Letter from Sir Henry Vane to Secretary Conway about Prince Charles’ trip to Spain, requesting orders to make the Prince a pavilion to match his other jousting accoutrements, 3 April 1623 (catalogue ref: SP 14/142 f.47).
When Prince Charles went to Spain to pursue a marriage match with the Spanish Infanta he took the extravagance of the English Court with him.
Transcript
Sir
Being commanded by the Prince my master to send him once into Spain, all his tilting furniture [jousting equipment] with whatsoever else should be necessary, for that service and having since my being at court last, look over all his provisions, I find there is a pavilion wanting, for him to rest himself when he shall come, which he ever had here one the running day where upon I repaired to my Lord Chamberlain to know where that was, which the Prince make use of this last running day, his Lordship told me that it was in the Great Wardrobe and the colours are green and yellow, or other colour and yellow, now the Princes’ colours of his caparisons [decorative coverings for a horse] are tawny velvet embroidered with silver, how those will correspond, I leave to your honour’s judgment. I thought it therefore my duty to beseech your honour to acquaint his Majesty with as much, and to let him know that if it shall stand with his good pleasure, I shall present such diligences [thoroughness] as I can have a new pavilion made suitable to the caparisons embroidered with silver, as soon as I shall be able to get the other things ready, if your honour I will be pleased to procure me the Kings pleasure, between this and tomorrow morning by seven of the clock, I would not have preferment to have been this importunate with
[sideways:]
your honour by this it is my masters errand, who will not give you thanks for this particular only but for all the troubles, his services hath loaded you with since his absence and for myself I shall ever be your honour’s servant to be commanded,
Henry Vane