William Parker, 13th Baron Morley, 4th Baron Monteagle (1575 – 1 July 1622), was an English peer, best known for his role in the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. In 1605 Parker was due to attend the opening of Parliament. He was a member of the House of Lords as Lord Monteagle, the title on his mother's side. He received a letter; it appears that someone, presumably a fellow Catholic, was afraid he would be blown up. The so-called Monteagle letter survives in the National Archives (SP 14/216/2), but its origin remains mysterious.
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Early life
William was the eldest son of Edward Parker, 12th Baron Morley (died 1618), and of Elizabeth Stanley, daughter and heiress of William Stanley, 3rd Baron Monteagle (died 1581). He had both a younger brother, Charles, and a younger sister, Mary.
William's father was a recusant, but appears to have been in favour at court; he was one of the noblemen who tried Mary, Queen of Scots. However, William was allied with many Roman Catholic families, and during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I was in sympathy with their cause. His wife, the daughter of Sir Thomas Tresham, came from a well-known Roman Catholic family. His sister married Thomas Habington, also a Roman Catholic. He was knighted while with Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, in Ireland in 1599, and in 1601 he took part in the latter's rebellion in London. He was punished by imprisonment in the Tower and indicted, but successfully appealed to William Cecil to intercede with the Queen on his behalf. He was subsequently released and "reserved for her Majesty's use" after paying a fine of £4,000 (according to Cecil's private papers) or a fine of £8,000. Being "reserved" meant he was not forgiven of his involvement, as some others were, but essentially on parole as were Robert Catesby and Francis Tresham. Also, whilst he was committed to the Tower and wrote to Cecil under the name Lord Monteagle, he was fined under the name Sir William Parker, suggesting he may have been stripped of his right to sit in the Lords as a result of his treason and lost some of his land in Essex, although these were restored when King James pardoned actions prior to his reign.