William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury
William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury , KG , PC (born March 28, 1591 in Westminster , † December 3, 1668 in Hatfield House ) was an English peer and politician.
Life
Cecil was the only son of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury , and Elizabeth Brooke, daughter of William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham . He was in on 11 April 1591 St Clement Danes baptized . His mother died when he was six years old and he was raised by his aunt Frances Stourton. He received his education at Sherborne School and St John's College, Cambridge .
King James I elevated his father to Baron Cecil in 1603 , Viscount Cranborne in 1604 and Earl of Salisbury in 1605 . After his father was promoted to Earl, Cecil carried the courtesy title Viscount Cranborne . On January 6, 1605, the young Cecil was beaten as Duke of York to Knight of the Bath as part of the celebrations for the investiture of the Crown Prince and later King Charles I. In 1608 his father sent him to France. After a short time he brought him back to marry Lady Catherine Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk , in December 1608. His father sent him back to France because he believed that his son should live abroad for two years. When James I wanted to appoint his son Henry as Prince of Wales , Cecil's father, then Lord High Treasurer , brought him back for the ceremony in 1610. Then Cecil traveled to Venice and Padua . When he fell ill in Padua, he returned in 1610.
When his father died in 1612, he inherited his title as 2nd Earl of Salisbury . Soon after he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire appointed and in 1624 as a Knight Companion in the Order of the Garter was added.
King Charles I made him a member of the Privy Council in 1626 . Lord Salisbury was upset when he was not made Master of the Court of Wards and Liveries but pleased when he was made Captain of the Honorable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners .
Lord Salisbury used the 1630s to expand his ancestral home at Hatfield House . He made it a cultural center and was a patron of the painter Peter Lely , the musician Nicholas Lanier and the gardener John Tradescant the Elder .
Role in the English Civil War 1640–1649
After the Episcopal Wars, Lord Salisbury bowed to the moderate party of the House of Lords , which supported the House of Commons in their attempt to remove arbitrariness in government. During the English Civil War in 1642 his holdings at Cranborne in Dorset were destroyed.
In 1648 he was a member of a deputation that was to negotiate with King Charles I on the Isle of Wight . The negotiations failed. Salisbury did not support the regicide of Charles I.
After the king's execution, he decided to support the Commonwealth of England .
During the Interregnum, 1649–1656
Lord Salisbury was a member of the English Council of State from 1649 to 1651. In the rump parliament he was a Member of Parliament for King's Lynn .
During the Protectorate, however, he was excluded from public life. In 1656 he was elected MP for Hertfordshire . But he was not allowed to take the seat.
Late years 1656–1668
He then retired to Hatfield House.
After the Stuart Restoration in 1660, Charles II appointed him High Steward of St Albans in 1663 .
In his later years, his mental faculties deteriorated.
At his death in 1668 he was followed by his grandson James Cecil as the third earl, since his son, whose father, Charles had died in 1660.
progeny
Cecil married Catherine Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk , on December 1, 1608. They had twelve children:
- James Cecil, Viscount Cranborne (* / † 1616);
- Charles Cecil, Viscount Cranborne (1619–1660), MP for Hertford, ⚭ Lady Diana Maxwell, daughter of James Maxwell, 1st Earl of Dirletoun ;
- Lady Anne Cecil († 1637), ⚭ Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland ;
- Lady Diana Cecil (1622-1633);
- Lady Catherine Cecil († 1652), ⚭ Philip Sidney, 3rd Earl of Leicester ;
- Lady Elizabeth Cecil († 1689), ⚭ William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire ;
- Hon. Algernon Cecil († 1676), MP for Old Sarum, ⚭ Dorothy Nevile;
- Lady Mary Cecil, ⚭ Lord William Sandys († 1668);
- Hon. Robert Cecil ⚭ Catherine Hopton;
- Hon. Philip Cecil ⚭ Ursula Allen;
- Hon. William Cecil ⚭ Elizabeth Lawley;
- Hon. Edward Cecil.
literature
- DG Owen: Cecil, William, second earl of Salisbury. In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Volume 10: Cappe – Chancellor. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861360-1 , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
- Charles Mosley (Ed.): Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage . Volume 3, Burke's Peerage Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, Wilmington 2003, p. 3504.
Web links
- William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury on thepeerage.com
Individual evidence
- ^ William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury . In: John Venn , John Archibald Venn (eds.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. 10 volumes, 1922-1958. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk ).
- ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 157 (English, Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Cecil |
Earl of Salisbury 1612-1668 |
James Cecil |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cecil, William, 2nd Earl of Salisbury |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English peer and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 28, 1591 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Westminster |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 3, 1668 |
| Place of death | Hatfield House |