Sir Francis Walsingham was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster".
Portrait c. 1585
Ruins of Scadbury Hall, seat of the Walsingham family, Chislehurst, Kent
Seventeenth-century engraving of Queen Elizabeth with William Cecil (left) and Francis Walsingham (right)
Famous portrait of Elizabeth I after the defeat of the Spanish Armada
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on h
Elizabeth's parents, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Anne was executed within three years of Elizabeth's birth.
A rare portrait of a teenage Elizabeth prior to her accession, attributed to William Scrots. It was painted for her father in c. 1546.
Elizabeth's guardian, Thomas Seymour, Baron Seymour of Sudeley