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William Cecil

Type Figure Region England Time 1520–1598 Also known as Burleigh

William Cecil (13 September 1520 – 4 August 1598), 1st Baron Burghley, chief adviser to Elizabeth I for over forty years: Secretary of State twice (1…

Timeline

  1. 1581–1587Westminster · LondonFrom 1581 to 1587 Cecil presided over diplomacy toward Spain and Dutch policy in the Privy Council, helping shape the Treaty of Nonsuch (1585). After the Babington Plot in 1586 he pushed for the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots, and in 1587 persuaded Elizabeth to sign the death warrant.
  2. 1588–1598Theobalds · HertfordshireCoordinated finances and defences during the Armada crisis of 1588. After the successive deaths of Leicester and Walsingham he still held the centre of government, becoming Lord Keeper from 1590. Died at Westminster on 4 August 1598, buried at St Martin's Church, Stamford.

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