He continued to sit in Parliament, as a commoner until 1571 and as Lord Burghley thereafter, and was Elizabeth's chief spokesman there, as well as administrative head of her government.
In the privy council Burghley took a decisive role in the suppression of the Catholic revolts, but he was opposed to the entrance of England into European wars on behalf of the Protestants.
This policy was defeated (1585) by the Puritan wing of the council under Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, and Sir Francis Walsingham.
William Cecil, 1st BaronBurghley, was an English politician, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I of England for most of her reign.
Cecil was born in Lincolnshire in 1520, the son of the owner of the Burghley estate in Northamptonshire, which is today open to the public and is the setting for a popular equestrian event.
Burghley continued to hold the dominant position in Elizabeth's administration right up until his death in 1598 and contributed hugely to her success as queen.
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