William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 1520–4 August 1598) was an English statesman who served as the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I of England for most of her reign.
Biography[]
William in 1560
William Cecil was born in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England on 13 September 1520, the son of the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire. He served under Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset during his 1547 campaign against Scotland, serving as one of two Judges of the Marshalsea. In 1548, he became Somerset's Master of Requests, and he was detained after Somerset's fall from power a year later. However, his friendship with John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland led to his release and his appointment as Secretary of State (1550-1553), and he would support the installation of Lady Jane Grey as the new Queen upon the death of King Edward VI of England in 1553. However, he betrayed Northumberland in order to survive the purge of Grey's supporters in 1554, and he served in Parliament for the rest of Queen Mary I of England's reign.
When Queen Elizabeth I of England took the throne in 1558, Cecil became her chief adviser, and he served as Secretary of State from 1558 to 1572 and Lord High Treasurer from 1572. He sought to create a united and Protestant British Isles, and his methods were to complete the English control of Ireland and to forge an alliance with Scotland. In 1587, he persuaded Queen Elizabeth to execute Mary, Queen of Scots after she plotted to murder Elizabeth. Cecil died in 1598 at the age of 77.