William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley

The Right Honourable The Lord Burghley KG PC
Portrait attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger
Lord High Treasurer
In office July 1572 – 4 August 1598
Monarch	Elizabeth I
Preceded by	The Marquess of Winchester
Succeeded by	The Earl of Dorset
Lord Privy Seal
In office 1590–1598
Monarch	Elizabeth I
Preceded by	Sir Francis Walsingham
Succeeded by	Sir Robert Cecil
In office 1571–1572
Monarch	Elizabeth I
Preceded by	Sir Nicholas Bacon
Succeeded by	The Lord Howard of Effingham
Secretary of State
In office 22 November 1558 – 13 July 1572
Monarch	Elizabeth I
Preceded by	John Boxall
Succeeded by	Thomas Smith
In office 5 September 1550 – 19 July 1553
Monarchs	Edward VI Jane
Preceded by	Nicholas Wotton
Succeeded by	John Cheke
Personal details
Born	William Cecil 13 September 1520 Bourne, Lincolnshire Kingdom of England
Died	4 August 1598(1598-08-04) (aged 77) Cecil House Westminster, London Kingdom of England
Resting place	St Martin's Church Stamford, Lincolnshire United Kingdom 52°38′56″N 0°28′39″W / 52.6490°N 0.4774°W / 52.6490; -0.4774 (St Martin's Church, Stamford)
Spouse(s)	Mary Cheke (d. 1543) Mildred Cooke ​ ​ (m. 1546; died 1589)​
Children	Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter Frances Cecil Anne de Vere, Countess of Oxford Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury Elizabeth Cecil-Wentworth
Parent(s)	Sir Richard Cecil Jane Heckington
Residence(s)	Burghley House Cecil House Theobalds House
Education	St John's College, Cambridge
Signature

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley KG PC (13 September 1520 – 4 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1572. In his description in the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, A.F. Pollard wrote, "From 1558 for forty years the biography of Cecil is almost indistinguishable from that of Elizabeth and from the history of England."^[1]

Cecil set as the main goal of English policy the creation of a united and Protestant British Isles. His methods were to complete the control of Ireland, and to forge an alliance with Scotland. Protection from invasion required a powerful Royal Navy. While he was not fully successful, his successors agreed with his goals.^[2] In 1587, Cecil persuaded the Queen to order the execution of the Roman Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, after she was implicated in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth.

He was the father of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, and founder of the Cecil dynasty (marquesses of Exeter and of Salisbury), which has produced many politicians including two prime ministers.