Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford
| Aubrey de Vere | |
|---|---|
| 20th Earl of Oxford | |
 |
|
| Spouse(s) | Anne Bayning |
| Father | Robert de Vere, 19th Earl of Oxford |
| Mother | Beatrix van Hemmend |
| Born | 28 February 1627 |
| Died | 12 March 1703 (aged 76) |
Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford KG PC (28 February 1627 – 12 March 1703) was a Royalist during the English Civil War.
He was the son of Robert de Vere, 19th Earl of Oxford and his wife Beatrix van Hemmema. He was educated at Friesland in the Netherlands after his father was mortally wounded at the siege of Maastricht in 1632, when de Vere was only six years old; years later he joined the English Regiment of Foot serving on the continent with the Dutch. He remained in Holland, but returned to England in 1651 an ardent royalist. He was involved in a succession of plots, for which he was imprisoned in the Tower for allegedly plotting against Cromwell. He was interned without trial. On release he joined Sir George Booth's rising in 1659 against Richard Cromwell's regime. He went with five other peers to petition The Hague for the return of King Charles II in early May 1660. Hoping but failing to become Lord Chamberlain, he was offered the Colonelcy of The Blues. As a great favourite of royal mistress Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland he courted the Earl of Bristol's daughter, whose family were in high favour at court. The Earl of Bristol's daughter married the Earl of Sunderland, a Secretary of State, but he lobbied the King on Oxford's behalf. Oxford was made Lord Lieutenant of Essex and a Knight of the Garter. Oxford's dashing image was as one of the last Cavaliers; louche, immoral, but temperate and moderate. Tall, distinguished, and good-looking, he looked slightly disdainful. Censorious Whigs like Samuel Pepys deplored seeing Oxford wearing his Garter regalia in public. And there was a rumour that he married an actress in secret.
Despite being a Cavalier, he adhered to Protestant principles permitting Quakers and Puritans to join the regiment. He was a friend of Monmouth, a great soldier. Oxford raised a Regiment of Horse from 1684 onwards, just as the Life Guards were being withdrawn from Dunkirk. They were properly the Royal Regiment of Horse, but known by the colour of the uniforms as Oxford's Blues; he was Colonel of The Blues. Royalist volunteers added strength to this Protestant regiment. It was Charles II's policy to expand the army beyond the kernel that he inherited. Oxford gained the disapproval at court of the favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, who had declared undying enmity. Oxford replied that he "neither cared for his friendship nor feared for his hatred."
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