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In Our Time: William Cecil

07/03/2019

William Cecil

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, William Cecil

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the most powerful man in the court of Elizabeth I.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and influence of the 1st Baron Burghley, Elizabeth I's powerful Secretary of State who advanced England's interests throughout her reign

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

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