Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire 1596-1672

In January 1589 William Cecil 2nd Earl Exeter [aged 23] and Elizabeth Manners 15th Baroness Ros of Helmsley [aged 14] were married at Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire [Map]. She the daughter of Edward Manners 3rd Earl of Rutland and Isabel Holcroft Countess Rutland [aged 39]. He the son of [her grandfather] Thomas Cecil 1st Earl Exeter [aged 46] and [her grandmother] Dorothy Neville Countess Exeter [aged 41]. They were fifth cousins.

After 1591 William Cecil 2nd Earl Exeter [aged 25] and [her mother] Elizabeth Drury Countess Exeter [aged 12] were married. He the son of [her grandfather] Thomas Cecil 1st Earl Exeter [aged 48] and [her grandmother] Dorothy Neville Countess Exeter [aged 43]. They were third cousin once removed.

In 1596 Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire was born to William Cecil 2nd Earl Exeter [aged 30] and Elizabeth Drury Countess Exeter [aged 17].

In 1614 Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 26] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 18] were married. She the daughter of William Cecil 2nd Earl Exeter [aged 48] and Elizabeth Drury Countess Exeter [aged 35]. He the son of Thomas Howard 1st Earl Suffolk [aged 52] and Catherine Knyvet Countess Suffolk [aged 50]. They were fourth cousins.

In 1615 Charles Howard 2nd Earl Berkshire was born to Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 27] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 19]. He married 10th April 1637 his third cousin once removed Dorothy Savage Countess Berkshire, daughter of Thomas Savage 1st Viscount Savage and Elizabeth Darcy 1st Countess Rivers, and had issue.

On 12th February 1615 William Cecil 16th Baron Ros Helmsley [aged 24] and Anne Lake Baroness Ros of Helmsley [aged 15] were married. She by marriage Baroness Ros Helmsley. See Diary of Anne Clifford. He the son of [her father] William Cecil 2nd Earl Exeter [aged 49] and Elizabeth Manners 15th Baroness Ros of Helmsley.

In 1616 [her daughter] Mary Howard was born to Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 28] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 20].

In 1616 William Knollys 1st Earl Banbury [aged 72] was created 1st Viscount Wallingford. Elizabeth Howard Countess Banbury [aged 33] by marriage Viscountess Wallingford.

On 27th June 1618 William Cecil 16th Baron Ros Helmsley [aged 28] died. His first cousin once removed Francis [aged 40] succeeded 17th Baron Ros Helmsley. Cecily Tufton Countess Rutland by marriage Baroness Ros Helmsley.

On 14th November 1619 Thomas Howard 3rd Earl Berkshire was born to Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 32] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 23].

In 1620 [her son] Henry Howard was born to Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 32] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 24]. He married 7th July 1648 his fourth cousin Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Craven, daughter of William Spencer 2nd Baron Spencer and Penelope Wriothesley Baroness Spencer Wormleighton.

On 19th July 1620 Henry Grey 1st Earl Stamford [aged 21] and Anne Cecil [aged 24] were married. She by marriage Baroness Grey of Groby. She the daughter of [her father] William Cecil 2nd Earl Exeter [aged 54] and [her mother] Elizabeth Drury Countess Exeter [aged 42]. They were fourth cousins.

In 1621 Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 33] was created 1st Viscount Andover in Hampshire, 1st Baron Howard of Charlton in Wiltshire. Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 25] by marriage Baroness Howard of Charlton in Wiltshire.

In 1622 [her son] William Howard was born to Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 34] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 26]. He married 4th April 1649 Elizabeth Dundas and had issue.

On 8th February 1623 Thomas Cecil 1st Earl Exeter [aged 80] died. He was buried at Chapel of St John the Baptist, Westminster Abbey [Map]. His son William [aged 57] succeeded 2nd Earl Exeter, 3rd Baron Burghley. [her mother] Elizabeth Drury Countess Exeter [aged 45] by marriage Countess Exeter.

On 1st January 1624 Henry de Vere 18th Earl of Oxford [aged 30] and Diana Cecil Countess of Oxford and Elgin [aged 28] were married. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. She the daughter of [her father] William Cecil 2nd Earl Exeter [aged 58] and [her mother] Elizabeth Drury Countess Exeter [aged 45]. He the son of Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford and Elizabeth TrenthamCountess of Oxford. They were fifth cousin once removed.

On or before 2nd November 1624 [her son] Edward Howard was born to Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 37] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 28]. He was baptised on 2nd November 1624 at St Martin in the Fields Church [Map].

In 1626 William Knollys 1st Earl Banbury [aged 82] was created 1st Earl Banbury. Elizabeth Howard Countess Banbury [aged 43] by marriage Countess Banbury.

In January 1626 Robert Howard was born to Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 38] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 30]. He married after 1665 his fourth cousin once removed Honora O'Brien, daughter of Henry O'Brien 5th Earl Thomond and Mary Brereton Countess Thomond.

On 7th February 1626 Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 38] was created 1st Earl Berkshire. Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 30] by marriage Countess Berkshire.

On 28th May 1626 Thomas Howard 1st Earl Suffolk [aged 64] died at Charing Cross [Map]. He was buried at Waldon Priory and Abbey [Map]. His son Theophilus [aged 43] succeeded 2nd Earl Suffolk. Elizabeth Home Countess Suffolk [aged 27] by marriage Countess Suffolk.

Around 1627 [her daughter] Frances Howard was born to Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 39] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 31]. She married 8th February 1650 her half fifth cousin once removed Conyers Darcy 2nd Earl Holderness, son of Conyers Darcy 1st Earl Holderness and Grace Rokeby, and had issue.

In March 1628 Henry Grey 1st Earl Stamford [aged 29] was created 1st Earl Stamford. [her sister] Anne Cecil Countess Stamford [aged 32] by marriage Countess Stamford.

On 5th March 1629 [her son] Philip Howard was born to Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 41] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 33]. He married before 1679 Mary Jennings.

On 12th November 1629 Thomas Bruce 1st Earl Elgin [aged 30] and Diana Cecil Countess of Oxford and Elgin [aged 33] were married. She the daughter of [her father] William Cecil 2nd Earl Exeter [aged 63] and [her mother] Elizabeth Drury Countess Exeter [aged 51].

On 25th May 1632 William Knollys 1st Earl Banbury [aged 88] died. His son Edward [aged 5] de jure 2nd Earl Banbury, 2nd Viscount Wallingford, 2nd Baron Knollys. Parliament disallowed the succession on the basis that Edward had been born when William was some eighty-two years old and Edward was, in fact, the son of Edward Vaux 4th Baron Vaux Harrowden [aged 43] whom Edward's mother [aged 49] subsequently married around a month after William's death.

Around 30th June 1632 Edward Vaux 4th Baron Vaux Harrowden [aged 43] and Elizabeth Howard Countess Banbury [aged 49] were married some five weeks after the death of her first husband William Knollys 1st Earl Banbury [deceased] on 25th May 1632. They, Edward and Elizabeth, when teenagers, had been subject to marriage negotiations which broke down as a consequence of the Gunpowder Plot and she had married William Knollys 1st Earl Banbury some thirty-nine years her senior. She the daughter of [her father-in-law] Thomas Howard 1st Earl Suffolk and [her mother-in-law] Catherine Knyvet Countess Suffolk [aged 68]. They were fifth cousin once removed.

On 23rd August 1632 Frances Howard Countess Essex and Somerset [aged 42] died.

On 21st June 1633 Thomas Bruce 1st Earl Elgin [aged 34] was created 1st Earl Elgin. Diana Cecil Countess of Oxford and Elgin [aged 37] by marriage Countess Elgin.

On 3rd September 1634 Edward Coke [aged 82] died. Monument in Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tittleshall [Map]. Simple sarcophagus on pedestal with lying effigy. Pair of flanking Tuscan columns supporting a full entablature with putti on frieze and broken segmental pediment. Carved and painted achievement in and above tympanum flanked by four reclining figures of the Virtues on pediment extrados.

Above. Quarterly of eight: Coke Arms, Crispin, Folkard, Sparham, Nerford, Yarmouth, Knightley Arms and Pawe. The crest is broken. Farrer says it was: On a chapeau Azure, turned up Ermine, an ostrich Argent, holding in its mouth a horseshoe Or. The motto reads Prudens qui Patiens.

The effigy was carved by John Hargrave, the rest of the memorial was made by Nicholas Stone [aged 47].

Below the effigy are three shields. Left Coke Arms implaling Paston Arms. His first wife Bridget Paston. Middle Coke Arms. Right Coke Arms impaling Cecil Arms; his second wife Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 38].

Bridget Paston: she was born to John Paston. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward III of England. On 13th August 1582 Edward Coke and she were married.

In 1636 [her daughter] Diana Howard was born to Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 48] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 40].

On 10th April 1637 Charles Howard 2nd Earl Berkshire [aged 22] and Dorothy Savage Countess Berkshire were married. She the daughter of Thomas Savage 1st Viscount Savage and Elizabeth Darcy 1st Countess Rivers [aged 56]. He the son of Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 49] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 41]. They were third cousin once removed.

In 1638 [her daughter] Elizabeth Howard was born to Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 50] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 42]. She married 1st December 1663 her fifth cousin once removed John Dryden and had issue.

On 3rd June 1640 Theophilus Howard 2nd Earl Suffolk [aged 57] died at Suffolk House, Suffolk Street. He was buried at Waldon Priory and Abbey [Map]. His son James [aged 21] succeeded 3rd Earl Suffolk, 3rd Baron Howard de Walden.

On 6th July 1640 William Cecil 2nd Earl Exeter [aged 74] died. His nephew David [aged 40] succeeded 3rd Earl Exeter, 4th Baron Burghley. Elizabeth Egerton Countess Exeter by marriage Countess Exeter.

On 7th July 1648 Henry Howard [aged 28] and Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Craven [aged 31] were married. He the son of Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 60] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 52]. They were fourth cousins.

On 4th April 1649 William Howard [aged 27] and Elizabeth Dundas [aged 23] were married. He the son of Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 61] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 53].

On 8th February 1650 Conyers Darcy 2nd Earl Holderness [aged 28] and Frances Howard [aged 23] were married. She the daughter of Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 62] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 54]. He the son of Conyers Darcy 1st Earl Holderness [aged 51] and Grace Rokeby [aged 50]. They were half fifth cousin once removed.

On 26th February 1654 Diana Cecil Countess of Oxford and Elgin [aged 58] died. She was buried at the Ailesbury Mausoleum, St Mary's Church, Maulden [Map] which her husband Thomas Bruce 1st Earl Elgin [aged 55] commissioned.

On 26th February 1658 [her mother] Elizabeth Drury Countess Exeter [aged 80] died.

On 17th April 1658 Elizabeth Howard Countess Banbury [aged 75] died.

In 1663 [her son] Henry Howard [aged 43] died.

On 1st December 1663 John Dryden [aged 32] and Elizabeth Howard [aged 25] were married. She the daughter of Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 76] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 67]. They were fifth cousin once removed.

After 1665 Robert Howard [aged 38] and Honora O'Brien were married. She the daughter of Henry O'Brien 5th Earl Thomond and Mary Brereton Countess Thomond. He the son of Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 77] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 69]. They were fourth cousin once removed.

On 16th July 1669 Thomas Howard 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 81] died. His son Charles [aged 54] succeeded 2nd Earl Berkshire, 2nd Viscount Andover in Hampshire, 2nd Baron Howard of Charlton in Wiltshire. Dorothy Savage Countess Berkshire by marriage Countess Berkshire.

In 1670 [her daughter] Frances Howard [aged 43] died.

In 1672 Elizabeth Cecil Countess Berkshire [aged 76] died.