 In 1571 and 1572 he was elected MP for London.From 1574 to 1577, Wilson, who had now become a prominent person in the diplomatic world, was principally engaged on embassies to the Low Countries, and on his return to England he was made a privy councillor and sworn secretary of state; Francis Walsingham was his colleague.In 1580, despite his being not in holy orders, Queen Elizabeth appointed Wilson Dean of Durham.