William Cecil’s Perilous Year

William Cecil served as Elizabeth I’s senior minister from her accession in 1558 to his death in 1598. He ceaselessly counselled, planned and manoeuvred, the solid foil to a brilliant and complex woman. In 1571, the queen rewarded him with a peerage, creating him Baron Burghley. But for the young William Cecil, the upward trajectory that retrospectively seems so secure was less certain. He faced disaster in 1553, trapped on the losing side as the country fell into crisis and dissent following the death of the boy king Edward VI.

Cecil married Mildred Cooke, daughter of the courtier and royal tutor Anthony Cooke, in 1546 – a match that opened a door into the heart of Henry VIII’s court. Mildred’s sister, Anne, later married the government lawyer Nicholas Bacon, Cecil’s lifelong professional and political ally, making them brothers-in-law. Renowned for their learning and keen intellect, Mildred and Anne were both scholarly and astute.