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)
When Essex set out with the English Expeditionary Force to the Low Countries in August 1624, Walter accompanied him as a captain of the foot in Essex's regiment. He remained with Essex through the Winter at the Siege of Breda and shared the hardships and hand-to-hand combat occurring at the close of this action. In May 1625 he opted to remain in the Low Countries due to disease in London, and requested payment for this extended service from the Dutch government in May 1626. Walter Devereux returned to England in July 1625 for Parliamentary elections, and may have returned to the Low Countries with Essex who finally returned to England in November 1626 for good after failing to be given an appropriate command with the troops being sent to join the King of Denmark under General Morgan.