Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester

Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, KG (c. 1460 – 15 March 1526) was an English nobleman and politician. He was the bastard son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset by his mistress Joan Hill.[1]

Charles Somerset
Earl of Worcester
Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester holding white staff of Lord Chamberlain of the Household to King Henry VIII
Born1460
Died15 March 1526 (aged 65–66)
Noble familyBeaufort
Spouse(s)
Issue
FatherHenry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
MotherJoan Hill

Origins

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Somerset was born in about 1460, an illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset[2] by his mistress Joan Hill.[3] He was legitimised.

Career

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Somerset was invested as a Knight of the Garter in about 1496. On his marriage in 1492 he was styled Baron Herbert in right of his wife, and in 1506 he was created Baron Herbert of Ragland, Chepstow and Gower.[4]

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.[5] As Lord Chamberlain, Somerset was largely responsible for the preparations for the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520.

Somerset was both raised to high rank in the Henry VIII's reign[6] and was personally connected with leading members of the nobility. For example, he stood in surety for the loan from the King taken by Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury to pay for her husbands burial.[7]

Marriages and children

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He married three times, although his second marriage is uncertain.

Firstly on 2 June 1492, he married Elizabeth Herbert, 3rd Baroness Herbert (died before March 1513), daughter of William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, jure exoris 2nd Baron Herbert.[2] By Elizabeth Herbert he had the following children:

  • Elizabeth Somerset, his only daughter, wife successively of Sir John Savage and Sir William Brereton.

Secondly he allegedly married 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 William Dugdale, repeated by later writers.[9] By Elizabeth West he supposedly had the following children:

Thirdly he married Eleanor Sutton, daughter of Edward Sutton, 2nd Baron Dudley.[2] After Somerset's death, she married secondly to Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane.

His descendants include the Marquesses of Worcester, the Dukes of Beaufort[10] and Thomas Savage, 1st Viscount Savage.[11]

Death and burial

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Somerset died on 15 March 1526 and was buried with his first wife at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Coat of Arms

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Family tree

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References

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  1. ^ Burke's Peerage and Baronetage. Burke's Peerage. 1999. p. 220. ISBN 978-1-57958-083-4.
  2. ^ a b c Burke, John, Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of peerage, baronetage and knightage, (G.P.Putnam's Sons:New York, 1914), p. 207.
  3. ^ Gurney, E. Henry. (1890) Reference handbook for readers, students, and teachers of English history. Boston: Ginn & Company. p. 55.
  4. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Worcester, Earls and Marquesses of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 820.
  5. ^ Chisholm 1911.
  6. ^ Williams, Penry (1979). The Tudor Regime. Clarendon Press. p. 433. ISBN 978-0-19-822491-4.
  7. ^ "Margaret Plantagenet: Life Story, Chapter 3: Widows and Orphans (1504 – 1509)". Tudor Times. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  8. ^ McClain, Molly. (2001) Beaufort: The Duke and His Duchess, 1657-1715. Yale University Press. p. xxi. ISBN 9780300084115.
  9. ^ Hughes, Johnathan (23 September 2004). "Somerset [formerly Beaufort], Charles, first earl of Worcester (c. 1460–1526), courtier and magnate". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  10. ^ Pollard, Albert Frederick (1901). "Beaufort, Henry (1436-1464)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.) Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). Vol. I. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 158.
  11. ^ Boothman, Lyn; Parker, Richard Hyde; Dymond, David Percy (2006). Savage Fortune: An Aristocratic Family in the Early Seventeenth Century. Boydell & Brewer. pp. x. ISBN 978-1-84383-199-0.

References

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  • 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 Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
1486–1509
Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord Chamberlain
1508–1526
Succeeded by
Peerage of England
New creation Earl of Worcester
1514–1526
Succeeded by