The Two Walter Raleighs: Famous Father, Rebellious Son and a Shared Tragedy

Sir Walter Raleigh’s many biographers have given little attention to his relationship with his son Wat (Walter). Yet Raleigh’s bond with his son was perhaps the most enduring commitment of his restless life, and his attempts to aid the increasingly troubled and violent young man had tragic consequences. The arc of their relationship began with mutual identification—Wat inherited his father’s name and good looks. As the years went by, Wat went his own way, and his father rescued him from the repercussions of his impulsive, sometimes illegal actions. Raleigh’s conviction and imprisonment for treason stripped him of his authority as paterfamilias, a problem compounded by King James’s seizure of the estate he intended to bequeath to his heir. The discovery of legal documents stemming from Wat’s attack on a woman illuminates the final chapter of their shared lives— Raleigh delivered his undisciplined son from the law by commissioning him as a captain on his ill-starred voyage to Guiana.