William Herbert, 1st Marquess of Powis, PC (16262 June 1696) was an English nobleman, best remembered for his suffering during the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate C ...

. He succeeded his father as 3rd Baron Powis in 1667 and was created Earl of Powis in 1674 by King Charles II and Viscount Montgomery, of the Town of Montgomery, and Marquess of Powis in 1687 by

King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

, having been appointed to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1686.

Early life

He was the only son of

Percy Herbert, 2nd Baron Powis Percy Herbert, 2nd Baron Powis (1598 – 19 January 1667), known as Sir Percy Herbert, Bt, between 1622 and 1655, was an English writer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1622 and later inherited a peerage. Herbert was the ...

and the former Elizabeth Craven. His only sibling was Mary Herbert, who married George Talbot, Lord Talbot, eldest son and heir apparent of

John Talbot, 10th Earl of Shrewsbury John Talbot, 10th Earl of Shrewsbury, 10th Earl of Waterford (1601 – 8 February 1654), was an English nobleman. Life He was the only child and son of John Talbot of Longford, Newport, Shropshire (died London, 1607 or c. 1607), and his wife El ...

. His paternal grandparents were

William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis KB (George Edward Cokayne. ''Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, Or Dormant'', Volume 6. G. Bell & sons, 1895. pg 295. – 7 March 1655Bernard B ...

and the former Lady Eleanor Percy (third daughter of

Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland, 2nd Baron Percy (153221 June 1585) was an English nobleman and conspirator. Origins He was born in about 1532 at Newburn Manor (Northumberland), the second of two sons of Sir Thomas Percy (c. 1504–15 ...

). His mother was the eldest surviving daughter of Sir William Craven,

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

, and a sister to Mary Craven (wife of Thomas Coventry, 2nd Baron Coventry), William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven and

John Craven, 1st Baron Craven of Ryton John Craven, 1st Baron Craven of Ryton (baptised 10 June 1610 at St Andrew Undershaft, London – 1648), was an English peer and founder of the Craven scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge. Background Craven was the younger surviving son of Sir ...

Career

A cousin of the 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, Powis was, together with his wife, one of the leaders of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

party. He was one of the "Five Catholic Lords" falsely accused by

Titus Oates Titus Oates (15 September 1649 – 12/13 July 1705) was an English priest who fabricated the " Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II. Early life Titus Oates was born at Oakham in Rutland. His father Samuel (1610� ...

in the

of conspiring to kill the King and as a result spent six years in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

awaiting trial; his wife's desperate efforts to free him led her to fabricate the " Meal-Tub plot" for which she narrowly escaped being convicted for treason herself. Powis was finally freed in 1684. He remained faithful to the deposed King James after the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

of 1688. It was he who spirited away Queen Mary and the infant James, Prince of Wales, and took them into their French exile. As a reward, he was created "Duke of Powis" and "Marquess of Montgomery" in the Jacobite Peerage by King James. In 1690, Powis landed in Ireland with James, where he acted as one of his principal advisers. James appointed him to his Irish

and made him

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main cha ...

. He remained in Ireland until the king's flight back to France after the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and ...

, and settled again at the exiled Jacobite Court at St Germain. Powis was a prominent figure in the Jacobite Court, serving as

Lord Steward The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is an official of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household in England. He is always a peerage, peer. Until 1924, he was always a member of the Government. Until 1782, the offic ...

and

of the household, but he seems to have been rather marginal in the king's counsels. His wife continued as Principal

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. They are ranked between the Mis ...

to Queen Mary of Modena and Royal Governess to James, Prince of Wales until her death on 11 March 1691. James made Powis a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

in April 1692. Nevertheless, others exercised more influence at Court as Powis struggled to maintain the dignity of a royal household on an insufficient income. Having lost estates valued at £10,000 a year, he had given up more than most for the Jacobite cause.

Personal life

In July 1654, Herbert married Lady Elizabeth Somerset (–1691), a daughter of

Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester (9 March 1602 or 9 March 16033 April 1667), styled Lord Herbert of Raglan from 1628 to 1644, was an English nobleman involved in royalist politics, and an inventor. While Earl of Glamorgan, he was sen ...

. Together, they had six children, a son and heir and five daughters, one of whom, Winifred, married

William Maxwell, 5th Earl of Nithsdale {{Infobox noble, type , name = William Maxwell , title = 5th Earl of Nithsdale , image = , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession ...

, who was condemned to death for high treason for participating in the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts The House of Stuart, ori ...

. Lady Nithsdale famously organised her husband's escape from the

. He died, aged about seventy, on 2 June 1696, after a riding accident in St Germain, and was buried there the next day. He was succeeded by his only son William Herbert, Viscount Montgomery (Jacobite Marquess of Montgomery), as second

Marquess of Powis Marquess of Powis was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1687 for William Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis. He had already succeeded his father as third Baron Powis in 1667 and had been created Earl of Powis in the Peerage of England ...

and (Jacobite second Duke of Powis) (1665–1745), who was later jailed in the Tower as a Jacobite and fought a long battle in the courts to retain some of his property, resulting in the restoration of his family's estates. He was relieved of the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

placed on his father and was restored to the forfeited peerages in the rank of marquess in 1722.

Issue

References

External links

William Herbert, 1st Marquess and 1st Duke of Powis
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Powis, William Herbert, 1st Marquess Of 1626 births 1696 deaths Dukes in the Jacobite peerage William Herbert, 01st Marquess of Powis Lord-Lieutenants of Cheshire Members of the Privy Council of England Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Peers created by James II (1689–1701) Victims of the Popish Plot

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert ...

1 Earls of Powis Impeached British officials