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William Cecil:
- Lord Burghley
- Father = Richard Cecil
- Nephew = Francis Bacon
- Son, Robert Cecil became advisor to the Queen
- Rose to prominence during Somerset’s regency
- 1550-53 served as secretary to Northumberland but avoided the Grey instigation
- Served Queen Mary as a diplomat and was elected as MP
- October 1551- he was knighted
- April 1552- Chancellor of the Order of the Garter
- 1558-72 he served Queen Elizabeth as secretary
- Feb. 25th 1571 - created Lord Burghley
- 1572-98- served the Queen as Lord Treasurer
- Keen to further the position of his son and Robert was eventually given a position on the Privy
Council
- Lord Burghley and Sir Francis Walsingham devised an intricate spy network during the latter
years of Elizabeth's reign that succeeded in uncovering the Babington Plot of 1586
- Lord Burghley and Sir Francis Walsingham were instrumental in convincing Queen Elizabeth to
have Mary Queen of Scots executed in 1587
- In 1590 Lord Burghley, at the age of 70, lost his hearing but continued to serve Queen Elizabeth
who looked upon him as a father figure
- William Cecil, Lord Burghley, died on 4 August 1598
Robert Dudley:
- Earl of Leicester
- Life-long friends with Elizabeth, she even attended his marriage ceremony between him and
Amy Robsart
- Son of John Dudley (Northumberland) who attempted to make Lady Jane Grey, Queen of
England
- Lady Jane married Lord Guildford Dudley- Robert’s brother
- Robert was imprisoned for the plot and only nearly escaped death
- Both Elizabeth and Dudley were released and he even sold some of his lands to help Elizabeth
financially
- After the suspicious death of Amy, Dudley waited years to marry Elizabeth but it never came so
he married Lady Lettice Knolly’s (granddaughter of Mary Boleyn) - Elizabeth was furious but
forgave him
- He stayed close to Elizabeth until his death 1588
- 1558 he joins Elizabeth’s Privy Council
- After Robert being suspected of killing his wife (Amy) in 1560, Elizabeth banishes him from court
for fear of also being implicated
- 1585- sets sail with an English army to fight the Spanish forces who are occupying the
Netherlands
- 1588- dies at Cornbury from a possible malarial infection
Robert Devereux:
- Earl of Essex
- Courtier and soldier
- Position as royal favourite in the court of Elizabeth I
- Son of Walter Devereux and Lettice Knolly’s
- Became a ward of Lord Burghley
- Obtained prominence by fighting against the Spanish in the Netherlands in 1586
- Distinguished himself at Zutphen, where Sir Philip Sidney was killed
- Devereux married Sideny’s widow 4 years later
William Cecil:
- Lord Burghley
- Father = Richard Cecil
- Nephew = Francis Bacon
- Son, Robert Cecil became advisor to the Queen
- Rose to prominence during Somerset’s regency
- 1550-53 served as secretary to Northumberland but avoided the Grey instigation
- Served Queen Mary as a diplomat and was elected as MP
- October 1551- he was knighted
- April 1552- Chancellor of the Order of the Garter
- 1558-72 he served Queen Elizabeth as secretary
- Feb. 25th 1571 - created Lord Burghley
- 1572-98- served the Queen as Lord Treasurer
- Keen to further the position of his son and Robert was eventually given a position on the Privy
Council
- Lord Burghley and Sir Francis Walsingham devised an intricate spy network during the latter
years of Elizabeth's reign that succeeded in uncovering the Babington Plot of 1586
- Lord Burghley and Sir Francis Walsingham were instrumental in convincing Queen Elizabeth to
have Mary Queen of Scots executed in 1587
- In 1590 Lord Burghley, at the age of 70, lost his hearing but continued to serve Queen Elizabeth
who looked upon him as a father figure
- William Cecil, Lord Burghley, died on 4 August 1598
Robert Dudley:
- Earl of Leicester
- Life-long friends with Elizabeth, she even attended his marriage ceremony between him and
Amy Robsart
- Son of John Dudley (Northumberland) who attempted to make Lady Jane Grey, Queen of
England
- Lady Jane married Lord Guildford Dudley- Robert’s brother
- Robert was imprisoned for the plot and only nearly escaped death
- Both Elizabeth and Dudley were released and he even sold some of his lands to help Elizabeth
financially
- After the suspicious death of Amy, Dudley waited years to marry Elizabeth but it never came so
he married Lady Lettice Knolly’s (granddaughter of Mary Boleyn) - Elizabeth was furious but
forgave him
- He stayed close to Elizabeth until his death 1588
- 1558 he joins Elizabeth’s Privy Council
- After Robert being suspected of killing his wife (Amy) in 1560, Elizabeth banishes him from court
for fear of also being implicated
- 1585- sets sail with an English army to fight the Spanish forces who are occupying the
Netherlands
- 1588- dies at Cornbury from a possible malarial infection
Robert Devereux:
- Earl of Essex
- Courtier and soldier
- Position as royal favourite in the court of Elizabeth I
- Son of Walter Devereux and Lettice Knolly’s
- Became a ward of Lord Burghley
- Obtained prominence by fighting against the Spanish in the Netherlands in 1586
- Distinguished himself at Zutphen, where Sir Philip Sidney was killed
- Devereux married Sideny’s widow 4 years later
