Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury

The Right Honourable The Earl of Salisbury KG PC
The Earl of Salisbury by John de Critz the Elder c. 1602
Lord High Treasurer
In office 4 May 1608 – 24 May 1612
Monarch	James I
Preceded by	The Earl of Dorset
Succeeded by	The Earl of Northampton (as First Lord)
Lord Privy Seal
In office 1598–1608
Monarchs	Elizabeth I James I
Preceded by	The Lord Burghley
Succeeded by	The Earl of Northampton
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 8 October 1597 – 1599
Monarch	Elizabeth I
Preceded by	In commission
Succeeded by	In commission
Secretary of State
In office 5 July 1596 – 24 May 1612
Monarchs	Elizabeth I James I
Preceded by	William Davison
Succeeded by	John Herbert
Personal details
Born	1 June 1563 Westminster, London, England
Died	24 May 1612(1612-05-24) (aged 48) Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
Spouse	Elizabeth Brooke
Children	2, including William
Parent(s)	William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley Mildred Cooke
Residence(s)	Hatfield House Salisbury House Cranborne Manor
Alma mater	St John's College, Cambridge

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, KG, PC (1 June 1563 – 24 May 1612) was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury served as the Secretary of State of England (1596–1612) and Lord High Treasurer (1608–1612), succeeding his father as Queen Elizabeth I's Lord Privy Seal and remaining in power during the first nine years of King James I's reign until his own death.^[1]

The principal discoverer of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, Robert Cecil remains a controversial historic figure as it is still debated at what point he first learned of the plot and to what extent he acted as an agent provocateur.