"
Robin you may be right,but an awful lot of these things are supposition..
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Sure -- there's no hard dating on Ralegh's poems.

"
By the way where did you read that King James had set Sir Walter up on releasing him to go and find gold in Guiana (Venezuala if I've spelt that righ ha ha,as its called today)I've never read of that conspiracy theory before...
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Wash yo' mouf' out with carbolic. This ain't no conspiracy theory.

In the last years of Bess, Ralegh was pushing for a republic rather than for Jimmie the six and one to inherit.

James the Sixth of Scotland already had the black spot on Ralegh even before he crossed the border -- he'd been being fed black propoganda CIA reports by Burleigh.

(Look, remember, Ralegh was VERY much Good Queen Bess's creature. It was both personal and political. EI gave Ralegh taxes on salt, and when she died, Ralegh came out with one of those unforgetable throw-a-ways: "She was a lady whom time hath surprised."

Ralegh (much as I admire him) was self-destruct.

The first personal meeting between Jimmie 6 and Ralegh, James said, "I hae herd rawley about you" (pun on Ralegh's name).

Ralegh replied nothing [but prolly thought, "Sod you, you nasty Scottish poofter.]

The minute James (6&1) was on the English throne, he slapped a trial for treason on Ralegh. (And the ghost of Essex was prolly laughing in the background).

Trial ended with a suspended (death) sentence, and Ralegh was slammed into the Tower.

Then things hung fire for a bit, partly because James' elder son Henry was deeply pro-Ralegh ("Only my father would keep such a bird in a cage.")

Then young Henry died of smallpox, so ...

Out of the Tower, into a Spanish set-up, back to the block.

"
I think you will find it was to his younger and not older son.....though your theory is interesting..
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Bullshit. The "Three things there be ..." was directed at young Wat, not the milksop (which is unfair -- Walter's younger son was sensible and nice and BLOODY SURVIVED).

(Have a look at what Aubrey says about Ralegh in the _Brief Lives_. I particulary like the annecdote about younger and older Walter and the prostitute -- "Turn and turn about, it'll reach the old man at last."

Ah, mooch, been there, done that, bought the T-shirt.

Mostly my street-cred here runs I wrote a pome about this called "The Lady, the Rude Boy, and the Toy Boy".

If you really want, I could give you chapter-and-(scholarly)-verse for the above.

But honest, it's pretty much generally accepted knowledge.

Robin