Sir Edward Herbert was Attorney-General

Attorney General for England and Wales

Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...

 and a member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 under Kings James I

James I of England

James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

 and Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

.

He was born the son of Charles Herbert of Aston, Montgomeryshire, admitted to the Inner Temple in November 1609 and was called to the bar in 1618. He was the cousin of Edward Herbert, Baron Herbert of Cherbury.

He entered parliament in 1620 as Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for the borough of Montgomery

Montgomery (UK Parliament constituency)

Montgomery was a constituency represented until 1707 in the House of Commons of England and later in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

 and then sat for Downton, Wiltshire

Downton (UK Parliament constituency)

Downton was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...

 between 1625 and 1629.

Having become Attorney-General

Attorney General for England and Wales

Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...

 he was instructed by Charles I to take proceedings against some members of Parliament who had been concerned in the passing of the Grand Remonstrance

Grand Remonstrance

The Grand Remonstrance was a list of grievances presented to King Charles I of England by the English Parliament on 1 December 1641, but passed by the House of Commons on the 22nd of November 1641, during the Long Parliament; it was one of the chief events which were to precipitate the English...

; the only result, however, was Herbert's own impeachment by the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 and his imprisonment. He lived at Aston in Montgomeryshire

Montgomeryshire

Montgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. Montgomeryshire is still used as a vice-county for wildlife recording...

 with his wife, Margaret, daughter of the Master of Requests

Court of Requests

The Court of Requests was a minor equity court in England and Wales. Created at an unknown date, it first became a formal tribunal with some Privy Council elements under Henry VII, hearing cases from the poor and the servants of the King. It quickly became popular due to the low cost of bringing a...

, Thomas Smith

Thomas Smith (judge)

Sir Thomas Smith , was the English master of requests.-Family and identity:Smith was born at Abingdon in Berkshire , about 1556. He was the son of Thomas Smith, who is almost certainly to be identified with the Thomas Smith who was Mayor of Abingdon in 1584...

 of Abingdon

Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...

, Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

 (now Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

) & Parson's Green, Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

, and widow of Thomas Carey of Sunninghill Park

Sunninghill Park

Sunninghill Park is a country house and estate of some , located north of Sunninghill, lying between Ascot and the southern boundary of Windsor Great Park in Berkshire, England. It was the official residence of the Duke of York from 1990 until 2004....

, Berkshire. Later in life, he lived in exile with the royal family in Holland and in France, becoming Lord Keeper of the Great Seal

Lord Chancellor

The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...

 to Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

, an office which he had refused in 1645. He died in Paris. One of Herbert's sons was Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington

Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington

Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington was a British admiral and politician of the late 17th and early 18th century. Cashiered as a rear-admiral by James II of England in 1688 for refusing to vote to repeal the Test Act, which prevented Catholics from holding offices, he brought the Invitation to...

, and another was Sir Edward Herbert

Edward Herbert (judge)

Sir Edward Herbert , titular Earl of Portland, was an English judge who served as Chief Justice of the King’s Bench during the reign of James II.-Early life and career:...

(c. 1648-1698).