page_title: William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
section_title: Death
hierarchical_section_title: William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley / Death
caption_attribution_description: English: Stamford, St Martin - Tomb of Lord Burghley, d. 1598 The grand tomb of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Queen Elizabeth's adviser. William Cecil married twice: firstly to Mary Cheke (Cheek), daughter of Sir Peter Cheke of Pirgo and Agnes Duffield; secondly to Mildred Cooke, eldest daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke of Gidea, Essex. Arms: centre: Cecil; dexter Cecil impaling Cheke: Argent, three crescents gules, sinister Cecil impaling Cooke of Giddea Hall, Essex: Or, a chevron compony gules and azure between three cinquefoils of the second (Burke's General Armory, 1884[1]) Français&#160;: En l'église Saint-Martin de Stamford, tombeau de William Cecil (Lord Burghley) mort en 1598, qui fut l'un des principaux conseiller de la reine Elizabeth, et dont la demeure (Burghley House) était sise à Stambord
context_page_description: William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley KG PC was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572. In his description in the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, Albert Pollard wrote, "From 1558 for forty years the biography of Cecil is almost indistinguishable from that of Elizabeth and from the history of England."
  Cecil set as the main goal of English policy the creation of a united and Protestant British Isles. His methods were to complete the control of Ireland, and to forge an alliance with Scotland. Protection from invasion required a powerful Royal Navy. While he was not fully successful, his successors agreed with his goals. Cecil was not a political genius or an original thinker; but he was a cautious man and a wise counsellor, with a rare and natural gift for avoiding dangers. In 1587, Cecil persuaded the Queen to order the execution of the Roman Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, after she was implicated in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth.
context_section_description: Cecil collapsed (possibly from a stroke or heart attack) in 1598. Before he died, Robert, his only surviving son by his second wife, was ready to step into his shoes as the Queen's principal adviser. Having survived all his children except Robert and Thomas, Burghley died at his London residence, Cecil House on 4 August 1598, and was buried in St Martin's Church, Stamford.
caption: Tomb of William Cecil in St Martin's, Stamford
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