William Herbert, 1st Marquess of Powis, KG, 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 assassinat ...

. 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 II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...

, having been appointed to the Privy Council 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 t ...

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 child and son of John Talbot of Longford, Newport, Shropshire (died London, 1607 or c. 1607), and his wife Eleano ...

. 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 ...

and the former Lady Eleanor Percy (third daughter of

Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainme ...

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

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

, and a sister to Mary Craven (wife of

Thomas Coventry, 2nd Baron Coventry Thomas Coventry, 2nd Baron Coventry (c. 1606 – 27 October 1661) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1625 and 1629 and was subsequently a member of the House of Lords. He supported the Royalist cause in the English ...

), 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 W ...

Career

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

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 was the Baptis ...

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 citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

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, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

of 1688. It was he who spirited away Queen Mary and the infant

James, Prince of Wales James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until ...

, and took them into their French exile. As a reward, he was created "Duke of Powis" and "Marquess of Montgomery" in the

Jacobite Peerage The Jacobite peerage includes those peerages created by James II and VII, and the subsequent Jacobite pretenders, after James's deposition from the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. These creati ...

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 Privy Council and made him

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

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

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

, 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 one of the three Great Officers of the Household of the British monarch. He is, by tradition, the first great officer of the Court and he takes precedence over all other officers of the househ ...

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. A lady of the bedchamber would gi ...

to Queen Mary of Modena and Royal Governess to

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. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

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 ...

. 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 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...

. 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 Marquess of Powis, William Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis. He had already succeeded his father as third Baron Powis in 1667 and had been created ...

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 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 hereditary titles, but ...

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 that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

, - , - , - , - {{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 * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, Northern Territor ...

3 1 Earls of Powis Impeached British officials Knights of the Garter