Sir Henry Neville ( baptised 20 May 1564 – 10 July 1615) was an English courtier, politician and diplomat, noted for his role as ambassador to France and his unsuccessful attempts to negotiate between James I of England and the Houses of Parliament. In 2005, Neville was put forward as a candidate for the authorship of Shakespeare's works.

Family

Neville was the elder son of Sir

Henry Neville Henry Neville or Nevile may refer to: *Henry Neville (died c.1415), MP for leicestershire (UK Parliament constituency), leicestershire *Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland (1525–1564), English peer *Henry Neville (Gentleman of the Privy Chamb ...

(died 1593) and his second wife, Elizabeth Gresham (died 6 November 1573), granddaughter of Sir Richard Gresham, Lord Mayor of London, and only daughter and heir of the latter's elder son, John Gresham (died 1560), by Frances Thwaytes, the daughter and coheir of Sir Henry Thwaytes of

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

, Yorkshire.. Neville's father had earlier married, between 1551 and 1555, Winifred Losse (died in or before 1561), daughter of a property speculator, Hugh Losse (died 1555) of Whitchurch, London, by whom he had no children. After the death of his second wife, Neville's father married thirdly, about May 1578, Elizabeth Bacon (c. 1541 – 3 May 1621), widow of Sir Robert Doyley (died between 21 and 29 July 1577) of

Chislehampton Chiselhampton is a village in the civil parish of Stadhampton on the River Thame, about southeast of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. Toponym "Chisel" is derived from the old English ''ceosel'' or ''cisel'' meaning "gravel" or "shingle", referr ...

, Oxfordshire, and

Greenlands Greenland is the world's largest island and an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Greenland or Greenlands may also refer to: People * Greenland (surname) Places Australia * Greenlands, New South Wales (Singleton Council), see ...

in Hambleden, Buckinghamshire. Elizabeth Bacon was the eldest daughter of Queen Elizabeth's Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, Sir Nicholas Bacon (1510–1579), by his first wife, Jane Ferneley (died 1552), the daughter of William Ferneley of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. After Neville's death, his widow, Elizabeth, married, before the end of September 1595, Sir William Peryam (died 9 October 1604). She made her last will on 12 November 1618 and died on 3 May 1621. There is a monument to her in the church of St Mary's

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

. Neville's father was a great-great-grandson of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmoreland, the daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, by

Katherine Swynford Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (born Katherine de Roet, – 10 May 1403), also spelled Katharine or Catherine, was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth (but third surviving) son of King Edward III. Daughter o ...

Career

Neville grew up at Billingbear House at

Waltham St Lawrence Waltham St Lawrence is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. History The name 'Waltham' is believed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon words ''Wealt'' and ''Ham'', meaning 'dilapidated homes'.Ford, David Nash (2 ...

in Berkshire. At the age of fifteen, he matriculated from

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

, on 20 December 1577. His tutor was Henry Savile, later warden of Merton. In 1578 Neville accompanied Savile on a continental tour, visiting Padua, Venice, and Prague.. Neville sat in Parliament as the member for New Windsor (1584, 1586 and 1593),

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

(1589), Liskeard (1597) and

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

(1604, 1614). He served as High Sheriff of Berkshire in 1595. Before his father's death, he lived at the old Archbishop's Palace at Mayfield in

, inherited from his great-uncle Sir Thomas Gresham (died 1579), where he ran a highly successful cannon manufactury. He was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Berkshire in 1596 and moved to Billingbear the next year. He was knighted in 1599. In 1599, Neville was appointed Ambassador to France and attended the court of Henri IV. Although knighted for his services in France, he was unhappy with the way he was treated by the French and in 1600, complaining of deafness, he asked to be recalled to England. After his return he became involved with the Essex Rebellion of 1601 and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. His close friend Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, was also imprisoned there at this time in connection with the plot. He was stripped of his position and fined £5,000, which he agreed to pay in annual instalments of £1,000. After the death of Elizabeth I of England and the accession of James I a

Royal Warrant A royal warrant is a document issued by a monarch which confers rights or privileges on the recipient, or has the effect of law. Royal warrant may refer to: * Royal warrant of appointment, warrant to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a r ...

was issued for his release. After his release, he played a greater role in the political life of the nation, but earned the antagonism of King James by advocating the King surrender to the demands of the House of Commons. In the first session of 1610, and again in 1612, he advised the king to give way to the demands of the House of Commons. It was these actions that, on the death of

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 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 period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury s ...

, in May 1612, lost him the possibility of becoming the Secretary of State. Although offered the position of Treasurer of the Chamber he turned it down. Neville died in 1615 and was buried at the church of St Lawrence in Waltham St Lawrence.

Shakespeare authorship

In 2005, Neville was proposed as the actual author of Shakespeare's works. The attribution is rejected by almost all academic Shakespeareans who have responded to the claim.

Marriage and issue

In December 1584, Neville married Anne Killigrew (died 1632), the daughter of

Sir Henry Killigrew Sir Henry Killigrew (c. 1528Bell pp. 189–190 – 1603) was a Cornish diplomat and an ambassador for the Kingdom of England in the sixteenth century. He was several times employed by Elizabeth I in Scottish affairs and served as one of the Eng ...

(died 1603) and

Catherine Cooke Catherine Anne Chichester-Cooke (2 August 1942 – 20 February 2004), known as Catherine Cooke, was a British architect and a Russian scholar of international renown. She was lecturer in design at the Open University and also lectured and taught ...

, sister-in-law of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, by whom he had five sons and six daughters: * Sir Henry Neville (II), 1588–29 June 1629, married Elizabeth Smyth; among his children were Richard Neville (soldier) and

. * Catherine Neville, c. 1590–1650, married Sir Richard Brooke. * Frances Neville, 1592–1659, married

Sir Richard Worsley, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Worsley, 1st Baronet (c. 1589 – 27 June 1621), was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1621. Worsley was the son of Thomas Worsley, of Appuldurcombe, Isle of Wight, and his wife Barb ...

then Jerome Brett. * Mary Neville, NK – 28 October 1642, married Sir Edward Lewknor. * William Neville, 1596–1640, second son, married Catherine Billingley, issue unknown. * Edward Neville, 1602–1632, married Alice Pryor, issue. * Robert Neville, 1604-NK * Dorothy Neville, 1605–1673, married Richard Catlin. * Charles Neville, 1607–1626, probably unmarried. * Richard Neville, 1608–1644, married unknown, issue. * Elizabeth Neville, NK – 4 January 1657, married William Glover, then Sir Henry Berkeley, then Thomas Duke. * Anne Neville, 1610-NK.

Notes

References

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External links

Henry Neville - History of Parliament OnlineHenry Neville - Dictionary of National Biography
Retrieved 25 March 2013
Bacon, Sir Nicholas (1510–1579), History of Parliament
Retrieved 25 March 2013

Sir Henry Neville of Billingbere {{DEFAULTSORT:Neville, Henry 1564 births 1615 deaths Alumni of Merton College, Oxford 16th-century English diplomats Ambassadors of England to France English rebels People from Waltham St Lawrence Henry High Sheriffs of Berkshire British businesspeople in the armaments industry Prisoners in the Tower of London Deputy Lieutenants of Berkshire Knights Bachelor English knights English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for New Windsor Members of Parliament for Sussex Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Liskeard Members of the Parliament of England for Berkshire People from Mayfield, East Sussex