Arnulf de Montgomery The title of Earl of Pembroke has been held successively by several English families, the jurisdiction and dignity being originally attached to the
county palatine of Pembrokeshire.
William Rufus may have invested
Arnulf de Montgomery with the Earldom of Pembroke in the late 11th century as a reward for the construction of
Pembroke Castle.
The first creation: de Clare (1138) •
Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1100–1147) •
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1130–1176) •
Gilbert de Clare, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1173–1185) •
Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke (1172–1220) The first definite creation came decades later in 1138. Two years previously Welsh forces had
severely defeated Norman forces and in partial reaction in 1138 Pembrokeshire became a
county palatine with
King Stephen creating
Gilbert de Clare, as an earl. Gilbert was already
Lord of Striguil (modern
Chepstow) who was married to Isabel de Beaumont,
Henry I's former mistress. His son
Richard (commonly known as
Strongbow) also supported Stephen and so was treated with suspicion by Matilda's son,
Henry II who on Gilbert's death in 1148 seems to have to refused to recognise Richard's claims to the earldom of Pembroke although his claim to the lesser
lordship of Striguil does not seem to have been challenged. Being effectively disinherited by the king (for the first but not the last time in his life) and with mounting debts, Richard welcomed the opportunity to restore his fortunes that presented itself in 1168. In that year, he was chosen to lead a Norman expedition to
Ireland in support of
Diarmait Mac Murchada, the deposed
King of Leinster. The Lord of Striguil crossed over in person in 1170, took both
Waterford and
Dublin, and was married to Diarmuid's daughter,
Aoife MacMurrough, claiming the Kingship of Leinster after Diarmuid's death in 1171.
Henry II, wary of his power, stripped Strongbow of his new holdings the same year and invaded Ireland himself in 1171, putting his people in power. Strongbow returned to favour and power in Ireland, in 1173 when he aided the King in
his campaign against his rebelling sons. He died in 1176 after years of bitter struggle with Irish magnates. Strongbow died with male issue - Gilbert. However, Gilbert, being a minor, was not formally invested with either the earldom of Pembroke or of Striguil. It is unlikely that his father could have passed on the title to Pembroke as he himself did not possess it. When Gilbert died in 1185, his sister
Isabel de Clare became Countess of Pembroke in her own right (
suo jure) until her death in 1220. In this way, she could be said to be the first successor to the earldom of Pembroke since her grandfather Gilbert, the first earl. By this reckoning, Isabel ought to be called the second countess, not the fourth countess of Pembroke. In any event, the title Earl was re-created for her husband as her consort, the famous
Sir William Marshal, son of
John the Marshal, by Sibylle, the sister of
Patrick, Earl of Salisbury.
The second creation: Marshal (1199) in London •
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146–1219) •
William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1190–1231) •
Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1234) •
Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (died 1241) •
Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke (1245) •
Anselm Marshal, 6th Earl of Pembroke (died 1245) In August 1189, at the age of 43, William Marshal, held by many to be the greatest knight in Christendom, was given the hand of Isabel de Clare, and, in 1199, was created the 1st Earl of Pembroke by
King John. Although he had previously served Richard's father, Henry II, against Richard's rebellions, Richard confirmed the old King's licence for his marriage with the heiress of Strigul and Pembroke. He served Richard and
John loyally, defending the latter against the French and English rebel barons in the
First Barons' War. He was present at the signing of
Magna Carta in 1215. Upon John's death in 1216, the seventy-year-old Marshal was named
Regent of the kingdom and protector of the young King,
Henry III. He defeated the rebels and their French allies, and reissued Magna Carta in order to secure the peace. He fell ill early in 1219, and died on 14 May at his manor of
Caversham near Reading. He was succeeded in the regency by
Hubert de Burgh, and in his Earldom by his five sons in succession. Marshal's eldest son,
William Marshal (died 1231), 2nd Earl of Pembroke of this line, passed some years in warfare in Wales and Ireland, where he was justiciar from 1224 to 1226; he also served
Henry III in France. His second wife was the King's sister,
Eleanor, who later married
Simon de Montfort, but he left no children. His brother
Richard Marshal (died 1234), 3rd Earl, came to the fore as the leader of the baronial party, and chief antagonist of the foreign friends of Henry III. Fearing treachery, he refused to visit the King at Gloucester in August 1233, and Henry declared him a traitor. He crossed to Ireland, where
Peter des Roches had instigated his enemies to attack him, and in April 1234, he was overpowered and wounded, and died a prisoner. His brother Gilbert (), who became the 4th Earl, was a friend and ally of
Richard, Earl of Cornwall. When another brother, Anselm, the 6th Earl, died in December 1245, the male descendants of the great Earl Marshal became extinct. The extensive family possessions were now divided among Anselm's five sisters and their descendants, the Earldom of Pembroke reverting to the Crown.
The third creation: de Valence (1247) •
William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1296) •
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1324) (extinct) The next holder of the lands of the Earldom of Pembroke was William de Valence, a younger son of
Hugh de Lusignan, count of
La Marche, by his marriage with
Isabella of Angoulême, widow of the English King John. In 1247, William, along with two of his brothers, moved from France to England, where their half-brother,
Henry III was King. The King married William to Joan de Munchensi (), a granddaughter and heiress to the great
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke. Valence was granted custody of the lands, and the title of Earl of Pembroke, giving him great wealth and power in his new land. As a result, he was unpopular, and was heavily involved in the
Second Barons' War, supporting the King and
Prince Edward against the rebels led by
Simon de Montfort. After the final defeat of the rebels at the
Battle of Evesham in 1265, William continued to serve Henry III, and then Edward I, until his death in 1296. William's eldest surviving son,
Aymer (1324), succeeded to his father's estates, but was not formally recognized as Earl of Pembroke until after the death of his mother Joan in 1307. He was appointed guardian of Scotland in 1306, but with the accession of
Edward II to the throne and the consequent rise of
Piers Gaveston to power, his influence declined. He became prominent among the discontented nobles, but in 1312, after the
Earl of Warwick betrayed him by executing the captured Gaveston, he left the allied lords and joined the King. Valence was present at
Bannockburn in 1314, and later helped King Edward defeat
Thomas of Lancaster. However, by his death in 1324, he was again marginalized at court, and in financial trouble as well. His wife,
Marie de St Pol, a descendant of King Henry III, was the founder of
Pembroke College, Cambridge.
The fourth creation (1339): Hastings •
Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1319–1348) •
John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1347–1375) •
John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1372–1389) (extinct) Lawrence, a great-grandson of William de Valence was created, or recognized as, Earl of Pembroke, having inherited (through the female line) a portion of the estates of the Valence Earls of Pembroke. His son
John (died 1376) married Margaret, daughter of King Edward III, and on the death without issue of his
grandson in 1389, the Earldom of Pembroke reverted again to the Crown.
The fifth creation (1414): Plantagenet •
Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester (1390–1447) (extinct) Humphrey, the fourth son of
King Henry IV, was created Duke of Gloucester and Earl of Pembroke for life, these titles being subsequently made hereditary, with a reversion as regards the Earldom of Pembroke, in default of heirs to Humphrey, to
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
The sixth creation (1447): de la Pole •
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk (1396–1450) (extinct) On the death of Humphrey without legitimate issue in 1447, William de la Pole became Earl of Pembroke. He was beheaded in 1450 and his titles were forfeited.
The seventh creation (1452): Tudor •
Jasper Tudor, 1st Duke of Bedford (–1495) (forfeit 1461; restored 1485) (extinct) Sir Jasper Tudor was the half-brother of
King Henry VI. Being a Lancastrian, his title was forfeited for 24 years during the predominance of the
House of York.
The eighth creation (1468): Herbert •
William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1423–1469) •
William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (died 1491) (surrendered 1479) Following Jasper Tudor's attainder, Sir William Herbert, a zealous Yorkist, was raised to the peerage as Baron Herbert by
Edward IV. Herbert took the Lancastrian Jasper Tudor prisoner during the civil war. For this service, he was created Earl of Pembroke in 1468. Perhaps mindful of its earlier Tudor holder, the second earl surrendered his title to Edward IV ten years after acceding and received, in lieu, the
Earldom of Huntingdon. The grandson of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke was newly created Earl of Pembroke in 1551 and the current Earl is a descendant of this house.
The ninth creation (1479): York •
Edward Plantagenet (1470–1483) (merged into crown 1483) In 1479, Edward IV conferred the title on his son, Edward, Prince of Wales. When this prince succeeded to the throne as
Edward V of England, the Earldom of Pembroke merged with the crown. Following the defeat of the House of York, the earldom (and kingdom) were restored to the Tudors with the accession of
Henry VII.
Marquess of Pembroke (1532): Anne Boleyn •
Anne Boleyn, (1501/7–1536) On 1 September 1532, a few months prior to her marriage to
Henry VIII, Anne was granted the Marquessate of Pembroke; she was found guilty of treason and executed in May 1536, at which point the title became either forfeit or extinct at her death without male children.
The tenth creation (1551): Herbert and his second wife,
Lady Anne Clifford, and his Family by
Van Dyck. (Wilton House) The title was next revived in favour of
Sir William Herbert, whose father, Richard, was an illegitimate son of the 1st Earl of Pembroke of the house of Herbert. He had married
Anne Parr, sister of Henry VIII's sixth wife,
Catherine Parr, and was created Earl in 1551. The title has since been held by their descendants. ==Namesakes==