William Cecil
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the most powerful man in the court of Elizabeth I.
In Our Time · BBC Radio 4
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (open.live.bbc.co.uk) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the impact on the British Isles of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, the most poweful man in the court of Elizabeth I. He was both praised and attacked for his flexibility, adapting to the reigns of Protestant and Catholic monarchs and, under Elizabeth, his goal was to make England strong, stable and secure from attack from its neighbours. He sought control over Ireland and persuaded Elizabeth that Mary Queen of Scots must die, yet often counselled peace rather than war in the interests of prosperity.
With
Diarmaid MacCulloch Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford
Susan Doran Professor of Early Modern British History at the University of Oxford
and
John Guy Fellow of Clare College, University of Cambridge
Producer: Simon Tillotson