William Cecil, 16th Baron Ros of Helmsley (May 1590 – 27 June 1618) was an English peer, whose ill-advised marriage to Anne Lake resulted in a major scandal, which dragged on for years after his early death.
He was born at Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire, only son of William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter, and baptised on 4 June 1590.
[1] On 13 February 1615 or 1616, he married Anne Lake, daughter of Sir Thomas Lake, the Secretary of State, and his wife Mary Ryther, a marriage which soon ended in divorce and a bitter feud between the two families, caused in the first place by the Cecil family's refusal to transfer lands allegedly due to Anne as part of the marriage settlement.
The accusations, which included adultery with his grandfather's young second wife Frances Brydges, were so serious that he felt it wiser to leave the country for a time.
His mother's barony passed separately to her next heir, Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland.