William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
The Lord Burghley | |
|---|---|
Portrait attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger | |
| Lord High Treasurer | |
| In office July 1572 – 4 August 1598 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth I |
| Preceded by | The Marquess of Winchester |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Dorset |
| Lord Privy Seal | |
| In office 1590–1598 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth I |
| Preceded by | Sir Francis Walsingham |
| Succeeded by | Sir Robert Cecil |
| In office 1571–1572 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth I |
| Preceded by | Sir Nicholas Bacon |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Howard of Effingham |
| Secretary of State | |
| In office 22 November 1558 – 13 July 1572 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth I |
| Preceded by | John Boxall |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Smith |
| In office 5 September 1550 – 19 July 1553 | |
| Monarchs | Edward VI Jane |
| Preceded by | Nicholas Wotton |
| Succeeded by | John Cheke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Cecil 13 September 1520 Bourne, Lincolnshire Kingdom of England |
| Died | 4 August 1598 (aged 77) Cecil House Westminster, London Kingdom of England |
| Resting place | St Martin's Church Stamford, Lincolnshire United Kingdom 52°38′56″N 0°28′39″W / 52.6490°N 0.4774°W |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Cheke (d. 1543) Mildred Cooke
(m. 1546; died 1589) |
| Children |
|
| Parent(s) | Sir Richard Cecil Jane Heckington |
| Residence(s) | Burghley House Cecil House Theobalds House |
| Education | St John's College, Cambridge |
| Signature | |
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 1520 – 4 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1572. In his description in the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, A.F. Pollard wrote, "From 1558 for forty years the biography of Cecil is almost indistinguishable from that of Elizabeth and from the history of England."[1]
Cecil set as the main goal of English policy the creation of a united and Protestant British Isles. His methods were to complete the control of Ireland, and to forge an alliance with Scotland. Protection from invasion required a powerful Royal Navy. While he was not fully successful, his successors agreed with his goals.[2] In 1587, Cecil persuaded the Queen to order the execution of the Roman Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, after she was implicated in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth.
He was the father of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, and founder of the Cecil dynasty (marquesses of Exeter and of Salisbury), which has produced many politicians, including two prime ministers.
- ^ Pollard 1911, p. 817.
- ^ Jane E. A. Dawson, "William Cecil and the British Dimension of early Elizabethan foreign policy," History 74#241 (1989): 196-216.