William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1506-1570)
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William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, 1st Baron Herbert of Cardiff, KG
(c. 1501 – 17 March 1570) was a Tudor period
noble and courtier.
Herbert was the son of Sir Richard Herbert
and Margaret Cradock. His father was an illegitimate son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke of the eighth creation (1468) by his mistress, Maud, daughter of Adam ap Howell Graunt.
as a "mad fighting fellow," the young Herbert began his career as a gentleman servant to the earl of Worcester. However, after killing a city sheriff after being arrested for unknown reasons in Bristol, he fled to France.
Upon arrival, he immediately joined the service of King Francis I
as a soldier, earning a reputation for courage and great skill on the battlefield. "In a short time he became eminent, and was favoured by the king, who afterwards recommended him to Henry VIII
of England, who much valued him, and heaped favours and honours upon him." For his service to King Henry, Herbert was granted the estates of Wilton, Remesbury, and Cardiff Castle, and his position as a man of means was secured.
Herbert's first wife, Anne Parr, was sister of Queen consort Catherine Parr
, sixth wife to King Henry VIII
. He rose with the Parrs after his sister-in-law's marriage and was knighted in 1544. He had been granted Wilton Abbey
and other land by Henry VIII by 1544. He pulled down the abbey, and built the first Wilton House
in the 1540s.
Herbert was a guardian of the young King Edward VI
after the death of Henry VIII in 1547. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1549, and created Baron Herbert of Cardiff on 10 October 1551, and 1st Earl of Pembroke of the [tenth creation] the following day by Edward VI. Herbert made significant improvements and alterations to Cardiff Castle to make it a more appropriate residence for a rising statesman, of which only the Herbert Tower now remains.
After the death of Edward VI, Herbert initially supported Lady Jane Grey
's claim to the throne. Herbert arranged his eldest son and heir, Henry
, to marry Jane's sister, Lady Catherine Grey
at Durham House on 21 May 1553, the same day as her sister Jane was married to Guilford Dudley. When it became clear that Lady Mary Tudor
would take the throne as Mary I
, he cast his daughter-in-law, Catherine
, out of his house and had the marriage annulled. Lady Catherine's father
and sister, Jane, were both executed for high treason
in February 1554 by the orders of Queen Mary I. Herbert managed to distance himself from the Grey family after their fall and obtained the new queen's favour by crushing Thomas Wyatt
's rebellion.
According to John Aubrey
's very colourful Brief Life
, he could "neither read nor write" but "had a stamp for his name." Aubrey says: "He was of good naturall parts, but very colericque. In Queen Mary's time, upon the return of the Catholique religion, the nunnes came again to Wilton Abbey; and this William, Earl of Pembroke, came to the gate which lookes towards the court by the street, but now is walled up, with his cappe in his hand, and fell upon his knees to the Lady Abbess and nunnes, crying peccavi. Upon Queen Mary's death, the Earl came to Wilton (like a tigre) and turned them out crying, "Out, ye jades! to worke, to worke—ye jades, goe spinne!"
Herbert is reported to have had a close bond with his pet dog - Aubrey writes, "[he] had a little cur-dog which loved him, and the earl loved the dog. When the earl died the dog would not go from his master's dead body, but pined away, and died under the hearse." Herbert's dog can be seen in the portrait at left.
:
After his wife, Anne, died on 20 February 1552, Herbert married Anne Talbot, daughter of George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
, and widow of Peter Compton. There was no issue from this marriage.
William died on 17 March 1570, in Hampton Court. He was buried on April 18th in St. Paul's where his first wife is also buried.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
(c. 1501 – 17 March 1570) was a Tudor period
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
noble and courtier.
Herbert was the son of Sir Richard Herbert
Sir Richard Herbert
Sir Richard Herbert of Ewyas, Herefordshire was the illegitimate son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Maud, daughter of Adam ap Howell Graunt...
and Margaret Cradock. His father was an illegitimate son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke of the eighth creation (1468) by his mistress, Maud, daughter of Adam ap Howell Graunt.
Early life
William Herbert's early life was distinguished by intense ambition coupled with an equally fierce temper and hot-headed nature. Described by John AubreyJohn Aubrey
John Aubrey FRS, was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the collection of short biographical pieces usually referred to as Brief Lives...
as a "mad fighting fellow," the young Herbert began his career as a gentleman servant to the earl of Worcester. However, after killing a city sheriff after being arrested for unknown reasons in Bristol, he fled to France.
Upon arrival, he immediately joined the service of King Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
as a soldier, earning a reputation for courage and great skill on the battlefield. "In a short time he became eminent, and was favoured by the king, who afterwards recommended him to Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
of England, who much valued him, and heaped favours and honours upon him." For his service to King Henry, Herbert was granted the estates of Wilton, Remesbury, and Cardiff Castle, and his position as a man of means was secured.
Herbert's first wife, Anne Parr, was sister of Queen consort Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
, sixth wife to King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. He rose with the Parrs after his sister-in-law's marriage and was knighted in 1544. He had been granted Wilton Abbey
Wilton Abbey
Wilton Abbey was a Benedictine convent in Wiltshire, England, three miles from Salisbury on the site now occupied by Wilton House. A first foundation was made as a college of secular priests by Wulfstan, Ealdorman of Wiltshire, about 773, but after his death was changed into a convent for twelve...
and other land by Henry VIII by 1544. He pulled down the abbey, and built the first Wilton House
Wilton House
Wilton House is an English country house situated at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire. It has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years....
in the 1540s.
Earldom
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
after the death of Henry VIII in 1547. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1549, and created Baron Herbert of Cardiff on 10 October 1551, and 1st Earl of Pembroke of the [tenth creation] the following day by Edward VI. Herbert made significant improvements and alterations to Cardiff Castle to make it a more appropriate residence for a rising statesman, of which only the Herbert Tower now remains.
After the death of Edward VI, Herbert initially supported Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
's claim to the throne. Herbert arranged his eldest son and heir, Henry
Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke KG was an English peer of the Elizabethan era.-Life:He was the son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Anne Parr. His aunt was queen consort Catherine Parr, last wife of King Henry VIII. Herbert was responsible for the costly restoration of Cardiff Castle...
, to marry Jane's sister, Lady Catherine Grey
Lady Catherine Grey
Lady Catherine Grey , Countess of Hertford, was the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey. A granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary, she was a potential successor to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, but incurred Elizabeth's wrath by her secret marriage to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford...
at Durham House on 21 May 1553, the same day as her sister Jane was married to Guilford Dudley. When it became clear that Lady Mary Tudor
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
would take the throne as Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, he cast his daughter-in-law, Catherine
Lady Catherine Grey
Lady Catherine Grey , Countess of Hertford, was the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey. A granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary, she was a potential successor to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, but incurred Elizabeth's wrath by her secret marriage to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford...
, out of his house and had the marriage annulled. Lady Catherine's father
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, KG was an English nobleman of the Tudor period and the father of Lady Jane Grey.-Henry VIII's reign:...
and sister, Jane, were both executed for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
in February 1554 by the orders of Queen Mary I. Herbert managed to distance himself from the Grey family after their fall and obtained the new queen's favour by crushing Thomas Wyatt
Thomas Wyatt the younger
Sir Thomas Wyatt the younger was a rebel leader during the reign of Queen Mary I of England; his rising is traditionally called "Wyatt's rebellion".-Birth and career:...
's rebellion.
According to John Aubrey
John Aubrey
John Aubrey FRS, was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the collection of short biographical pieces usually referred to as Brief Lives...
's very colourful Brief Life
Brief Lives
Brief Lives is a collection of short biographies written by John Aubrey in the last decades of the seventeenth century. Aubrey initially began collecting biographical material to assist the Oxford scholar Anthony Wood, who was working on his own collection of biographies...
, he could "neither read nor write" but "had a stamp for his name." Aubrey says: "He was of good naturall parts, but very colericque. In Queen Mary's time, upon the return of the Catholique religion, the nunnes came again to Wilton Abbey; and this William, Earl of Pembroke, came to the gate which lookes towards the court by the street, but now is walled up, with his cappe in his hand, and fell upon his knees to the Lady Abbess and nunnes, crying peccavi. Upon Queen Mary's death, the Earl came to Wilton (like a tigre) and turned them out crying, "Out, ye jades! to worke, to worke—ye jades, goe spinne!"
Herbert is reported to have had a close bond with his pet dog - Aubrey writes, "[he] had a little cur-dog which loved him, and the earl loved the dog. When the earl died the dog would not go from his master's dead body, but pined away, and died under the hearse." Herbert's dog can be seen in the portrait at left.
Marriages and issue
Herbert had issue by his first wife, Anne ParrAnne Herbert, Countess of Pembroke
Anne Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, Baroness Herbert of Cardiff was lady-in-waiting to each of Henry VIII of England's six wives. She was the younger sister of his sixth wife, Catherine Parr.-Early years:...
:
- Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of PembrokeHenry Herbert, 2nd Earl of PembrokeHenry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke KG was an English peer of the Elizabethan era.-Life:He was the son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Anne Parr. His aunt was queen consort Catherine Parr, last wife of King Henry VIII. Herbert was responsible for the costly restoration of Cardiff Castle...
(c.1539-1601), married on 21 May 1553 Lady Catherine GreyLady Catherine GreyLady Catherine Grey , Countess of Hertford, was the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey. A granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary, she was a potential successor to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, but incurred Elizabeth's wrath by her secret marriage to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford...
. The marriage was annulled in 1554. His second wife was Catherine Talbot, daughter of George Talbot, 6th Earl of ShrewsburyGeorge Talbot, 6th Earl of ShrewsburyGeorge Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot, KG, Earl Marshal was a 16th century English statesman.-Life:...
. His third wife was Mary SidneyMary SidneyMary Herbert , Countess of Pembroke , was one of the first English women to achieve a major reputation for her literary works, poetry, poetic translations and literary patronage.-Family:...
, granddaughter of John Dudley, 1st Duke of NorthumberlandJohn Dudley, 1st Duke of NorthumberlandJohn Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
, by whom he had children, including WilliamWilliam Herbert, 3rd Earl of PembrokeWilliam Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, KG, PC was the son of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and his third wife Mary Sidney. Chancellor of the University of Oxford, he founded Pembroke College, Oxford with King James. He was warden of the Forest of Dean, and constable of St Briavels from 1608...
and PhilipPhilip Herbert, 4th Earl of PembrokePhilip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery KG was an English courtier and politician active during the reigns of James I and Charles I...
, both of whom would accede to the Earldom of PembrokeEarl of PembrokeEarl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...
. - Sir Edward Herbert (1547–1595), married Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Stanley, Under-Treasurer of the MintThomas Stanley (Royal Mint)Thomas Stanley was a goldsmith and officer of the Royal Mint in Tudor England. Stanley rose to the rank of Under-Treasurer of the Mint at the Tower of London in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I..-Family:...
, by whom he had issue including William Herbert, 1st Baron PowisWilliam Herbert, 1st Baron PowisWilliam Herbert, 1st Baron Powis was a British nobleman.He was born in Powis Castle, the son of Sir Edward Herbert and Mary Stanley, daughter of Sir Thomas Stanley, Under-Treasurer of the Royal Mint...
. - Lady Anne Herbert (1550–1592), married in February 1562, Francis, Lord Talbot, son of George Talbot, 6th Earl of ShrewsburyGeorge Talbot, 6th Earl of ShrewsburyGeorge Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot, KG, Earl Marshal was a 16th century English statesman.-Life:...
. There is no known issue from this marriage.
After his wife, Anne, died on 20 February 1552, Herbert married Anne Talbot, daughter of George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, 4th Earl of Waterford, 10th Baron Talbot, 9th Baron Furnivall, KG was the son of John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury and Lady Catherine Stafford, daughter of the 1st Duke of Buckingham....
, and widow of Peter Compton. There was no issue from this marriage.
William died on 17 March 1570, in Hampton Court. He was buried on April 18th in St. Paul's where his first wife is also buried.