Page 10 - Fenning_Scoland

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The King's Mail

Following King James VI of Scotland's accession to the throne of England in 1603, one of his first
acts was to extend the Tudors' post road from London to Berwick into Scotland and to Edinburgh.

King James well understood that an organised, regular postal service was a necessity in order to
rule effectively in Scotland and the extended North Road was used by the king for
communications between the two kingdoms.

The King's Mail or King's Post, as it was known to many, was used by the royal family and the
king's highest-ranking courtiers and for letters of state, particularly for communicating between the
Privy Councils of the two countries. It was not available for the use of minor officials or courtiers or
the public.

Frame 2 displays three letters which were sent from London to Edinburgh aJmost certainly using
the King's Mail:

• 1623 from the Duke of Richmond and Lennox (King James's cousin) at Whitehall Palace
• 1624 from the 3rc1 Duke of Lennox (King James's cousin) at Greenwich Palace
• 1630 from Lord Napier containing a warrant from King Charles I for Scotland's Treasurer

In 1635 King Charles I opened up the King's Mail for use by the public.

Frame 3

Before and during the Civil War

Frame 3 shows mail carried immediately before and during the Civil War. The war severely
disrupted travel and, in ScotJand, communications were further disrupted by a major outbreak of
the plague in the mid 1640's.

• three letters that were carried to or from Edinburgh during the short visit of King Charles I
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to that city (14 August-18 November1641). One in particular is notable being from the
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House of Commons to Lord Howard in Edinburgh thanking him for some intelligence he
had sent. The entire text of the letter and the instructions for it to be sent is documented in
the Journal of the House of Commons. A parliamentary messenger would have carried
this letter.
• three letters from the Civil War period, all sent within Scotland: one sent privately, one by
Burgh Post and the third probably carried by a messenger or agent of King Charles II. It
was an overtly Royalist letter that, had it been intercepted by either Cromwell's army or by
the Kirk party of Scotland, would have been dangerous for the sender and for the king.