Francis Walsingham
Sign in to saveAlso known as Sir Francis Walsingham
English spy, diplomat and politician (1532-1590)
Key facts
- Monarch
- Elizabeth I
- Born
- c. 1532 , probably Chislehurst , Kent, England
- Died
- 6 April 1590 (aged c. 58 ), London, England
- Spouses
- Anne Barne ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1562 ; died 1564 ) Ursula St Barbe ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1566 )
- Children
- 2, including Frances
- Parents
- William Walsingham (father) Joyce Denny (mother)
- Education
- King's College, Cambridge
- Occupation
- Statesman and spymaster
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Francis
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Kingdom of England
- Place of birth
- Chislehurst
- Place of death
- London
- Child
- Frances Walsingham
- Occupation
- politician
- Position held
- Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- Educated at
- King's College
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Religion
- Protestantism
- Image
- Sir Francis Walsingham by John De Critz the Elder.jpg
Show 9 more facts
- Commons category
- Sir Francis Walsingham
- date of death
- 1590-04-06
- date of birth
- 1532-01-01
- member of
- Gray's Inn
- place of burial
- St Paul's Cathedral
- name in native language
- Francis Walsingham
- P12749
- province of Kenya
- P8168
- Circuit des Ardennes
- P13311
- Gulf of Aden
via Wikidata · CC0
~30 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Sir Francis Walsingham (c. 1532 – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster".
Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Walsingham attended Cambridge University and travelled in continental Europe before embarking on a career in law at the age of twenty. A committed Protestant, during the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I of England he joined other expatriates in exile in Switzerland and northern Italy until Mary's death and the accession of her Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Francis Walsingham” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.