Who was Shakespeare's patron?

Patronage was a huge part of medieval and Renaissance
society. Groups or individuals were expected to act as patrons for those who were of
lower socio-economic status. To this end, Shakespeare was no different. Below, I have
summarized a list of patrons that contributed to the works of William
Shakespeare. 

Edward Manners, Third Earl of
Rutland - This individual was a friend of Shakespeare's who displayed
encouragement for Shakespeare's unique writings. At the time, there was a traditional
model to follow; however, Manners pushed Shakespeare to write with his own style or
flare, which made him quite popular. Additionally, Manners was also involved in the
construction of a theatre in Rutland.

Queen
Elizabeth and King James I - Both of these individuals loved
Shakespeare's drama. Queen Elizabeth enjoyed the plays so much that she intensely
studied the ancient classical period. Additionally, having the appropriate background,
she used her power to advance English drama. It was obvious that she was fond of
Shakespeare's plays but she never attended the public theaters as it was not custom for
royalty to venture to those parts.

Henry
Wriothesley, Third Earl of Southampton - The patronage of Henry
Wriothesley is best exemplified by the fact that Shakespeare had his narrative
poem Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece
dedicated to Southampton. Additionally, the title page of "Fair Youth"
in Sonnets provides dedication to "the lordship of Mr. W.H." One
theory is that W.H is actually Wriothesley, whose initials had been switched to better
hide the identify of the funder. However, others suggest that this dedication was
actually to a different patron, William Herbert, whose initials actually line
up!

Henry
Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon - Carey was a known patron of Shakespeare's
theatre company, The Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was The Lord Chamberlain's Men that got
most of the plays and scripts written by Shakespeare, and the backing of Carey
himself.

William Herbert, Third Earl of
Pembroke - Shakespeare dedicated several plays in "The First Folio of
William Shakespeare" specifically to Herbert. Additionally, Herbert was hypothesized to
be the "Fair Youth" in Sonnets. The dedication to Mr. W.H. provides
good evidence that Herbert was the beneficiary of the work. As previously mentioned,
others hold the less popular notion that it was Southampton to whom Shakespeare was
referring. Regardless, Herbert was a known patron of the works of
Shakespeare.

Sir Francis
Walsingham - In a political move, it is believed that Walsingham funded
plays to help inspire patriotic notions and have Queen Mary of Scots replace Queen
Elizabeth. These plays, entitled The Famous Victories of Henry V, King
John, and Edmund Ironside, were believed to be used to
inspire a sense of nationalism while the country was on the brink of war with Catholic
Spain.