Sir Walter made a right royal mess of mission
He was the suave adventurer and writer who introduced tobacco and the potato to Britain.
And although his fortunes were mixed over the course of his life, the name of Sir Walter Raleigh remains well known to this day.
As a close friend to Queen Elizabeth I, on March 25, 1584, she granted him permission to colonise the US state Virginia.
The area wasn’t called that at the time – in fact, it’s thought he suggested the name to please his royal sponsor, who held the title of Virgin Queen.
As a minor noble, he studied at Oxford, before fighting in France and against Irish rebels.
It was there where he came to the notice of Queen Elizabeth. Reportedly tall, dashing and witty, he quickly became a favourite of the Virgin Queen.
At one point, he unhesitatingly used his expensive cloak to cover a puddle so she didn’t get her feet wet.
She instructed him to found colonies in the New World on behalf of the Crown, and Raleigh duly made several attempts.
They were unsuccessful, but Raleigh was credited with introducing tobacco to Great Britain.
It may be a dubious honour these days, but in the 16th Century and beyond, it became a huge money spinner and central to global trade.
He was also credited with discovering the potato – but not only had it been used in Central America for years, Spanish conquistadors had first brought them to Europe.
Raleigh rapidly fell from Queen Elizabeth’s favour when he married one of her ladies-in-waiting, Elizabeth Throckmorton.
The monarch would have expected to have been consulted about such a pairing, although there have been other motives suggested as to why the Queen would have been furious that her favourite handsome courtier had married another woman.
Raleigh was thrown in the Tower of London, but released the following year and elected an MP.
However, he was far from finished with his bold journeys to the New World – and led a group of explorers to what is now known as Venezuela.
Again, it was unsuccessful, but Raleigh wrote a book on his return, where he claimed to have discovered a land of gold – which became basis for the legend of El Dorado.
Queen Elizabeth may have forgiven him, but she was succeeded, upon her death, by James I, who took a dimmer view of Sir Walter’s exploits.
Once again, he was thrown in the Tower of London and only released to look for gold in South America.
He launched raids against the Spanish – contrary to the King’s instruction – which earned him a death sentence.