1592 he was appointed attorney-general, and was knighted
and made chamberlain of Chester in 1593. On the 10th of April 1594 he
became master of the rolls, and on the 6th of May 1596 lord keeper of
the great seal and a privy councillor, remaining, however, a commoner as
Sir Thomas Egerton, and presiding in the Lords as such during the whole
reign of Elizabeth. He kept in addition the mastership of the rolls, the
whole work of the chancery during this period falling on his shoulders
and sometimes causing inconvenience to suitors[3]. His promotion was
welcomed from all quarters. "I think no man," wrote a contemporary to
Essex, "ever came to this dignity with more applause than this worthy
gentleman."[4]

Egerton became one of the queen's most trusted advisers and one of the
greatest and most striking figures at her court. He was a leading member
of the numerous special commissions, including the ecclesiastical
commission, and was the queen's interpreter in her communications to
parliament. In 1598 he was employed as a commissioner for negotiating
with the Dutch, obtaining great credit by the treaty then effected, and
in 1600 in the same capacity with Denmark. In 1597, in consequence of
his unlawful marriage with his second wife, in a private house without
banns, the lord keeper incurred a sentence of excommunication, and was
obliged to obtain absolution from the bishop of London.[5] He was a firm
friend of the noble but erratic and unfortunate Essex. He sought to
moderate his violence and rashness, and after the scene in the council
in July 1598, when the queen struck Essex and bade him go and be hanged,
he endeavoured to reconcile him to the queen in an admirable letter
which has often been printed.[6] On the arrival of Essex in London
without leave from Ireland, and his consequent disgrace, he supported
the queen's just authority, avoiding at the same time any undue severity
to the offender. Essex was committed to his custody in York House from
the 1st of October 1599 till the 5th of July 1600, when the lord keeper
used his influence to recover for him the queen's favour and gave him
kindly warnings concerning the necessity for caution in his conduct. On
the 5th of June 1600 he presided over the court held at his house, which
deprived Essex of his offices except that of master of the horse,
treating him with leniency, not pressing the charge of treason but only
that of disobedience, and interrupting him with kind intenti