Biography of Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford 1550-1604
Paternal Family Tree: Vere
On 02 Jul 1536 three weddings between the Neville, and Manners and Vere families, were celebrated at one mass at Holywell Priory [Map]:
Henry Neville 5th Earl of Westmoreland (age 11) and Anne Manners Countess of Westmoreland (age 9) were married. She the daughter of Thomas Manners 1st Earl of Rutland (age 44) and Eleanor Paston Countess Rutland (age 41). He the son of Ralph Neville 4th Earl of Westmoreland (age 38) and Katherine Stafford Countess of Westmoreland (age 37). They were half fourth cousins. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Edward III of England. 
Henry Manners 2nd Earl of Rutland (age 9) and Margaret Neville Countess Rutland were married. She the daughter of Ralph Neville 4th Earl of Westmoreland (age 38) and Katherine Stafford Countess of Westmoreland (age 37). He the son of Thomas Manners 1st Earl of Rutland (age 44) and Eleanor Paston Countess Rutland (age 41). They were half fourth cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward III of England.
[his father] John de Vere 16th Earl of Oxford (age 20) and Dorothy Neville Countess of Oxford were married. She the daughter of Ralph Neville 4th Earl of Westmoreland (age 38) and Katherine Stafford Countess of Westmoreland (age 37). He the son of [his grandfather] John de Vere 15th Earl of Oxford (age 65) and Elizabeth Trussell Countess of Oxford.
Those present included Thomas Audley 1st Baron Audley Walden (age 48), Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk (age 63), Charles Brandon 1st Duke of Suffolk (age 52), Henry Grey 1st Duke of Suffolk (age 19), Henry Courtenay 1st Marquess Exeter (age 40), John de Vere 15th Earl of Oxford (age 65) and Ralph Neville 4th Earl of Westmoreland (age 38).
On 21 Mar 1540 [his grandfather] John de Vere 15th Earl of Oxford (age 69) died. His son [his father] John de Vere 16th Earl of Oxford (age 24) succeeded 16th Earl of Oxford. Dorothy Neville Countess of Oxford by marriage Countess of Oxford.
On 01 Aug 1548 [his father] John de Vere 16th Earl of Oxford (age 32) and [his mother] Margery Golding Countess of Oxford (age 22) were married at Belchamp St Paul. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. He the son of John de Vere 15th Earl of Oxford and Elizabeth Trussell Countess of Oxford.
On 12 Apr 1550 Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford was born to John de Vere 16th Earl of Oxford (age 34) and Margery Golding Countess of Oxford (age 24).
On 03 Aug 1562 [his father] John de Vere 16th Earl of Oxford (age 46) died. His son Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 12) succeeded 17th Earl of Oxford.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 03 Sep 1562. The iij day of September cam rydyng owt of Essex from [the funeral] of the [his father] yerle of Oxford ys father (deceased) the yonge yerle of Oxford (age 12), with vij-skore horse all in blake throughe London and Chepe and Ludgatt, and so to Tempulle bare, and so to (blank), be-twyn v and vj of the cloke at after-none.
On 02 Dec 1568 [his mother] Margery Golding Countess of Oxford (age 42) died.
After 1571 Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 20) and [his future wife] Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 14) separated.
On 16 Dec 1571 a triple wedding was celebrated at Whitehall Palace [Map] ... with Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland (age 38) present ...
Edward Dudley 4th Baron Dudley (age 46) and Mary Howard Baroness Dudley (age 23) were married. She by marriage Baroness Sutton of Dudley. The difference in their ages was 23 years. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward III of England. 
Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 21) and Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 15) were married. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. He the son of John de Vere 16th Earl of Oxford and Margery Golding Countess of Oxford.
Edward Somerset 4th Earl of Worcester (age 21) and Elizabeth Hastings Countess of Worcester (age 25) were married. She by marriage Countess Worcester. She the daughter of Francis Hastings 2nd Earl Huntingdon and Catherine Pole Countess Huntingdon (age 60). He the son of William Somerset 3rd Earl of Worcester (age 45) and Christina North Countess of Worcester. They were third cousin once removed.
On 02 Jul 1575 [his daughter] Elizabeth Vere Countess Derby was born to Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 25) and [his wife] Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 18) at Theobalds House, Hertfordshire.
Around 1580 Anne Vavasour (age 20) became the mistress of Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 29). The affair led to open skirmishes and duels in the streets of London, between Oxford and Anne's uncle, Thomas Knyvet 1st Baron Knyvet (age 35), and his men, which on one occasion led to the wounding of both men, and the death of one of Oxford's men.
On 23 Mar 1581 [his illegitimate son] Edward de Vere was born illegitimately to Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 30) and Anne Vavasour (age 21). Both parents were imprisoned in Tower of London [Map] the Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland (age 47) as a consequence. Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 30) was released several months later but banished from court until 1583.
Around 1582 Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 31) and [his wife] Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 25) were reconciled.
Around 1583 [his daughter] Frances de Vere was born to Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 32) and [his wife] Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 26).
Around 1583 [his daughter] Frances de Vere died.
On 06 Apr 1584 [his daughter] Bridget Vere Baroness Norreys Rycote was born to Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 33) and [his wife] Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 27) at Theobalds House, Hertfordshire.
On 14 Oct 1586 Henry Compton 1st Baron Compton (age 42), Lewis Mordaunt 3rd Baron Mordaunt (age 48), Henry Wentworth 3rd Baron Wentworth (age 28), Christopher Wray (age 62), John Stourton 9th Baron Stourton (age 33) and Edward Zouche 11th Baron Zouche Harringworth (age 30) sat in judgement on Mary Queen of Scots (age 43) in the Presence Chamber of Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire [Map].
Anthony Browne 1st Viscount Montagu (age 57), George Clifford 3rd Earl of Cumberland (age 28), Henry Clinton 2nd Earl Lincoln (age 45), Henry Grey 6th Earl Kent (age 45), Edward Manners 3rd Earl of Rutland (age 37), Henry Stanley 4th Earl of Derby (age 55), Ambrose Dudley 3rd Earl Warwick (age 56), George Talbot 6th Earl of Shrewsbury (age 58), Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 36), William Somerset 3rd Earl of Worcester (age 60), [his father-in-law] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 66), Henry Herbert 2nd Earl Pembroke (age 48) and Thomas Bromley (age 56) were present on the side of the Presence Chamber of Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire [Map].
John St John 2nd Baron St John (age 51) was present on the left side of the Presence Chamber of Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire [Map].
John Stourton 9th Baron Stourton (age 33) was a juror.
Edward Manners 3rd Earl of Rutland (age 37) was a commissioner.
On 26 May 1587 [his daughter] Susan Vere Countess Montgomery was born to Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 37) and [his wife] Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 30).
On 05 Jun 1588 [his wife] Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 31) died. She was buried at the Chapel of St Nicholas, Westminster Abbey [Map]. She shares a monument with her mother [his mother-in-law] Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley (age 62). The monument rises to twenty-four feet, and is constructed of various coloured marbles, after a design of the Corinthian order. The Latin inscriptions, which are very long, were written by [his father-in-law] Lord Burleigh (age 67) himself, and set forth the varied accomplishments and the virtues of the two ladies who are represented in effigy in the lower part of the monument. The figure of Lord Burleigh (age 67), in his robes, and in a kneeling attitude, appears in the upper part of the monument.
In 1591 Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 40) sold Hedingham Castle [Map] to his father-in-law [his former father-in-law] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 70) in trust for his three daughters [his daughter] Elizabeth Vere Countess Derby (age 15), [his daughter] Bridget Vere Baroness Norreys Rycote (age 6) and [his daughter] Susan Vere Countess Montgomery (age 3) by his first wife [his former wife] Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford.
Before 27 Dec 1591 Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 41) and Elizabeth Trentham Maid of Honour Countess of Oxford were married. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. She brought her husband a dowry of £1000 bequeathed to her in her father's will, payable at the rate of 500 marks a year for three years. He the son of John de Vere 16th Earl of Oxford and Margery Golding Countess of Oxford.
On 24 Feb 1593 [his son] Henry de Vere 18th Earl of Oxford was born to Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 42) and [his wife] Elizabeth Trentham Maid of Honour Countess of Oxford.
On 26 Jan 1595 [his son-in-law] William Stanley 6th Earl of Derby (age 34) and [his daughter] Elizabeth Vere Countess Derby (age 19) were married. She by marriage Countess Derby. She the daughter of Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 44) and Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford. He the son of Henry Stanley 4th Earl of Derby and Margaret Clifford Countess Derby (age 55). He a great x 2 grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland.
On 28 Apr 1599 [his son-in-law] Francis Norreys 1st Earl Berkshire (age 19) and [his daughter] Bridget Vere Baroness Norreys Rycote (age 15) were married. She the daughter of Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 49) and Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford. He the son of William Norreys and Elizabeth Morrison Countess Lincoln.
Brief Lives: Charles Danvers 1568 1601. [711]Sir Charles Danvers (age 33) was beheaded on Tower-hill [Map] with Robert, earle of Essex (age 35), February the 6th, 1600[712]. I find in the register of the Tower chapell [Map] only the sepulture of Robert, earl of Essex (age 35), that yeare; wherfore I am induced to beleeve that his body was carryed to Dantesey[CX] in Wilts to lye with his ancestors. Vide Stowe's Chronicle, where is a full account of his and the earle's deportment at their death on the scaffold.
With all their faylings, Wilts cannot shew two such[713] brothers.
His familiar acquaintance were...[714], earl of Oxon (age 50); Sir Francis (age 40) and Sir Horace Vere (age 36); Sir Walter Ralegh (age 47), etc.-the heroes of those times.
Quaere my lady viscountesse Purbec and also the lord Norris for an account of the behaviour and advice of Sir Charles Danvers in the businesse of the earl of Essex, which advice had the earle followed he had saved his life.
[715]Of Sir Charles Danvers, from my lady viscountesse Purbec:-Sir Charles Danvers advised the earle of Essex, either to treat with the queen-hostages..., whom Sir Ferdinando Gorges (age 36) did let goe; or to make his way through the gate at Essex house, and then to hast away to Highgate, and so to Northumberland (the earl of Northumberland maried his mother's (age 51) sister), and from thence to the king of Scots, and there they might make their peace; if not, the queen was old and could not live long. But the earle followed not his advice, and so they both lost their heads on Tower-hill.
Note.
[711]. MS. Aubr. 8, fol. 25v.
[712]. i.e. 1600/1.
[713]. Dupl. with 'shew the like two brothers,' scil. as Sir Charles Danvers and his brother Henry, earl of Danby.
[714]. Edward Vere, seventeenth earl of Oxford (age 50).
[CX]In MS. Aubr. 3, fol. 46, Aubrey writes, in reference to burials at Dantesey, 'quaere, if Sir Charles Danvers that was beheaded?-He was buryed in the Tower chapell.' Aubrey's description of the burial-place of the Danvers family (MS. Aubr. 3, fol. 46), with the inscriptions, is printed in J. E. Jackson's Aubrey's Wiltshire Collections, pp. 223-225; the pedigree of Danvers is there given at p. 216.
On 24 Jun 1604 Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 54) died at his home In King Street Covent Garden. His son [his son] Henry de Vere 18th Earl of Oxford (age 11) succeeded 18th Earl of Oxford.
Around Dec 1612 [his former wife] Elizabeth Trentham Maid of Honour Countess of Oxford died.
Around 1650 based on a work of 1575. Unknown Painter. Portrait of Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford.
Kings Wessex: Great x 15 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 14 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 18 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 15 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings England: Great x 7 Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 10 Grand Son of William "Lion" I King Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 11 Grand Son of Louis VII King Franks
Kings France: Great x 12 Grand Son of Louis "Fat" VI King France
Great x 4 Grandfather: Aubrey de Vere 10th Earl of Oxford 5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard de Vere 11th Earl of Oxford 5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Fitzwalter Countess of Oxford
4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert de Vere 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Sergeaux Countess Oxford
Great x 1 Grandfather: John de Vere 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Courtenay
Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Hugh Courtenay 2 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Joan Courtenay 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England
GrandFather: John de Vere 15th Earl of Oxford 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Alice Colbroke
Father: John de Vere 16th Earl of Oxford 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Trussell
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Trussell
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margery Ludlow
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Trussell
Great x 1 Grandfather: Edward Trussell
GrandMother: Elizabeth Trussell Countess of Oxford 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Donne
Great x 1 Grandmother: Margaret Donne 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Ralph Hastings
Great x 3 Grandfather: Leonard Hastings
Great x 4 Grandmother: Maud Sutton
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Hastings 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Camoys 1st Baron Camoys 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Camoys 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Louches Baroness Camoys
Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England
Mother: Margery Golding Countess of Oxford