Biography of Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford 1556-1588

In 1541 [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 20) and Mary Cheke were married.

On 21st December 1546 [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 26) and [her mother] Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley (age 20) were married.

On 5th December 1556 Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford was born to [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 36) and [her mother] Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley (age 30).

In 1558 Nicholas Bacon (age 47) was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal following Elizabeth I's accession. He was supported in the appointment by his brother-in-law [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 37).

In 1559 [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 38) was elected Knight of the Shire Lincolnshire.

In February 1559 [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 38) was elected Chancellor Cambridge University.

In January 1561 [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 40) was appointed Master of the Court of Wards and Liveries.

On 3rd August 1562 John de Vere 16th Earl of Oxford (age 46) died. His son [her future husband] Edward (age 12) succeeded 17th Earl of Oxford.

In 1563 [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 42) was elected Knight of the Shire Northamptonshire.

On 17th September 1563 Henry Manners 2nd Earl of Rutland (age 36) died. He was buried at St Mary the Virgin Church, Bottesford, Leicestershire [Map]. His son Edward (age 14) succeeded 3rd Earl of Rutland, 14th Baron Ros Helmsley. Edward Manners 3rd Earl of Rutland became a ward of Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland (age 30) and was specially under the charge of [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 43).

In or before 1566 [her half-brother] Thomas Cecil 1st Earl Exeter (age 23) and [her sister-in-law] Dorothy Neville Countess Exeter (age 17) were married.

After 1571 [her future husband] Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 20) and Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 14) separated.

On 25th February 1571 [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 50) was created 1st Baron Burghley. [her mother] Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley (age 45) by marriage Baroness Burghley.

In 1572 [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 51) was appointed 356th Knight of the Garter by Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland (age 38).

In 1572 [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 51) was appointed Lord High Treasurer.

On 2nd July 1575 [her daughter] Elizabeth Vere Countess Derby was born to [her husband] Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 25) and Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 18) at Theobalds House, Hertfordshire. She married 26th January 1595 her fifth cousin William Stanley 6th Earl of Derby, son of Henry Stanley 4th Earl of Derby and Margaret Clifford Countess Derby, and had issue.

On 4th October 1581 Henry Wriothesley 2nd Earl of Southampton (age 36) died. His son Henry (age 7) succeeded 3rd Earl of Southampton. His wardship was sold by the Queen to her kinsman, Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham (age 45), for £1000. Howard then transferred his wardship to [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 61).

Around 1582 [her husband] Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 31) and Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 25) were reconciled.

Around 1583 [her daughter] Frances de Vere died.

Around 1583 [her daughter] Frances de Vere was born to [her husband] Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 32) and Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 26). She died aged less than one years old.

On 6th April 1584 [her daughter] Bridget Vere Baroness Norreys Rycote was born to [her husband] Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 33) and Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 27) at Theobalds House, Hertfordshire. She married (1) 28th April 1599 her fifth cousin once removed Francis Norreys 1st Earl Berkshire, son of William Norreys and Elizabeth Morrison Countess Lincoln, and had issue (2) before 1631 her second cousin twice removed Hugh Pollard 2nd Baronet, son of Lewis Pollard 1st Baronet and Margaret Berkeley, and had issue.

On 26th May 1587 [her daughter] Susan Vere Countess Montgomery was born to [her husband] Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 37) and Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford (age 30). She married 27th December 1605 Philip Herbert 4th Earl Pembroke 1st Earl Montgomery, son of Henry Herbert 2nd Earl Pembroke and Mary Sidney Countess Pembroke, and had issue.

On 5th June 1588 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 [her mother] 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 [her father] 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, in his robes, and in a kneeling attitude, appears in the upper part of the monument.

In 1591 [her former husband] Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 40) sold Hedingham Castle [Map] to his father-in-law [her father] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (age 70) in trust for his three daughters [her daughter] Elizabeth Vere Countess Derby (age 15), [her daughter] Bridget Vere Baroness Norreys Rycote (age 6) and [her daughter] Susan Vere Countess Montgomery (age 3) by his first wife Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford.

Before 27th December 1591 [her former husband] 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 24th June 1604 [her former husband] Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford (age 54) died at his home in King Street Covent Garden. His son Henry (age 11) succeeded 18th Earl of Oxford.