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Sir Henry Neville (c. 1562 - July 10 , 1615 ) was an English Diplomat , Courtier and distant relative of William Shakespeare . A theory put forward in 2005 claims he is a strong candidate for the authorship of Shakespeare's plays. LIFE Neville was the first born child of Sir Henry Neville (c.1525 D.1595) and Elizabeth Gresham and the great-great-grandson of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl Of Westmorland and Joan Beaufort, Countess Of Westmoreland . Joan was daughter of John Of Gaunt, 1st Duke Of Lancaster and Katherine Swynford . John of Gaunt was in turn a son of Edward III Of England and Philippa Of Hainault . Henry grew up at Billingbear House , was educated at Merton College, Oxford and sat in Parliament as the member for New Windsor , Sussex , Liskeard , Kent , Lewes and Berkshire . In 1599 Neville was appointed Ambassador to France and attended the Court of Henri IV . Although Knighted for his services in France, he was unhappy with the way he was treated by the French and in 1600 , complaining of Deafness , he asked to be recalled to the Kingdom Of England . After his return he became involved with the plot of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl Of Essex and imprisoned in the Tower Of London . He was stripped of his position and fined £5,000, which he agreed to pay in annual instalments of £1,000. After the death of Elizabeth I Of England and the accession of James I a Royal Warrant was issued for his release. After his release, he played a greater role in the political life of Great Britain and earned the antagonism of King James by advocating the King surrender to the demands of the House Of Commons . It was this action that, on the death of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl Of Salisbury , lost him the possibility of becoming the Secretary Of State . Although offered the position of Treasurer Of The Chamber he turned it down. Neville died in 1615 and was buried at the church of St. Lawrence in Waltham St. Lawrence , Berkshire, England. FAMILY Neville married Anne Killigrew (daughter of Sir Henry Killigrew and Catherine Cooke ) and they had five sons and six daughters.
NEVILLE AS SHAKESPEARE Neville ( Nicknamed Falstaff ) is a candidate for being the true writer of Shakespeare's works. Mainstream Shakespearean scholarship does not accept that anyone but Shakespeare was the author, however there exist a Number Of Theories that it could have been someone else. In a book published in 2005 author Brenda James and Professor William Rubinstein , of the University Of Wales, Aberystwyth argue that Neville's career placed him in the locations of many of the plays about the time they were written. Neville was a descendant of the rival Plantagenet dynasty and could not himself be seen to be an author. He could have arranged for his relative to be a front man. They also claim new documents known to have been written by Neville while in the Tower, contain detailed notes which later ended up in Henry VIII . REFERENCES
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