Both Francis and his older brother, Anthony, were gay. The two were devoted to one another as boys, and remained close throughout their lives. In fact, they lived together for a time, and it was to his "loving and beloved Brother-" that Francis dedicated his famous Essays in 1597. Their mother - domineering, intelligent, and devoutly religious - was well aware of their sexual inclinations, and sent them both a stream of letters anxiously lecturing them about their health and their souls, as well as their choice of bed partners. Sending an errand boy with strawberries to them one morning, she told them pointedly that the strawberries were theirs to keep, the errand boy was not. On another occasion, she sternly lectured Francis about "that bloody Percy," a man Francis was keeping as "coach companion and bed companion." Anthony's sexual adventures eventually led him to be arrested and charged with sodomy, in France in 1590. Fortunately, his friend, Henry of Navarre - then king - intervened, and the impending sentence of death was suspended. After a long history of physical ailments (neither brother had a strong constitution), Anthony died in 1601 from gout, at the age of 42. His brother lived on for another quarter of a century.