The de Veres, the earls of Oxford, were one of England's
longest unbroken noble
family lines. Edward de Vere was born 1550. His father,
the 16th earl of Oxford,
was a lover of the arts and a patron of his own acting
company. When he died, his
son, Edward, then 12 years old, became the ward of William
Cecil, Baron Burghley,
who was the Treasurer, a chief counselor to the Queen,
and arguably the most
powerful man in the England. This young 17th earl of
Oxford received the very
finest education available in the realm. He studied at
Cambridge and Oxford; the
finest tutors in the land instructed him. He began writing
poetry in his teens. He
was arrogant to a fault. His pedigree was so good, he
fancied he might someday
himself become king-- some of his signatures were marked
with seven flourishes--
if he were to become king, he would be Edward VII.
It is to note that Oxford was
almost certainly bisexual.
The main question is: could Edward de Vere be the real
author of the Shakespearean
plays? Some scholars think that it might be possible
for the Earl of Oxford to be
the one. He was of the nobility; therefore, he would
disgrace his family name by
being known as an author of poetry. The high-class society
did not write poetry or
plays. As a result, it is believed that William Shakespeare
was de Vere's pseudonym.
The pseudonym was a facade for de Vere, so he could continue
to write his
classic poetry.
