William Herbert, 1st earl of Pembroke

William Herbert was an English noble who was a leading figure in the reigns of Edward VI (1547-1553), Mary I (1553-1558), and Elizabeth I (1558-1603) of England.

Herbert proved himself as a soldier and his place in high politics was assured with his marriage to Anne Parr, younger sister of Catherine Parr, who became Henry's (r. 1509-1547) sixth queen. In 1544, he received rich estates belonging to the dissolved abbey of Wilton, where he destroyed the monastic buildings and built the magnificent Wilton House.

Herbert was a governor to the young king Edward VI, and he helped to suppress the rebellion in Wiltshire, Devon, and Cornwall in 1549. In 1553 he sided with Lady Jane Grey, titular queen of England for nine days, but crucially deserted her for Mary. After Mary’s death he switched his loyalty to Elizabeth I, where he was again regarded with some suspicion, especially after he supported a scheme for Mary, Queen of Scots to marry the Duke of Norfolk. He was arrested in 1569, but managed to talk his way out.

At the time of his death he was worth about £40,000. In 2010 he would be worth about £7.3bn.