1520

• 13TH SEPTEMBER William Cecil was born in Bourne, Lincolnshire, the son of Sir Richard Cecil and his wife, Jane Heckington.

1530

• William's father Sir Richard Cecil was groom of thr Robes to King Henry VIII of England.

1535

• MAY William at the age of fourteen, went to St John's College, Cambridge

1540

• David Cecil died, William's grandfather. David was also a courtier, and Member of Parliament.

1541

• William removed by his father to Gray's Inn,

• William married Mary Cheke

1542

• MAY Thomas Cecil is born, William's son to his first marriage to Mary Cheke

1543

• FEBRUARY William's first wife Mary Cheke died.

1545

• 21st DECEMBER William married Mildred Cooke

1547

• 28TH JANUARY king Henry VIII of England is dead now his young son Edward VI is King .

• 10TH SEPTEMBER William was present at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh Part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars Location Musselburgh, Lothian, Scotland Result Decisive English victory

1548

• William was described as the Protector's Master of Requests

1549

• OCTOBER The Fall of the Lord Protector Edward Seymour . William acted liken to Secretary to Him. However, William's loyalties did move to John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland.

• NOVEMBER William was in the Tower of London for few months due to his relations with Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset.

1550

• 15TH SEPTEMBER William is Secretary of State. At the same time William had intimate contact with the King because Edward VI worked closely with the secretaries of state September 1550– 19th July 1553 along with With Sir William Petre

• Wimbledon manor house became a grace and favor home by the Crown to William and his family.

1551

• APRIL William became chancellor of the Order of the Garter

• 11TH OCTOBER William was knighted

1553

• 9TH MARCH William's father Sir Richard Cecil died

• 15TH JUNE William was one of the signatures on The document, which Edward VI titled "My Devise for the Succession",

• 6TH JULY Edward VI is dead

• 9TH JULY The Lady Jane Grey is Queen for nine days in England.

• 19TH JULY Mary Tudor is Queen of all England and The Lady Jane Grey is deposed and kept imprisoned in the Tower of London, until her execution on the  12th February 1554.

• William was  elected to Parliament as knight of the shire for Lincolnshire and again in 1555 and 1559

1554

• William's daughter Francesca was from his second wife Mildred Cooke however she was not to survive long.

1555

• William represented Lincolnshire in the Parliament and in 1559,

• The construction of Burghley House began. The house would have thirty-five rooms all told. Two Floors.

1556

• 5TH DECEMBER William's daughter Anne Cecil was from his second wife Mildred Cooke

1558

• William was in secret communication with Elizabeth before Mary died, and from the first the new queen relied on Cecil as she relied on no one else.

• 17TH NOVEMBER Queen Mary Tudor is dead an now her half-sister Elizabeth is Queen of England

• 22ND NOVEMBER William is Secretary of State November 1558– 13th July 1572

• William's wife Mildred Cooke served briefly at court as a Lady of the privy chamber when Elizabeth I came to the throne

1559

• FEBRUARY William elected Chancellor of Cambridge University in succession to Cardinal Pole

• The Act of Supremacy 1559

1560

• William moved his London residence to Cecil House.

• 8TH SEPTEMBER The suspicious death of Amy Robstart. The wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. William and Nicholas Throckmorton, made use of this situation, to move Queen Elizabeth's from acting on her affections for Robert Dudley

1561

• JANUARY William became Master of the Court of Wards and Liveries .As Master of the Court of Wards, William supervised the raising and education of wealthy, aristocratic boys whose fathers had died before they reached maturity.

• JULY Queen Elizabeth I of England supped with William at his London home at Cecil House,

1562

• Lawrence Nowells was living in London, in William's house, For William, he made the first accurate cartographic survey of the East coast of Ireland, as well as a small, accurate pocket-sized map of Britain, which William always carried with him.

• Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford became a ward under William's care.

1563

• Lawrence Nowells becomes a tutor to Edward De Vere, William's ward.

• William's son Thomas Cecil served in the House of Commons

• 1ST JUNE William's son Robert Cecil was born in Westminster, London, England to from his wife Mildred Cooke

• William represented Northamptonshire in Parliament.

1564

• William was  created an MA for f Cambridge University when Queen Elizabeth f Cambridge University visited

• 1ST JULY Elizabeth Cecil is born, William's daughter with his wife Mildred Cooke.

• William bought the manor to what would be known as Theobalds House . Queen  Elizabeth would visit here at least eight times between 1572 and 1596.

1567

• 23RD JULY the seventeen-year-old Edward de Vere, accidentally killed an unarmed under-cook, Thomas Brincknell, while practising fencing with Edward Baynham, a merchant tailor, in the backyard of William's House in the Strand. The finding of the coroner's inquest was that Brincknell, being intoxicated, had run upon the point of Oxford's sword and was thereby condemned as a suicide

1569

• William's daughter Anne was engaged to marry Sir Philip Sidney. However these arrangements fell through

• Sir Francis Walsingham was working with William to counteract plots against Elizabeth

1570

• Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche of Harringworth was a royal ward under William's care

1571

• William is made Lord Privy Seal 1571–1572

• 25TH FEBRUARY Queen Elizabeth elevated William as Baron Burghley

• The Ridolfi plot This was a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with

• 16TH DECEMBER William's daughter Anne married Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford

1572

• JULY William is Lord High Treasurer July 1572 – 4th August 1598 . A post was offered to Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester, who declined it and proposed William.

• John Gerard, who was a botanist and herbalist began work as superintendent at the gardens of William at the Strand and Theobalds, Hertfordshire, a position he continued in for more than 20 years

1574

• OCTOBER John Dee wrote a letter to William seeking patronage

1575

• Sir Vincent Skinner became secretary to Wi1lliam from  1575 to 1593

1580

• William's son Robert attended St John's College, Cambridge, around this time.

1582

• Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton became a ward of William.

• William purchased Pymmes Park is located in Edmonton, London which would remain in the family until 1801

• Arbella Stuart, who was 2nd cousin to Queen Elizabeth became the ward of William .Arbella was also first cousin to James VI of Scotland.

1584

• William's son Robert sat for the first time in the House of Commons, representing his birthplace, the borough of Westminster

1585

• 5TH JUNE Williams daughter Anne

1587

• William was made Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire 1587–1598

• 8TH FEBRUARY The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

• William was temporarily banned from court for his part in the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

• 26TH MAY Anne Cecil, Williams daughters died, Anne 's daughters stayed in their grandfather;s household Williams.

1588

• William is now Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire & Lord Lieutenant of Essex
  1588–1598

• Roger Manners, 5th Earl of Rutland became a ward of William's.

1589

• 4TH APRIL Mildred Cooke, William's wife died at Cecil House, Strand, London

• William's son Robert married married Elizabeth Brooke, the daughter of William Brooke,

1590

• William is Lord Privy Seal 1590–1598

1591

• Robert, William's son was appointed to the Privy Council

1592

• William is made Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin 1592–1598

1597

• William suggested to historian, William Camden to write a history of Queen Elizabeth's reign.

1599

• 4TH AUGUST William Cecil collapsed (possibly from a stroke or heart attack) and then died at Cecil House aged seventy-six years .

 

William Cecil was buried at St. Martin's Church
Stamford, Lincolnshire United Kingdom