A military and naval commander, and the grandson of the great Elizabethan statesman, Lord Burghley, Wimbledon served under Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I. He eventually came to be regarded as a great military hero, although several of his naval operations against the Spanish in the 1620s were notable failures. He was a knowledgeable patron of the arts and his portrait was painted on a number of occasions by Miereveld. He was created Viscount Wimbledon in 1626. The painter Miereveld spent his entire career in Delft, in spite of a concerted attempt on the part of Henry, Prince of Wales to attract him to London in 1611–1612. He painted the portraits of many of the British statesmen and soldiers who were in the Low Countries visiting the court of Elizabeth of Bohemia in The Hague or passing through on military campaigns.