Elizabeth charge of the princess, whose 'keeping and education' were, by a privy seal order dated 19 Oct., committed to the care of Lord Harington and his wife. After a brief sojourn at Lord Harington's family seat, Exton in Rutlandshire, Elizabeth took up her residence at Combe Abbey, the inheritance of Lady Harington, where, with the exception of a few visits to court from the middle of 1606 onwards, she remained continuously till the end of 1608. No guardianship could have been more happily chosen than that to which she had been entrusted. Both Lord Harington and his wife were 'persons eminent for prudence and piety' (see the Character of their son in Harington, Nugæ Antiquæ, ed. 1804, ii. 307), and the former with characteristic zeal devoted himself altogether to his new duties. He had a worthy helpmate in his wife; their niece, Lady Anne Dudley, became the princess's intimate friend. Elizabeth's establishment at Combe Abbey included, besides her former mistress-nurse, Lady Dunkerrant (a member of the Linlithgow family), various tutors in languages and in other accomplishments. Several childish notes are preserved from the princess's hand, of which the earliest appears to refer to her recent removal to Combe Abbey. They are written in English, French, or Italian, and addressed in affectionate terms to her father, and more especially to her favourite brother Prince Henry (see the Letters to King James VI from the members of his family, printed for the Maitland Club, 1835, and the specimens from Harl. MS. 6986 in Ellis, Original Letters, 1st ser. iii. 89-91). The protestant sentiments which Elizabeth throughout her life consistently exhibited were no doubt largely due to the influence of the Haringtons. Combe Abbey lay in the heart of a district on which the conspirators of the Gunpowder plot materially depended. They had agreed that on the very day of the intended demonstration-in-chief at Westminster the young princess should be seized by a body of gentlemen, who were to assemble on the pretext of a hunting match to be held by Sir Everard Digby at Dunchurch, about eight miles distant from Combe Abbey. If the plot succeeded, either Prince Charles or Elizabeth was to be proclaimed sovereign on the principles of the unreformed church. But a warning had reached Combe Abbey just in time from London, and the princess was conveyed by Lord Harington to Coventry, where the townsmen loyally armed in her defence.
From the end of 1608 onwards Elizabeth appears to have frequently resided at court, occupying a special suite of apartments at Hampton Court, or another in the Cockpit at Whitehall, in addition to an establishment which had been formed for her at Kew. She occasionally performed in masks, such as Daniel's 'Tethys's Festival,' acted at Whitehall 5 June 1610, in which she represented the nymph of the Thames. She was already the frequent theme of poetic offerings, though the most charming lines inspired by her beauty. Sir Henry Wotton's tribute to her as the rose among the violets, were not written till after she had become a queen. Soon overtures began to be made to King James for the hand of his daughter. One of the earliest offers came from Charles IX of Sweden on behalf of his son, Gustavus Adolphus, which seems to have formed part of a general scheme of the Swedish king to negotiate a quadruple alliance with England, France, and the States-General (Getjer, Gesckickte von Schuden, ii. 352). But the Danish interest at the English court easily prevailed against the proposal. On the other hand. Queen Anne warmly supported a plan hatched towards the end of 1611 for a marriage between Elizabeth and King Philip of Spain, which was openly denounced by the Prince of Wales, and in the end, by the advice of Salisbury, allowed to fall through. A directly opposite policy was suggested by the fears of James that in case of a general European conflict the Hispano-French alliance, ultimately cemented by a double marriage, would unduly depress the balance. James I accordingly, in March 1612, concluded a treaty of alliance with the princes of the German protestant union; and on 16 May following a marriage-contract was signed between Elizabeth and the head of the union, the young Elector Palatine Frederick V. When, 16 Oct. of this year, the palsgrave, as he was called in England, arrived on these shores, he was generally welcomed as a handsome and intelligent young prince, as the nephew of the famous warrior Maurice, prince of Orange, and as himself heir to a great though uncertain future. His approaching marriage was universally regarded as a great political event, since it would connect the English royal family with some of the chief protestant courts in Europe. The cold water thrown on her daughter's happiness by the queen [see Anne of Denmark] of course only strengthened this impression. The young elector had made the acquaintance of Elizabeth, and they had, as may for once be safely asserted, fallen in love with each other, when Henry, prince of Wales, suddenly died (6 Nov.) His sister had not been allowed to see him during the last five days of his life, though she had even attempted to visit him in disguise. His last conscious words had
