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 (1411–1459)
York declared his loyalty to the King at Ludlow in February 1452 stating that the Court should free itself from bad advisors. The King did not respond, and York took to the field with his supporters, which included Walter Devereux, and marched on London. The King eventually found York entrenched at Dartford Heath. The confrontation was resolved following minor skirmishing, but Devereux was attainted for treason by Parliament later that year. At this time, he began holding Wigmore Castle for the Yorkists.