William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter (1566 – 6 July 1640), known as the third Lord Burghley from 1605 to 1623, was an English nobleman, politician, and peer.

Life

Exeter was the son of Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, and Dorothy Neville, daughter of John Neville, 4th Baron Latimer.Charles Mosley, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 1363. He was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, and travelled on the continent before being admitted to

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. In 1586, when only 20 years of age, he was returned to Parliament as burgess for Stamford and was returned again in 1589. In 1597, he was elected

knight of the shire Knight of the shire () was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ...

for

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

. He was invested as a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in 1603. He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Northamptonshire between 1623 and 1640. He succeeded to the title of 3rd Baron of Burghley, co. Northampton ., 1571on 8 February 1622/23. He succeeded to the title of 2nd Earl of Exeter ., 1605on 8 February 1622/23. He was invested as a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

(PC) in 1626. He was invested as a Knight of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

(KG) in 1630. In 1589, William married Elizabeth Manners, the only child of

Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland, 14th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG (12 July 1549 – 14 April 1587) was the son of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, whose titles he inherited in 1563. Life He was the eldest son of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl ...

, and they had one child: * William Cecil, 16th Baron Ros, who married Anne Lake Cecil, Lady Ros Elizabeth Cecil

Elizabeth died in 1591 and William married Elizabeth Drury, daughter of Sir William Drury and Elizabeth Stafford, and they had three daughters: * Anne Cecil (1596 – ) married

Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford ( 1599 – 21 August 1673), known as the Lord Grey of Groby from 1614 to 1628, was an English nobleman and military leader. He was the eldest son of Sir John Grey and Elizabeth Nevill. His mother was probabl ...

, and had issue. * Diana Cecil (1596 – 1654), married Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford, no issue, remarried Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin, also with no issue. * Elizabeth Cecil (d. 1672), married Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire, and had issue.

References

, - 1566 births 1640 deaths Barons Burghley Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter Earls of Exeter Knights of the Garter Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Lord-lieutenants of Northamptonshire English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1589 English MPs 1597–1598 16th-century English nobility 17th-century English nobility {{England-earl-stub