Lt.-Col. Reginald Herbert, 15th Earl of Pembroke and 12th Earl of Montgomery (8 September 1880 – 13 January 1960), styled Lord Herbert from 1895 to 1913, was a British Army officer and peer from the

Herbert family The Herbert family is an Anglo-Welsh noble family founded by William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (died 1469), William Herbert, known as "Black William", the son of William ap Thomas, founder of Raglan Castle, a follower of Edward IV of Englan ...

Early life and education

Herbert was born at Herbert House,

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for ...

, the eldest son of Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke and Lady Louisa Lambton, daughter of George Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham. He was of Anglo-Welsh descent and also descended from a Russian aristocratic family, the

Vorontsov The House of Vorontsov (), also Woroncow and de Woroncow-Wojtkowicz, is the name of a Russian noble family whose members attained the dignity of Counts of the Holy Roman Empire in 1744 and became Princes of the Russian Empire on 6 April 1845 ...

s, through the marriage of the 11th Earl of Pembroke and his second wife, Catherine Vorontsov. Catherine's father, Count

Semyon Vorontsov Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov (or Woronzow; ; 9 July 1832) was a Russian diplomat from the aristocratic Vorontsov family. He resided in Britain for the last 47 years of his life, from 1785 until his death in 1832, during which time he was the ...

, the Imperial Russian ambassador to Britain, brought the family to London in 1785. He was educated at Eton and Sandhurst.

Career

In 1899, Herbert was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

second lieutenant in the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, also known as the Blues, or abbreviated as RHG, was one of the cavalry regiments of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry. In 1969, it was amalgamated with the 1st The Royal Dragoons to form the ...

. He was appointed Member of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(5th Class) in 1901. He served as aide de camp to Sir Arthur Paget in 1912–13, when Paget was

Commander-in-Chief, Ireland Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, was title of the commander of the British forces in Ireland before 1922. Until the Act of Union in 1800, the position involved command of the distinct Irish Army of the Kingdom of Ireland. History Marshal of Ireland ...

; and to Sir William Pulteney in 1914. He served during the First World War and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. He continued to serve as ADC to Pulteney, who was

General officer commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

. In 1918, he accompanied

Prince Arthur of Connaught Prince Arthur of Connaught (Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert; 13 January 1883 – 12 September 1938) was a British military officer and a grandson of Queen Victoria. He served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 20 November 19 ...

to Japan to present Emperor Yoshihito with the baton of field-marshal. Herbert was awarded an Officer of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

, the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, and the Japanese

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

(3rd class) and

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

(3rd class). He was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order (4th Class) in 1918. In 1919, he retired from the Army, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1921, the Earl and Countess visited

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

with their daughter Lady Patricia, and toured the city with the artist

John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was an Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, on 20 March 1856 and baptised at St Patrick's Church ...

. Lavery was subsequently invited to

Wilton House Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey. Following the dissolution ...

, where he painted the Van Dyck Room and the Palladian Bridge. Lord Pembroke was twice mayor of

Wilton, Wiltshire Wilton is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England. Lying about west of the city of Salisbury, and until 1889 the county town of Wiltshire, it has a rich heritage dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. The parish had ...

. He was a hereditary

visitor A visitor, in English and Welsh law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution, often a charitable institution set up for the perpetual distribution of the founder's alms and bounty, who can interve ...

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he worked at the Foreign Office, in which capacity he was the addressee of an often-reproduced humorous note sent by Sir Archibald Clark Kerr, who was British Ambassador to Moscow.

Marriage and issue

On 21 January 1904, Herbert married Lady Beatrice Eleanor Paget, daughter of Lord Alexander Victor Paget, younger son of the 2nd Marquess of Anglesey. They had four children: * Lady Patricia Herbert (12 November 1904 – 19 March 1994),

Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. A lady of the bedchamber would gi ...

to Queen Elizabeth from 1937–94 * Sidney, Lord Herbert (9 January 1906 – 16 March 1969), succeeded his father *The Hon. David Herbert (3 October 1908 – 3 April 1995), author *Lt.-Col Hon. Anthony Edward George Herbert (12 September 1911 – 22 August 1971), died unmarried Pembroke died at his seat,

, in Wiltshire. He was succeeded in his titles and estates by his eldest son.

References

1880 births 1960 deaths Reginald Herbert, 15th Earl of Pembroke British people of Russian descent Deputy lieutenants of Wiltshire 15 Reginald 20th-century English nobility People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Members of the Royal Victorian Order {{England-earl-stub