1-344-718 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Robert Devereux, 2nd earl of Essex. Devereux (1566-1601) was an English courtier and favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1599, he requested that he be made lord lieutenant of Ireland, and went to Ireland to quell the rebellion of the Earl of Tyrone. He made an unauthorized truce with Tyrone and returned to England, where he was tried for disobedience, deprived of his offices, and banned from the court. He planned a coup that would get rid of his enemies around the queen and establish those in favour of him around her. However the queen's government was well prepared, and he was arrested. With great reluctance Elizabeth I signed his death warrant, and Essex was executed.