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NORFOLK, DUKE OF, THOMAS HOWARD,
Powerful nobleman in the reign of Elizabeth I. He had Catholic sympathies, although denied being a Catholic himself. He married three times, losing each wife in childbirth. He was made a Privy Counselor  by Elizabeth, but his relationship with her became more and more difficult as his involvement with Catholic rebels increased. He was pardoned of the conspiracy of 1569, which was intended to see him married to Mary Queen of Scots, and did not suffer too badly after the Northern Rebellion. He was unpopular with Elizabeth's loyal subjects, however, and after another Catholic plot of 1571, the Duke was  reluctantly executed by the Queen.
 

NORRIS, HENRY,
Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Henry VIII. He was executed on false charges of adultery with Anne Boleyn.

DE VERE, EDWARD, EARL OF OXFORD,
A courtier and theater patron. He married Anne Cecil, daughter of William Cecil. Many people believe him to have been the secret author of Shakespeare's plays.
 

PARKER, MATTHEW (1504-1575)
Archbishop of Canterbury
 

PARMA, ALEXANDER FARNESE, DUKE OF,
Spanish commander in the Netherlands and commander of the Armada fleet of 1588.
 

PARR, KATHARINE (1512-1548)
The sixth wife of King Henry VIII, and apart from Anne of Cleves, the only one to out live him. She married very soon after his death, Thomas Seymour, brother of the new Protector, Edward Seymour. It was a love match, but Seymour's interest in Elizabeth caused problems. Katherine died during childbirth. Her daughter Mary survived, but little is known of what became of her. She may have died in her teens.
 

PARRY, BLANCHE,
She nursed Elizabeth as a baby, and remained in the Queen's service until her death in 1589, By which time she was blind, but Elizabeth loved her dearly and was very protective of her old servant. Blanche was Welsh, and reputedly taught Elizabeth to speak some Welsh.
 

PARRY, THOMAS,
He served Elizabeth for many years, and was made Lord treasurer of the household when she became Queen.

PARRY, WILLIAM.(d.1585)
He was employed by William Cecil to spy on the activities of Catholics abroad. However, he came to have sympathies with the Catholic cause, and wanted greater tolerance of Catholicism in England. He became involved with agents of Mary, Queen of Scots, although when suspected of being involved in the plot to kill Queen Elizabeth, he argued that he was only involved to gain knowledge of their activities. Queen Elizabeth believed him, and he was made a member of Parliament. Plagued by debt, he once again resorted to spying for the Government's. However, after suggesting an assassination of the Queen, he was a arrested. It is not sure whether he wanted the Queen to be murdered, or whether he suggested this in a ploy to frame someone else. He was executed for treason in 1585, despite his pleading that he was only acting in the interests of the Queen.
 

PAULET, AMIAS,
Custodian of Mary, Queen of Scots.
 

PEMBROKE, WILLIAM HERBERT
A soldier, courtier, and Privy Councilor to Queen Elizabeth.
 

PHILIBERT, EMMANUEL, DUKE OF SAVOY,
A suitor to Queen Elizabeth.
 

PHILIP II,
King of Spain and husband of Queen Mary. Philip II ruled all Spain, Sardinia, Sicily, much of southern Italy, part of northern Italy, the Netherlands, and a great empire in the new world of America. The bullion from the new world made him rich. In 1580, he also became ruler of Portugal.
 

PICKERING, WILLIAM ,
An ambassador to France, and suitor of Queen Elizabeth.
 

POLE, REGINALD, CARDINAL,
Papal legate to Queen Mary, and Archbishop of Canterbury.
 

PUCKERING, SIR JOHN,
Lord Keeper to Queen Elizabeth.
 

DE QUADRA, DE AVILA, BISHOP ALVAREZ
Ambassador to Queen Elizabeth, succeeding Feria. His writings to Spain, contained in the Spanish State Papers, are delightfully full of details on life in early Elizabethan England .
 

RADCLIFFE, MARGARET,
Lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth.
 

RALEIGH, SIR WALTER, (c.1554-1616)
A courtier, soldier, explorer and poet. He was favored by the Queen. He lost favor for a time after he got one of the Queen's maids of honor, Elizabeth Throckmorton, pregnant, even spending some time in the Tower, but was later restored to favor. He did not fare so well under James, however, and was executed in 1616.
 

RANDOLPH, SIR THOMAS,
English envoy to Mary Queen of Scots.
 

RENARD, SIMON,
Spanish Ambassador to Queen Mary. He was very much opposed to Elizabeth, and wanted her executed.
 

RICH, RICHARD, LORD,
The husband of Penelope Devereux, sister to the Earl of Essex.
 

RIDOLFI, ROBERTO DI, (1531 - 1612)
Catholic conspirator against Queen Elizabeth.
 

RIZZIO, DAVID (c.1533-1566)
A private secretary to the Mary, Queen of Scots, murdered by her husband, Lord Darnley.
 

ROBSART, AMY - see DUDLEY, AMY
 

ROCHFORD, GEORGE, VISCOUNT,
Anne Boleyn's brother. He was executed after having been falsely accused of having an affair with her,.
 

RUSSELL, ANNE,
Lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of Bedford, and later married to Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick, brother of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
 

SALESBURY, WILLIAM (c.1517-1600)
Translated the scriptures into Welsh. This welshman was a staunch Protestant,, and supporter of the Reformation. In 1547, he published a Welsh-English dictionary, and in 1567, he collaborated with Bishop Richard Davies in translating the New Testament and Prayer Book into Welsh.
 

SEYMOUR, EDWARD, EARL OF HERTFORD, LATER DUKE OF SOMERSET (c.1506-1552)
The brother of Jane and Thomas Seymour. He was made the Lord Protector of England in the reign of Edward VI. His brother's disgrace led to his downfall, and he was replaced by John Dudley.
 

SEYMOUR, JANE (c.1509-1537)
The third wife of King Henry VIII, and mother of Edward VI. She was sister to Edward and Thomas Seymour. She died giving birth to Henry's much wanted son. She is buried with Henry in Windsor Castle. See Seymour, Thomas.
 

SEYMOUR, THOMAS, BARON SUDELEY,
Brother of Edward and Jane Seymour, and fourth husband of Katharine Parr. He was a courtier, soldier, and later Lord Admiral. He was ambitious, however, and jealous of his brother's position in the land. He plotted against him, and plotted to marry the teenage Elizabeth. His plans were found out and he was disgraced, and executed for treason.
 

SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM,
Probably the most famous playwright that ever lived. His works include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
 

SHEFFIELD, LADY DOUGLAS,
Daughter of Lord William Howard. She claimed to have married Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, but her claims were never proved. Dudley always denied they had married. She was the mother of his only surviving son, also named Robert Dudley.
 

SHREWSBURY, GILBERT TALBOT, EARL OF,
President of the Council of the North and Privy Counselor.
 

SIDNEY, SIR HENRY,
Gentleman of the privy chamber to King Edward, husband of Mary Dudley, and father of Sir Philip Sidney.
 

SIDNEY, PHILIP (1554-1586)
Famous poet. He was the son of Mary and Henry Sidney, nephew of the Earl of Leicester. He died while fighting in the Netherlands. He was deeply mourned, and given an elaborate funeral.
 

SNAKENBORG, HELENA OF,
Swedish noblewoman, Lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth from girlhood, and later Marchioness of Northampton.
 

SOUTHWELL, ROBERT, (1561-1595)
A Jesuit priest and poet, executed under Queen Elizabeth .
 

SPENCER, EDMUND, (1552-99)
A famous poet. His works include the mammoth political allegory "The Faerie Queen".
 

STUBBS, PHILLIP,
A Puritan pamphleteer and dissident.
 

STUBBS, JOHN,
He wrote a pamphlet against the Queen's marriage to Alencon, for which he had his right hand cut off. He regained her favor somewhat in later years, and had a career in parliament.
 

SUSSEX, EARL OF, THOMAS RADCLIFFE,
Soldier and privy counselor to Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth.
 

THROCKMORTON, ELIZABETH,
Lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, and wife of Sir Walter Raleigh.
 

THROCKMORTON, FRANCES,
Nephew of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton. A Catholic conspirator, he was executed under Queen Elizabeth.
 

TYRRWHIT, LADY ELIZABETH,
Stepdaughter of Katherine Parr, and her chief Lady in waiting.
 

TYRRWHIT, SIR ROBERT,
Husband of Lady a Elizabeth. He interrogated Elizabeth over her conduct and involvement with Thomas Seymour. Elizabeth, though only 15 years of age, was more than able to match him.
 

VAVASOUR, ANNE,
Mistress of the Earl of Oxford, and Lady in Waiting to the Queen.
 

VERNON, JAMES,
Brother of Richard Vernon. A gentleman in waiting to Princess Elizabeth.
 

VERNON, RICHARD,
A gentleman in waiting to Princess Elizabeth.
 

WALSINGHAM, FRANCES,
Daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham, wife of Sir Philip Sidney, and later of the Earl of Essex by whom she had a son.
 

WALSINGHAM, SIR FRANCIS, (1532 -1590)
One of the key figures in Elizabethan England. He gained the trust of Queen Elizabeth, and became her secretary of state, as well as Master of a very sophisticated spy network intended to trap traitors. It is arguable that he was very much responsible for preserving the Queen's life in the dangerous years of the 1580's. He was a diligent and conscientious worker, and had both the trust of William Cecil and Robert Dudley. Although Elizabeth did not always like his staunch Puritanism, she valued his dedication, and she affectionately called him her "dark moor".
 

WESTMORELAND, CHARLES NEVILLE,
Catholic conspirator against Queen Elizabeth, fled abroad and died in exile.

WHITGIFT, JOHN, (1530-1604)
Archbishop of Canterbury.

WRAY, CHRISTOPHER
Sir Christopher Wray was the judge who passed sentence on Mary, Queen of Scots in 1587. He did not go to the
execution, however, as he was said to be ill at the time. It has also been said he was absent because he
feared the reaction of Elizabeth I when she was told  of Mary's death. Portrait
(Information and Portrait given by William Wray Dromeshauser)
 

WYATT, SIR THOMAS,
Son of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the poet, courtier. He was executed for treason after leading a rebellion against Queen Mary. He protested that the rebellion was against her marrying the Spanish Catholic Philip II, but Mary's supporters believed that the rebellion was to crown Elizabeth.