Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux was the eldest son of Sir Richard Devereux, who was created a Knight of the Bath on 20 February 1547 and died that same year, in the lifetime of his father, The 1st Viscount Hereford. Walter Devereux's mother was Lady Dorothy Hastings, daughter of The 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford, said to have been a mistress of Henry VIII. Through his paternal ancestry he was related to the Bourchier family, to which previous Earls of Essex had belonged: John Devereux, son of Walter Devereux who died at the Battle of Bosworth, married Cecily Bourchier, sister of Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex.
Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford
He was appointed High Steward of Tamworth on 20 November 1510, and joint Constable of Warwick Castle on 15 Feb 1511 with Sir Edward Belknap. He was also Joint Steward of the Manor, or Borough of Warwick. On 27 January 1513, he was appointed Keeper of Netherwood Park; Councillor and Royal Commissioner of Wales and the Marches on 1 August 1513; and High Steward of Hereford in 1514.