Our common ancestors - Herbert - Contents

4th Earl of Pembroke

4th Earl, c.1635-40. By Van Dyck.
At [NPG]. See here.
From Wikimedia Commons. See dispute over public domain status.

Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke,
and 1st Earl of Montgomery, K.G., see here and here and here,
born 16th Oct 1584,
mar 1stly, 27th Dec 1604, to Susan de Vere [born 26th May 1587, descendant of Edward I]
and had issue:

1. Anna Sophia Herbert, born est c.1610,
   mar 27th Feb 1625 to Robert Dormer, 1st Earl of Carnarvon [and here, born 1610, 2nd Baron Dormer, see DORMER in Debrett's Peerage, 1790],
   he was cr 1st Earl of Carnarvon 1628,
   he was a Royalist, killed in First Battle of Newbury 1643,
   see images at [NPG],
   she died 1694, age est c.84 yrs,
   had issue:
   1. Charles Dormer, 2nd Earl of Carnarvon, born 1632,
      mar 1stly to Elizabeth Capel and had issue,
      mar 2ndly to Mary Bertie,
      died 1709, title extinct.

   
   

2. Catherine Herbert, died young.
3. Mary Herbert, died unmarried.

1. James Herbert, died in infancy, bur 1617.
2. Henry Herbert, died in infancy, bur 1618.

3. Charles Herbert, bapt 19th Sept 1619,
   heir apparent,
   mar 8th Jan 1635 [him age 15, her age 12] to Mary Villiers [born 1622],
   he died of smallpox just after marriage, Jan 1635, age 15 yrs.
   She remarried.

4. Philip Herbert, 5th Earl of Pembroke, bapt 20th Feb 1621.

5. William Herbert.
6. James Herbert (second James).
7. John Herbert.

he was cr 1st Earl of Montgomery 1605,
made Knight of Order of the Garter (K.G.) 1608,
The Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania 1621 refers to Susan, written by his 1st cousin (and lover of his brother) Lady Mary Wroth,
Susan bur 1st Feb 1629 with her mother, Westminster Abbey, age 41 yrs,
he succ as Earl of Pembroke, Apr 1630,

mar 2ndly, 1st June 1630 [her age 41], to Anne Clifford [born 30th Jan 1589],
employed Inigo Jones to spectacularly rebuild Wilton House starting 1635,
laid out formal gardens to the S of the house, on both the near and far banks of the river,
planted the Cedars of Lebanon in the grounds 1630s,
massive group portrait of him and all of his family, by Van Dyck, 1634-6, dominates the Double Cube Room, Wilton House,
there is a family bible dated 1638,
Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University 1641-50,
see Isaac de Caus' designs for the gardens at Wilton c.1645 (also here),
much of the house destroyed in a fire 1647, carried on building, Wilton was described by Charles I [executed 1649] as "One of the loveliest Houses in England", neither 4th Earl nor Inigo Jones [died 1652] lived to see the completion of the work in 1653,
died 23rd Jan 1650, age 65 yrs, buried in Salisbury Cathedral.
Anne died 22nd Mar 1676 [using [NJ] format], age 87 yrs.
See Connections to Shakespeare.

4th Earl, in robes of a Knight of the Order of the Garter, c.1615.
At [NPG]. See here.
From Wikimedia Commons. See dispute over public domain status.

Effigy of Susan de Vere on her tomb at Westminster Abbey.
From here. Taken from here.

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Connections with Shakespeare

The Herbert family had a number of connections with William Shakespeare:

1. It is reputed that Shakespeare and his players first performed As You Like It (1600) and perhaps Twelfth Night (prob. 1601) at Wilton (although note that nearby Salisbury town, Wiltshire, also claims a particular spot as the place where As You Like It was first performed).
2. Shakespeare's sonnets were dedicated to "Mr. W. H." in 1609. This has been identified with William Herbert, the 3rd Earl. See the short story The Portrait of Mr. W. H. in Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde.
3. The first folio edition of Shakespeare's plays (pub posthumously 1623) is dedicated to the 3rd and 4th Earls of Pembroke.

The Herbert family also had a number of connections with Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, who some have claimed is the real Shakespeare. (Most professional historians and academics reject this theory.)

1. De Vere's unhappy wife Anne Cecil had once been intended for Lady Pembroke's brother Sir Philip Sidney. Anne married de Vere in 1571, and he treated her badly.
2. Sidney (still then unmarried) and de Vere had a famous quarrel in 1579.
3. The 3rd Earl of Pembroke was apparently engaged to de Vere's daughter (must be Bridget) at some time, before marrying another in Nov 1604.
4. The 4th Earl married de Vere's daughter Susan in Dec 1604.