queen Elizabeth bearing no issue, James realised his “fruitful” wife was valuable beyond measure.

Findlay writes: “He swiftly realises that his greatest asset is Anna his Queen and that she will be decorated as much as she desires, if not more.”

Though James VI initially seems a loving husband to Anne, cracks appear after the birth of their rst child, when the queen’s maternal rights are restricted in the cruellest of ways, and Heriot, himself having experienced the loss of at least one child, becomes both jeweller and con dante.

And so, George’s place as a royal courtier is assured, in more ways than one, and when the inevitable happens and James is announced King James I of England and Ireland in 1603 upon the Union of the Crowns, George travels with the king to London, where he is made jeweller to James, too.

However, as with any good work of ction (especially one featuring real-life characters), tragedy is never far away, though we wouldn’t want to spoil the book by revealing too much. Suf ce to say, with much of the dialogue in Scots – becoming increasingly anglicised as the action moves to the English court – Findlay attempts to capture some of the con icting motives of those at the higher echelons of society – self-preservation, religious idealism, political ambitions – against the backdrop of signi cant historic events. As James adjusts to his new, glittering wealth, and tries to assuage religious tensions with his translation of the bible, George’s protagonist is never far away, and though the two men are busy chasing their own ambitions, the roles of their wives and the power they yield becomes increasingly apparent.

And yet, in real life, while James only set foot in Scotland once again, Heriot never forgot the city where his career began, and on his death bequeathed a huge part of his fortune to Edinburgh, where Heriot’s Hospital, later to become George Heriot’s school, was founded. S

To read this fi ctionalised account of life in King James VI’s court, grab a copy of The Queen’s Lender, Scotland Street Press, £12.99, scotlandstreetpress.com