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 (died 1641)
Essex set out for the Low Countries in 1620 with 300 volunteers in his company, and commissioned Walter Devereux to act as his agent while abroad. 31 August 1620 Essex crossed the Rhine by a bridge of boats below Wesel and joined Prince Henry of Nassau. Over the next month they maneuvered through the Palatinate, but the Prince refused to engage the enemy. Essex returned to England in December 1620 to try to obtain additional troops that were promised him, but failed leading to his volunteering for service under Prince Maurice, at the "leaguer of Dernick." During the summers of 1622 and 1623, Essex spent the summers with the army in Holland, and it can be expected that Walter attended him there. Also, as Essex wintered in England during these years either at Drayton, Chartley, or one of the Earl of Hertford's houses, Walter probably traveled with him there as well. They would visit their grandmother at Drayton, Lady Leicester, who favored having masques (plays) for their entertainment. Other pastimes included hunting, and games such as chess or catastrophe.