Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke ( Talbot; c. 1580 – March 1649) was the wife of

William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (8 April 158010 April 1630) , of Wilton House in Wiltshire, was an English nobleman, politician and courtier. He served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford and together with King James I founded ...

. Mary was the daughter of

Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, 7th Earl of Waterford, 13th Baron Talbot, KG (20 November 1552 – 8 May 1616), styled Lord Talbot from 1582 to 1590, was a peer in the peerage of England. He also held the subsidiary titles of 16th Baro ...

, by his wife

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, and was thus a granddaughter of Bess of Hardwick. She had two sisters, both of whom also married into the nobility: Alethea Howard, Countess of Arundel, and Elizabeth Grey, Countess of Kent. In 1580,

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, wrote to France for a marten fur and a gold marten's head set with precious stones or a night cap, with a jewelled collar and bracelets, for a christening gift for Gilbert Talbot's daughter, thought to be Mary. In June 1600 she was appointed as gentlewoman of the privy chamber of

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

and her sister

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

was a maid of honour. She married William Herbert on 4 November 1604 at

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 ...

, and had one child, Henry, who died in infancy. Mary Herbert and her sister the Countess of Arundel were asked to "grace the court" during the visit of a French aristocrat, the Count of Vaudémont, in October 1606.

Rowland Whyte Rowland Whyte (died after 1626) was an Elizabethan official and businessman, whose letters provide important evidence about the latter stages of the life of Queen Elizabeth I and the transition to the rule of James I. The letters were first publis ...

mentioned a dance at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

held in the presence chamber of

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

. Mary Herbert, described as "Lady Pembroke", danced with a member of the count's entourage, Prince Henry, and the

Earl of Perth Earl of Perth is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1605 for James Drummond, 4th Lord Drummond. The Drummond family claim descent from Maurice, son of George, a younger son of King Andrew I of Hungary. Maurice arrived in Sc ...

. Whyte wrote "No lady there did dance near so well as she did that day". Whyte added that the sisters were reluctant to write to their parents themselves. They were joined at Hampton Court by

Lady Mary Wroth Lady Mary Wroth (née Sidney; 18 October 1587 – 1651/3) was an English noblewoman and a poet of the English Renaissance. A member of a distinguished literary family, Lady Wroth was among the first female English writers to have achieved an e ...

and Lady Montgomery. The Talbot Papers, held in Lambeth Palace Library, include several references to Mary. It appears from

Thomas Crewe Sir Thomas Crewe (or Crew) (1565 – 31 January 1634), of Stene, between Farthinghoe and Brackley in Northamptonshire, was an English Member of Parliament and lawyer, and served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1623 to 1625. He was a ...

's letter of September 1603 that Sir Thomas Edmondes was instrumental in persuading her father of the advantages of her marrying Pembroke. Following her husband's death in 1630, the dowager countess sometimes stayed at

Baynard's Castle Baynard's Castle refers to buildings on two neighbouring sites in the City of London, between where Blackfriars station and St. Paul's Cathedral now stand. The first was a Norman fortification constructed by Ralph Baynard ( 1086), 1st feuda ...

. She died at Ramsbury Manor, Wiltshire, and was buried at

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

References

1580s births 1649 deaths English countesses Daughters of English earls Wives of knights

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