the son of John Sempill of Beltrees, and Mary Livingston, one of the "Four Marys", companions of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. Sempill was Ambassador to England in the years 1591-1600 and was knighted on Christmas Day 1600. Another Scot employed by the King in London, James Hudson, referred to Sempill's youth and inexperience in May 1599. Hudson wrote that Sempill was "a raw piece to employ and one unskilful, only a scholar." He wrote several theological works.
