William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley

William Cecil Burghley, 1st Baron , 1520-98, English statesman. He first rose to prominence during the protectorate of Edward Seymour, duke of Somerset, and he served as secretary of state (1550-53) during the ascendancy of John Dudley, duke of Northumberland. He avoided direct involvement in Northumberland's seizure (1553) of the throne for Lady Jane Grey and thus did not lose favor when Mary I succeeded. Although he held no office during her reign, he was sent on several diplomatic missions and sat in Parliament. He was reappointed to office by Elizabeth I , whom he served faithfully for 40 years—as secretary (1558-72) and as lord treasurer (1572-98). He continued to sit in Parliament, as a commoner until 1571 and as Lord Burghley thereafter, and was Elizabeth's chief spokesman there, as well as administrative head of her government. One of his greatest skills was his ability to function as a liaison, representing royal policy to Parliament and keeping Elizabeth in touch with its feelings. His personal religious sympathies were with the Puritans, but politically he considered the interests of the country best served by a middle-of-the-road Anglican church, which he supported against both Protestant and Roman Catholic extremes. He urged Elizabeth to marry and perpetuate a Protestant Tudor house, and he supported the cause of the Scottish Protestants against the Roman Catholic Mary Queen of Scots. He was not able to maintain a policy of moderation, however. A succession of Catholic plots against Elizabeth led to increasing harshness toward Catholics generally and finally the execution of Mary Queen of Scots. In the privy council Burghley took a decisive role in the suppression of the Catholic revolts, but he was opposed to the entrance of England into European wars on behalf of the Protestants. This policy was defeated (1585) by the Puritan wing of the council under Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, and Sir Francis Walsingham. Although Elizabeth's favorites often opposed Burghley's influence, his role as chief adviser was never seriously challenged.

Bibliography: See biography by B. W. Beckingsale (1967); C. Read, Secretary Cecil and Queen Elizabeth (1955) and Lord Burghley and Queen Elizabeth (1960).

Cecil, William, 1st Baron Burghley (1520–98) English statesman. He trained as a lawyer and held office under HENRY VIII, EDWARD VI, and finally as ELIZABETH I's Secretary of State from 1558. Politically adept, he formulated the queen's policy at home and abroad and was rewarded by the offices of Master of the Courts of Wards and Liveries (1561) and Lord Treasurer (1572). He was created Lord Burghley in 1571.

For 40 years he ensured the stability of the Elizabethan regime. More Protestant in sympathy than the queen, he persuaded her to aid the French Huguenots (1567) and the Dutch Calvinists (1585). He exercised control of appointments to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and was responsible for ordering the execution of MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, whose existence he perceived as a threat to the state. He encouraged new industries, particularly glass-making, and introduced financial reforms.