Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
The fifth son of George Brooke, 9th Baron Cobham, he was always known as, and signed himself, Henry Cobham. He went to Spain with Sir Thomas Chaloner the elder who was accredited as ambassador resident at Madrid in 1561, returning to England the same year with despatches. In 1567 he carried letters from Elizabeth I to Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and the Archduke Charles at Vienna, when the queen hoped to reopen the negotiations for her marriage with the archduke, and returned with a negative answer.