Francis Walsingham Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( 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. Walsingham rose
Baron Walsingham Baron Walsingham Baron Walsingham, of Walsingham in the County of Norfolk, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. This noble title was created in 1780 for Sir William de Grey on his retirement as Lord Chief Justice, who had previously served as Solicitor-General and as Attorney-General. His son, the second Baron, represented Wareham, Tamworth and Lostwithiel in the House of Commons and served as Joint Postmaster-General from 1787 to 1794; Lord Walsingham was also Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords for many years. His eldest son, the third Baron, was a Lieutenant-General in the Army, who