[1] He was educated in Friesland in the Netherlands after his father was mortally wounded at the Capture of Maastricht in 1632 when de Vere was only six years old.

The daughter married Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, a Secretary of State, but he lobbied the king on Oxford's behalf.

[2] Censorious Whigs like Samuel Pepys deplored seeing Oxford wearing his Garter regalia in public, and there was a rumour that he had married an actress in secret.

The actress was Hester Davenport (1642–1717) and the wedding supposedly took place on a Sunday morning in 1662 or 1663 in a chandler's shop in Harts Horn Lane, London.

"...a troop of horse, excellently mounted, of the Royal Regiment of my Lord Aubrey de Vere, Earl of Oxford...inspecting every file of the company, the officers of which wore a red sash with gold tassels.

Oxford was responsible for kitting out his regiment, and ordered a standard blue uniform from a woollen draper, Mr Munnocks of The Strand, Middlesex, whose son was killed in the service.

[6] Oxford as Lord Lieutenant of Essex was responsible for raising troops in the county, but refused James II's order to appoint Roman Catholics to public offices.

[7] On 1 February 1689 Oxford and Compton lobbied Parliament to pass a vote of thanks to the army for the Whig constitution "...testified their sturdy adherence to the Protestant religion and being instrumental in delivering this country from popery and slavery.

"[11] Davenport refused to be Oxford's mistress and returned his gifts, but agreed to marry him in a small ceremony held in 1662 or 1663,[12] ending a "promising" career.

[11] The couple's son, Aubrey de Vere, was born on 17 April 1664 and baptised at St Paul's church in Covent Garden on 15 May.

Writing for "The History of Parliament," Dr Ruth Pauley notes that "Hester Davenport seems to have been acknowledged as countess of Oxford.

Lely paints the centre of the rose's folded petals and the tip of Diana's bare breast from the same palette.

[12] In a church court case brought by Hester Davenport and heard in 1686, de Vere defended himself against the charge of bigamy by admitting that he had staged their wedding.

The court concluded that "Davenport and Oxford had indeed gone through some sort of ceremony but failed to establish that it had been performed by a genuine clergyman.