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William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke KG (c. 1423 – 27 July 1469), known as "Black William", was a Welsh nobleman, soldier, politician, and courtier.

Life

He was the son of William ap Thomas, founder of Raglan Castle, and Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam, and grandson of Dafydd Gam, an adherent of King Henry V of England. His father had been an ally of Richard of York, and Herbert supported the Yorkist cause in the Wars of the Roses. In 1461 Herbert was rewarded by King Edward IV with the title Baron Herbert of Raglan (having assumed an English-style surname in place of the Welsh patronymic), and was invested as a Knight of the Garter.

Soon after the decisive Yorkist victory at the Battle of Towton in 1461, Herbert replaced Jasper Tudor as Earl of Pembroke which gave him control of Pembroke Castle – and with it, he gained the wardship of young Henry Tudor. However, he fell out with Lord Warwick "the Kingmaker" in 1469, when Warwick turned against the King. Herbert was denounced by Warwick and the Duke of Clarence as one of the king's "evil advisers". William and his brother Richard were executed by Warwick in Northampton, after the Battle of Edgcote, which took place in South Northamptonshire, near Banbury.

Herbert was succeeded by his son, William, but the earldom was surrendered in 1479. It was later revived for a grandson, another William Herbert, the son of Black William's illegitimate son, Sir Richard Herbert of Ewyas.

Marriage and children

He married Anne Devereux, daughter of Walter Devereux, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and Elizabeth Merbury. They had at least ten children:

• William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (5 March 1451 – 16 July 1491).
• Sir Walter Herbert. (c. 1452 – 16 September 1507) Married Lady Anne Stafford, sister to the Duke of Buckingham.
• Sir George Herbert of St. Julians.
• Philip Herbert of Lanyhangel.
• Cecilie Herbert.
• Maud Herbert. Married Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland.
• Katherine Herbert. Married George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent.
• Anne Herbert. Married John Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Powis, 9th Lord of Powys (died 1497).
• Isabel Herbert. Married Sir Thomas Cokesey.
• Margaret Herbert. Married first Thomas Talbot, 2nd Viscount Lisle, and secondly Sir Henry Bodrugan.

William had three illegitimate sons but the identities of their mothers are unconfirmed:

• Sir Richard Herbert of Ewyas. Father of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (of the 10th creation). Probably son of Maud, daughter of Adam ap Howell Graunt (Gwynn).
• Sir George Herbert. The son of Frond verch Hoesgyn. Married Sybil Croft.
• Sir William Herbert of Troye. Son of Frond verch Hoesgyn. Married, secondly, Blanche Whitney (née Milborne). They had two sons.

See also

• The White Queen (miniseries)

References

1. Griffiths, R.A. (2004). "Herbert, William, first earl of Pembroke (c. 1423–1469)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/13053. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. Doubleday, H.A. & Lord Howard de Walden, eds. (1945). The Complete Peerage. Vol. 10 (2nd ed.). London: St. Catherine Press. p. 401 n. 'g'.
3. The Battle of Edgecote or Banbury (1469) Through the Eyes of Contemporary Welsh Poets, Barry Lewis, Journal of Medieval Military History: Volume IX, ed. Anne Curry, Adrian R. Bell, (Boydell Press, 2011), 101.
4. "Sir George Herbert". tudorplace.com.
5. "Ruth E. Richardson,'Mistress Blanche, Queen Elizabeth I's Confidante'"

v t e Wars of the Roses
Red Rose of Lancaster White Rose of York Tudor rose Family tree
Key figures	Monarchs Henry VI Edward IV Edward V Richard III Henry VII Lancaster Tudor Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset John Beaumont, Viscount Beaumont Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley James Butler, Earl of Ormond John Butler, Earl of Ormond John Clifford, Baron Clifford John Courtenay, Earl of Devon Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter John Neville, Baron Neville John Neville, Marquess of Montagu Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick Thomas Neville, Bastard of Fauconberg Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland Thomas Ros, Baron Ros Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby George Stanley, Baron Strange William Stanley George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury Andrew Trollope Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron Clifford James Tuchet, Baron Audley Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke Margaret Beaufort Owen Tudor Edward Woodville, Lord Scales York Anne Neville, Queen of England John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln Thomas FitzGerald, Earl of Desmond William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke William Hastings, Baron Hastings John Howard, Duke of Norfolk Francis Lovell, Viscount Lovell John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury Sir Thomas Neville William Neville, Earl of Kent Sir Richard Herbert Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Devon Margaret of York Richard of York
Events	St Albans (First) Loveday (1458) Blore Heath Ludford Bridge Sandwich Siege of the Tower of London Northampton Worksop Wakefield Mortimer's Cross St Albans (Second) Ferrybridge Towton Piltown Hedgeley Moor Hexham Edgcote 1470 Lincolnshire Rebellion Losecoat Field Readeption of Henry VI Barnet Tewkesbury Siege of London Buckingham's rebellion Bosworth Field Stafford and Lovell rebellion Stoke Field
See also	Act of Accord Issue of Edward III of England Titulus Regius Princes in the Tower Bonville–Courtenay feud Percy–Neville feud Neville–Neville feud Perkin Warbeck Battle of Deal Second Cornish uprising of 1497
Briefly joined the Lancastrians. Briefly joined the Yorkists. Defected from the Yorkist to the Lancastrian cause. Initially a Yorkist who later supported the Tudor claim. Initially a Lancastrian who later supported the Tudor claim. Category

• 1420s births
• 1469 deaths
• Barons Herbert
• Earls of Pembroke (1468 creation)
• Executed Welsh people
• Herbert family
• Knights of the Garter
• People executed under the Plantagenets by decapitation
• People executed under the Yorkists
• People of the Wars of the Roses