Who was the Earl of Essex

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Q.� Brief biog please.

A.� Robert was born in 1566, son of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, and stepson to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. It was said of him that 'his only friend was the Queen and his only enemy was himself'.

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Q.� His rise was rapid

A.� Yes. He succeeded to the earldom in 1576. Withing decade, Essex fought in the Netherlands (1585-86), supporting Holland's war of liberation from Spain, and distinguished himself at the Battle of Zutphen. In 1596 he jointly commanded a force that seized and sacked C�diz. He soon became a favourite to Elizabeth, acting as adviser - although never the Queen's lover as was later rumoured. In 1599 he became Lieutenant of Ireland and led an army against Irish rebels under the Earl of Tyrone in Ulster.

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Q.� Successfully

A.� No. But he made a truce with Tyrone - against the wishes of the Queen.

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Q.� Which brought royal displeasure

A.� Yes. He was banned from the court.

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Q.� Did he obey this ban

A.� No. He plotted a rebellion, on the eve of which his followers arranged a performance by the Lord Chamberlain's Men of Richard II, hoping that the play about the deposition of a monarch would arouse support. It didn't. He marched into the City of London, leading a stream of supporters and was arrested, thrown in the Tower, charged with treason.

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Q.� Which is the reason for the exhibition

A.� Indeed. He was held in the Devereux Tower behind the Chapel of St Peter's. At 1am on 25 February, 1601, Sir John Peyton, the Lieutenant of the Tower, 'gave the Earle warninge as he was in his bed to prepare himself to death'. Shortly afterwards, three clergymen joined Essex in prayer. About seven o'clock the earl, dressed in a black velvet gown and a black satin suit, was taken to the scaffold.

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Q.� Any last-minute speeches

A.� No. Essex raised his hat to the assembled dignitaries, confessed his sins, which he said were 'more numerous than the hairs on my head'. He apologised to the Queen and all those he had offended, and removing his gown and ruff he knelt on the straw before the executioner's block and prayed. Essex then asked the executioner how he should lay his head on the block. He 'performed his office ill' according to contemporary reports and needed three strokes to sever the head.

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Q.� And 400 years later ... the exhibition

A.� It runs from October until February, with costumed presentations taking place on 6, 7, 13 and 14 October. A full-scale replica of the scaffold - the first to be seen in the tower since his death - is one show. Click her for details.

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By Steve Cunningham

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