Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex

In 1590, he married Frances Walsingham, daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham and widow of Sir Philip Sidney. The couple had several children, three of whom survived into adulthood. Essex also had an illegitimate child with his mistress, Elizabeth Southwell, in 1591.

In February 1601, Robert Devereux Essex was tried before his peers on charges of treason. After being found guilty of treason, he was beheaded on Tower Green on February 25, 1601, and became the last person to be beheaded in the Tower of London.

Robert was born on November 10, 1565, at Netherwood, Herefordshire, England, to Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, and his wife, Lettice Knollys. He was raised on his father's estates at Chartley Castle, Staffordshire, and at Lamphey, Pembrokeshire, in Wales.

Upon his father’s death in 1576, he became the new Earl of Essex and a ward of Lord Burghley. The following year, he was admitted as a fellow-commoner at Trinity College, Cambridge, matriculating in 1579 and later graduating as Master of Arts in 1581.

In 1578, his mother married Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and thereafter Essex performed military service under his stepfather’s guidance in the Netherlands, before making an impact at English court and winning Queen Elizabeth’s favor.

In 1584, Robert was first introduced to the royal court and over the next three years, he became a favorite of the Queen Elizabeth I who appreciated his dynamic personality and expressiveness.

In 1587, he replaced the Earl of Leicester as the ‘Master of the Horse’. After Leicester's death the following year, he gained control of the late Earl's royal monopoly on sweet wines. Later, the Queen also made him a member of her Privy Council.

In 1589, Essex disobeyed the Queen and took part in Francis Drake's English Armada, an unsuccessful attempt to drive home the English advantage gained by the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

In 1591, he commanded a force sent to assist the Protestant King Henry IV of Navarre in France. Over the next few years, he spent most of his time at court in England, becoming an expert on foreign affairs.

In 1596, he gained reputation as one of the commanders of the force which was successful in defeating the Spanish fleet, destroying 53 merchant vessels and capturing Cadiz. The following year, during the Islands Voyage expedition to the Azores, he defied the Queen's orders and faced defeat, failing to intercept the Spanish battle ships.