Sir Edward Hoby (1560 – 1 March 1617) was an English diplomat, Member of Parliament, scholar, and soldier during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. He was the son of Thomas Hoby and Elizabeth Cooke, the nephew of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, and the son-in-law of Queen Elizabeth's cousin Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon.
A favourite of King James, Hoby published several works supporting the Protestant cause as well as translations from French and Spanish. His heir was his illegitimate son, Peregrine Hoby.
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Biography
Born at Bisham Abbey, Berkshire, in 1560, Edward Hoby was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Hoby and his wife Elizabeth, third daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke or Coke of Gidea Hall, Essex. He was educated at Eton, where he formed a lasting friendship with Sir John Harington, and at Trinity College, Oxford. At Trinity Thomas Lodge, who later became a dramatist, was "servitor or scholar" under him.
Under the auspices of his uncle, Lord Burghley, he rose into high favour at the Elizabethan court and was frequently employed on confidential missions. Hoby's fortunes were further advanced by his marriage, on 21 May 1582, to Margaret, daughter of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, cousin of Queen Elizabeth. The day after the wedding he was knighted by the Queen.
In August 1584 he accompanied his father-in-law Hunsdon on a special mission to Scotland. His affability and learning greatly impressed King James VI (later James of England), and after attending the Scottish ambassador, Patrick, Master of Gray, as far as Durham, Hoby received from the Scottish king a flattering letter, dated 24 October 1584, in which James intimated his longing for his company, and how he had "commanded his ambassador to sue for it". James Stewart, Earl of Arran also wrote to the same effect, and enclosed a "small token", which he begged Hoby to wear in "testimony of their brotherhood". These amenities proved displeasing to Elizabeth, and Hoby found it convenient for a time to plead the ague as an excuse for not attending the court.