William Michael Anthony Cecil, 8th Marquess of Exeter (born 1 September 1935), known from 1981 to 1988 as Lord Burghley, is a British peer and was a member of the House of Lords from 1988 to 1999.
The son of Martin Cecil, 7th Marquess of Exeter, he was educated at Eton College. [1]
Exeter was an active member of the Emissaries of Divine Light and succeeded to its international leadership after his father's death in 1988. He left the organisation in 1996. [2]
He made his maiden speech in the House of Lords on 16 May 1990. [3]
In 1967, Exeter married Nancy Rose Meeker; they were divorced in 1993. They have two children:
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572. In his description in the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, A.F. Pollard wrote, "From 1558 for forty years the biography of Cecil is almost indistinguishable from that of Elizabeth and from the history of England."
Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury. Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over the last two centuries, particularly the 3rd Marquess, who served three times as Prime Minister in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Marquess of Exeter is a title that has been created twice, once in the peerage of England and once in the peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the peerage of England in 1525 for Henry Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon. For more information on this creation, which was forfeited in 1538, see Earl of Devon.
Baron Amherst of Hackney, in the County of London, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 26 August 1892 for the former Conservative Member of Parliament William Tyssen-Amherst, with remainder, in default of male issue, to his eldest daughter Mary and her issue male. Tyssen-Amherst had previously represented West Norfolk and South West Norfolk in the House of Commons. He was succeeded according to the special remainder by his daughter Mary. She was the wife of Colonel Lord William Cecil, third son of William Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter. As of 2017 the title is held by their great-great-grandson, the fifth Baron, who succeeded his father in 2009. As a male-line descendant of the third Marquess of Exeter he is also in remainder to this peerage and its subsidiary titles the earldom of Exeter and barony of Burghley.
Robert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, Baron Gascoyne-Cecil, is a British Conservative politician. From 1979 to 1987 he represented South Dorset in the House of Commons, and in the 1990s he was Leader of the House of Lords under his courtesy title of Viscount Cranborne. Lord Salisbury lives in one of England's largest historic houses, the 17th-century Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, and currently serves as Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire.
James Edward Hubert Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury,, known as Viscount Cranborne from 1868 to 1903, was a British statesman.
Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury,, known as Viscount Cranborne from 1903 to 1947, was a British Conservative politician.
Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, KG, known as Lord Burghley from 1598 to 1605, was an English politician, courtier and soldier.
David George Brownlow Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, KCMG KStJ, styled Lord Burghley before 1956 and also known as David Burghley, was an English athlete, sports official, peer, and Conservative Party politician. He won the gold medal in the 400 m hurdles at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
Burghley House is a grand sixteenth-century English country house near Stamford, Lincolnshire. It is a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, built and still lived in by the senior (Exeter) branch of the Cecil family and is Grade I listed.
William Martin Alleyne Cecil, 7th Marquess of Exeter, known until 1981 as Lord Martin Cecil, was an Anglo-Canadian peer.
William Thomas Brownlow Cecil, 5th Marquess of Exeter,, known as Lord Burghley from 1895 to 1898, was a British peer.
William Alleyne Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter PC, styled Lord Burghley between 1825 and 1867, was a British peer and Conservative politician. He served as Treasurer of the Household between 1866 and 1867 and as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms between 1867 and 1868.
Brownlow Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Exeter, styled Lord Burghley until 1804, was a British peer, courtier, and Tory politician. He held office under the Earl of Derby as Lord Chamberlain of the Household in 1852 and as Lord Steward of the Household between 1858 and 1859.
Colonel Lord William Cecil was a British army officer and royal courtier.
Henry Cecil, 1st Marquess of Exeter, known as Henry Cecil from 1754 to 1793 and as The Earl of Exeter from 1793 to 1801, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1790 and succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Exeter in 1793.
Brownlow Henry George Cecil, 4th Marquess of Exeter, styled Lord Burghley between 1867 and 1895, was a British peer and Conservative politician. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household between 1891 and 1892.
Brownlow Cecil, 9th Earl of Exeter, known as Lord Burghley from 1725 to 1754, was a British peer and Member of Parliament.
John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter, known as Lord Burghley until 1678, was a British peer and Member of Parliament. He was also known as the Travelling Earl.
Emissaries of Divine Light is an intentional community initiated by Lloyd Arthur Meeker in 1932. The foundational premise of the network is that human beings' true qualities can only be known as they are expressed in practical daily living.