Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester
Charles Somerset | |
---|---|
Earl of Worcester | |
Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester holding white staff of Lord Chamberlain of the Household to King Henry VIII | |
Spouse(s) |
Elizabeth Herbert, 3rd Baroness Herbert Elizabeth West Eleanor Sutton |
Issue
Henry Somerset, 2nd Earl of Worcester Elizabeth Somerset Charles Somerset George Somerset Mary Somerset, Baroness Grey de Wilton | |
Noble family | Beaufort |
Father | Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset |
Mother | Joan Hill |
Born | 1460 |
Died | 15 March 1526 (aged 65–66) |
Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, KG (c. 1460 – 15 March 1526) was the legitimised bastard son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset by his mistress Joan Hill.
Origins
He was born in about 1460, an illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset[1] by his mistress Joan Hill.[2]
Career
He was invested as a Knight of the Garter in about 1496. On 1 February 1514 he was created Earl of Worcester and was at some time appointed Lord Chamberlain of the Household to King Henry VIII. As Lord Chamberlain, Somerset was largely responsible for the preparations for the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520.
Marriages & progeny
He married three times, although his second marriage is uncertain:
- Firstly on 2 June 1492, to Elizabeth Herbert, 3rd Baroness Herbert (died pre-March 1513) (daughter of William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, 2nd Baron Herbert) in right of whom he was created Lord Herbert.[3] By Elizabeth Herbert he had the following children:
- Henry Somerset, 2nd Earl of Worcester,[4] only son and heir
- Elizabeth Somerset, his only daughter, wife successively of Sir John Savage and Sir William Brereton.
- Secondly to Elizabeth West, daughter of Sir Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr. His supposed marriage to Elizabeth West, however, may be an error made by Dugdale, repeated by later writers.[5] By Elizabeth West he supposedly had the following progeny:
- Sir Charles Somerset
- Sir George Somerset
- Lady Mary Somerset of Worcester, wife successively of William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton and of Robert Carre.
- Thirdly to Eleanor Sutton, daughter of Edward Sutton, 2nd Lord Dudley.[6]
Death & burial
Somerset died on 15 April 1526 and was buried with his first wife at St. George's Chapel.
Notes
- ↑ Burke, John, Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of peerage, baronetage and knightage, (G.P.Putnam's Sons:New York, 1914), 207.
- ↑ Gurney, E. Henry, Reference handbook for readers, students, and teachers of English history , (Ginn & Company:Boston, 1890), 55.
- ↑ Burke, 207.
- ↑ McClain, Molly, Beaufort: the duke and his duchess, 1657-1715, (Yale University Press, 2001), xxi
- ↑ Jonathan Hughes, "Somerset , Charles, first earl of Worcester (c.1460–1526)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edition, January 2007 [accessed 1 Sept 2010] (Subscription required for online version)
- ↑ Burke, 207
References
- Burke, John, Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of peerage, baronetage and knightage, G.P.Putnam's Sons:New York, 1914.
- Gurney, E. Henry, Reference handbook for readers, students, and teachers of English history , Ginn & Company:Boston, 1890.
- McClain, Molly, Beaufort: the duke and his duchess, 1657-1715, Yale University Press, 2001.
Political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by The Earl of Oxford |
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard 1486–1509 |
Succeeded by Sir Henry Guilford |
Preceded by Giles Daubeny |
Lord Chamberlain 1508–1526 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Arundel |
Peerage of England | ||
Preceded by New Creation |
Earl of Worcester 1514–1526 |
Succeeded by Henry Somerset |