William Aubrey was Regius Professor of Civil Law

Regius Professor of Civil Law (Oxford)

The Regius Chair of Civil Law, founded in the 1540s, is one of the oldest of the professorships at the University of Oxford.-Foundation:The Regius Chair of Civil Law at Oxford was founded by King Henry VIII, who established five such Regius Professorships in the University, the others being the...

 at the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 from 1553 to 1559, and was one of the founding Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

. He was also a MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

.

Early life and Oxford University

Aubrey was born in Brecknockshire

Brecknockshire

Brecknockshire , also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, and a former administrative county.-Geography:...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. After being educated at what later became Christ College, Brecon

Christ College, Brecon

Christ College, Brecon is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It caters for pupils from eleven to eighteen.Christ College was founded by Royal Charter in 1541 by King Henry VIII...

, Aubrey went to Oxford University, becoming a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford

All Souls College, Oxford

The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....

 in 1547. He obtained a BCL

Bachelor of Civil Law

Bachelor of Civil Law is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. Historically, it originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but many universities now offer the BCL as an undergraduate degree...

 degree in 1549 and was appointed Principal of New Inn Hall, Oxford in 1550. In 1553, he succeeded Robert Weston

Robert Weston

Robert Weston , was Dean of the Arches and Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the time of Queen Elizabeth.Weston was the third son of John Weston of Lichfield and his wife Cicely Neville, sister of Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland. He entered All Souls, Oxford and was elected Fellow in 1536...

 as Regius Professor of Civil Law. He held the position until 1559, when he was succeeded by John Griffith. In 1571, he was named in the foundation charter as one of the original eight fellows of Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

. He obtained the degree of DCL

Doctor of Civil Law

Doctor of Civil Law is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws degrees....

 in 1554 and the following year he was made a Master

Master (judiciary)

A Master is judicial officer found in the courts of England and in numerous other jurisdictions based on the common law tradition. A master's jurisdiction is generally confined to civil proceedings and is a subset of that of a judge. Masters are typically involved in hearing motions, case...

 in Chancery

Court of Chancery

The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...

.

Legal and political work

In 1562, Aubrey was a member of the commission set up by Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury that declared unlawful the marriage of Lady Catherine Grey

Lady Catherine Grey

Lady Catherine Grey , Countess of Hertford, was the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey. A granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary, she was a potential successor to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, but incurred Elizabeth's wrath by her secret marriage to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford...

 to Henry Herbert

Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke

Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke KG was an English peer of the Elizabethan era.-Life:He was the son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Anne Parr. His aunt was queen consort Catherine Parr, last wife of King Henry VIII. Herbert was responsible for the costly restoration of Cardiff Castle...

 (son of the 1st Earl of Pembroke). He was one of the signatories of the opinion that John Lesley

John Lesley

John Lesley was a Scottish Roman Catholic bishop and historian. His father was Gavin Lesley, rector of Kingussie, Badenoch.-Early career:...

 (Bishop of Ross

Bishop of Ross

The Bishop of Ross was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Ross, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. The first recorded bishop appears in the late 7th century as a witness to Adomnán of Iona's Cáin Adomnáin. The bishopric was based at the settlement of Rosemarkie until the mid-13th...

 and an ambassador for Mary, Queen of Scots) could be tried in England for intriguing against Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

.

He was MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for various constituencies: Carmarthen Boroughs

Carmarthen (UK Parliament constituency)

Carmarthen was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1542 and 1997...

 (1554), Brecon

Brecon (UK Parliament constituency)

Brecon was a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors, from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1885 general election.-Boundaries:...

 (1558), Hindon

Hindon (UK Parliament constituency)

Hindon was a parliamentary borough consisting of the village of Hindon in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1448 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act...

 (1559), Arundel

Arundel (UK Parliament constituency)

Arundel was twice a parliamentary constituency in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The first incarnation strictly comprised the town centre of Arundel and was a borough constituency first enfranchised in 1332 and disfranchised in 1868 under the Reform...

 (1563), and Taunton

Taunton (UK Parliament constituency)

Taunton was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors from 1295 to 2010, taking its name from the town of Taunton in Somerset...

 (1592). He was a member of the Council of Wales and the Marches from 1586. He was also auditor and vicar-general of the Province of Canterbury

Province of Canterbury

The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England...

 under Archbishop Grindal, retaining his position as vicar-general under Archbishop Whitgift.

Death

Aubrey died in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1595 and was buried in Old St Paul's Cathedral

Old St Paul's Cathedral

Old St Paul's Cathedral is a name used to refer to the medieval cathedral of the City of London which until 1666 stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built between 1087 and 1314 and dedicated to St Paul, the cathedral was the fourth church on the site at Ludgate Hill...

.