In the flux of diplomatic negotiations and exchanges, the letter bearer stabilized epistolary communication. In the long term, he became an essential instrument in the maintaining of alliances. Arguably no-one in sixteenth-century Europe perceived the potential of “competent letter bearers” more clearly than Marguerite de Navarre. This study looks at the letter bearers chosen by the queen of Navarre for their loyalty in serving her household, especially when overcoming the challenges of long-distance communication. The letters they carried were sometimes embellished with biblical and literary allusions, and as such they bring into focus the emotional complexity of Marguerite de Navarre. Thus was she able to instrumentalize the epistolary voice – which functions alongside the oral message of the letter bearer – for personal and political ends.