Edward VI visited on 7 September 1552 and went on to Donnington Castle after three days. Elizabeth I came in August 1560 and so liked the house and entertainment that she said she would have married Lord Treasurer Paulet if he had been a younger man. She returned in August 1569. In September 1601 she entertained the French ambassador, the Duke de Biron, at the expense of the Marquess of Winchester. She hunted in the park with visiting French noblemen and killed 20 deer, and knighted 11 men. King James visited in August 1603. Anne of Denmark stayed in September 1603. There was dancing, and the elderly Earl of Nottingham was betrothed to the much younger Margaret Stewart.