in a letter dated 1 october 1563, cecil referred to googe as his 'servant' and 'near kinsman'. according to barrett, there is no record of the position he occupied in cecil's household apart from reference to him as a retainer and the fact that he was present on special occasions such as the queen's visit to theobalds in 1572, when he was 'placed high on the list of servants' and referred to as the first server for the first meal'. previous authorities claimed that he became a gentleman pensioner to queen elizabeth, but this has been disproved. nonetheless googe did have close associations with the court through his relationship to cecil. he exploited this important connection in the years that followed, and cecil extended patronage towards his young protégé. it may have been due to cecil's encouragement that googe accompanied the elizabethan humanist scholar sir thomas challoner on a diplomatic embassy to spain in 1562.