Robert Devereux

2nd Earl of Essex (1566-1601).

Robert Devereux (born on 10 November 1566) was an English soldier and courtier of Queen Elizabeth I who succeeded to the title held by his father Walter Devereux, the 1st Earl of Essex, at the young age of nine. As the 2nd Earl of Essex he is especially known for his position as a royal favourite in the court of Elizabeth I. His relationship to the Queen was characterized by an alternation of constant quarrels and the soothing power of Robert's charm, but ended tragically with his execution at the Tower of London on 25 February 1601 after a failed coup d'état against the Queen.

Essex first caught the Queen's attention after successful military service against the Spanish in the Netherlands in 1586. On his return to the court he was appointed Master of the Horse, and became the Queen's favourite. In 1590 he secretly married Philip Sidney's widow Frances Walsingham, contrary to the Queen's wishes. After several successful and unsuccessful expeditions during the Anglo-Spanish War, he was finally appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and sent to Ireland in order to break the Tyrone's Rebellion in 1599. Robert's campaign failed and – still relying on the Queen's affection towards him – he established an unfavourable truce and left Ireland without the Queen's permission. Back in England, the deserter was suspended from his offices and placed under house arrest.

Financially, politically and socially ruined, Essex plotted to seize the Queen and take control of the government. On 8 February 1601, his coup d'état failed miserably. Essex was imprisoned in the Tower of London. He was found guilty for treason and executed for treason on 25 February 1601 on Tower Green.

Literature

Cavendish, Richard. "The Execution of the Earl of Essex." History Today, vol. 51, no. 2, 2001, n.pag, http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/execution-earl-essex. Accessed 30 December 2017.

"History - Robert, Earl of Essex (1566 - 1601)." BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/earl_of_essex_robert.shtml. Acessed 29 Decemer 2017.

“Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex.” Encyclopædia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Devereux-2nd-earl-of-Essex. Acessed 29 Decemer 2017.