Editing Francis Bacon (section)

===Final years of Elizabeth's reign===
[[File:StatueOfFrancisBacon.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Memorial to Bacon in the chapel of [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]]]
Bacon soon became acquainted with [[Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex|Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl of Essex]], Queen Elizabeth's favourite.<ref name="Hammer" /> By 1591 he acted as the earl's confidential adviser.{{sfn|Adamson|Mitchell|1911|p=136}}<ref name="Hammer">Paul E. J. Hammer (1999). "The Polarisation of Elizabethan Politics: The Political Career of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, 1585–1597". p. 141. Cambridge University Press</ref> In 1592, he was commissioned to write a tract in response to the [[Jesuit]] [[Robert Parsons (Jesuit)|Robert Parson]]'s anti-government polemic, which he titled ''Certain Observations Made upon a Libel'', identifying England with the ideals of democratic [[History of Athens|Athens]] against the belligerence of Spain.<ref>Gustav Ungerer (1974). "A Spaniard in Elizabethan England: The Correspondence of Antonio Pérez's Exile, Volume 1". p. 207. Tamesis Books</ref> Bacon took his third parliamentary seat for [[Middlesex]] when in February 1593 Elizabeth summoned Parliament to investigate a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] plot against her. Bacon's opposition to a bill that would levy triple subsidies in half the usual time offended the Queen: opponents accused him of seeking popularity, and for a time the Court excluded him from favour.<ref>Weir, Alison ''Elizabeth the Queen'' Pimlico 1999 p. 414</ref>

When the office of [[Attorney-General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] fell vacant in 1594, Lord Essex's influence was not enough to secure the position for Bacon and it was given to Sir [[Edward Coke]]. Likewise, Bacon failed to secure the lesser office of [[Solicitor-General for England and Wales|Solicitor General]] in 1595, the Queen pointedly snubbing him by appointing Sir [[Thomas Fleming (judge)|Thomas Fleming]] instead.{{sfn|Peltonen|2007}} To console him for these disappointments, Essex presented him with a property at [[Twickenham]], which Bacon subsequently sold for £1,800.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bunten|first1=Alice Chambers|title=Twickenham Park and Old Richmond Palace and Francis Bacon: Lord Verulam's Connection with The, 1580–1608|publisher=R. Banks|page=19}}</ref>

In 1597 Bacon became the first [[Queen's Counsel]] designate, when Queen Elizabeth reserved him as her legal counsel.<ref>{{Cite book|title=History of English Law|last=Holdsworth|first=W. S.|year=1938|pages=vi 473–474}}</ref> In 1597, he was also given a patent, giving him precedence at the Bar.<ref>''[[Patent Rolls]]'', 2 Jac I p. 12 m 10.</ref> Despite his designations, he was unable to gain the status and notoriety of others. In a plan to revive his position he unsuccessfully courted the wealthy young widow Lady [[Elizabeth Hatton]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Curious Case of Lady Purbeck; A Scandal of the XVIIth Century|last=Longueville|first=Thomas|publisher=Longmans, Green and Co|year=1909|location=London|page=4}}</ref> His courtship failed after she broke off their relationship upon accepting marriage to Sir Edward Coke, a further spark of enmity between the men.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Aughterson|first=Kate|title=Hatton, Elizabeth, Lady Hatton [nee Lady Elizabeth Cecil] (1578–1646)|journal=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|via=Oxford University Press}}</ref> In 1598 Bacon was arrested for debt. Afterward, however, his standing in the Queen's eyes improved. Gradually, Bacon earned the standing of one of the learned counsels.{{sfn|Adamson|Mitchell|1911|p=137}} His relationship with the Queen further improved when he severed ties with Essex{{snd}}a shrewd move, as Essex would be executed for treason in 1601.<ref>{{cite book|title=Britannica Concise Encyclopedia|date= 2008|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.|page=636}}</ref>

With others, Bacon was appointed to investigate the charges against Essex. A number of Essex's followers confessed that Essex had planned a rebellion against the Queen.<ref name="Character Assassination">Nieves Matthews, ''Francis Bacon: The History of a Character Assassination'' (Yale University Press, 1996)</ref> Bacon was subsequently a part of the legal team headed by the [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] Sir Edward Coke at Essex's treason trial.<ref name="Character Assassination" /> After the execution, the Queen ordered Bacon to write the official government account of the trial, which was later published as ''A DECLARATION of the Practices and Treasons attempted and committed by Robert late Earle of Essex and his Complices, against her Majestie and her Kingdoms ...'' after Bacon's first draft was heavily edited by the Queen and her ministers.{{sfn|Adamson|Mitchell|1911|p=138}}<ref>Matthews (1996: 56–57)</ref>

According to his personal secretary and chaplain, [[William Rawley]], as a judge Bacon was always tender-hearted, "looking upon the examples with the eye of severity, but upon the person with the eye of pity and compassion". And also that "he was free from malice", "no revenger of injuries", and "no defamer of any man".<ref name="Rawley">{{cite book |last=Rawley |first=William |title=The Life of the Right Honorable Francis Bacon Baron of Verulam, Viscount St. Alban |year=1670 |publisher=Thomas Johns |location=London |url=http://hiwaay.net/~paul/bacon/biographies/rawley.html |access-date=4 February 2012 |archive-date=5 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805052919/http://hiwaay.net/~paul/bacon/biographies/rawley.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>