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)
In 1639 the First Bishops' War breaks out between Charles I and the Scottish Church. Essex participated, but unlike the previous conflict there is no record that Walter accompanied him. When Parliament was summoned by Charles I on 20 February 1940, Walter Devereux was elected to Commons for Lichfield in East Staffordshire. On 13 April the ‘Short Parliament’ began, but it was dissolved on 5 May after refusing to grant the King money.