Perrot was born between 7 November and 11 November 1528, probably at the family seat of
Haroldston Manor near
Haverfordwest in
Pembrokeshire in the south-west of
Wales. He was the only son of Thomas Perrot (1504/05–1531) and
Mary Berkeley (c.1511–c.1586), the daughter of James Berkeley (died c. 1515) of
Thornbury, Gloucestershire. He had two sisters: Jane, who married Sir John Philipps, 1st Baronet of
Picton Castle, and Elizabeth, who married John Price of
Gogerddan. Perrot was educated, according to his own testimony, at the cathedral school in
St Davids, on the western coastline of Pembrokeshire. Perrot resembled
Henry VIII in temperament and physical appearance, and it was widely believed that he was the bastard son of the late King. The main source for this belief was Sir
Robert Naunton (husband of Perrot's granddaughter, Penelope), who had never known Perrot and used second-hand accounts to make his case. The case is weakened by the fact that Perrot was Mary Berkeley's third child, not her first, and that she and the King are not recorded to have been in the same place at the crucial time. suggesting that Perrot himself asserted his royal paternity. However, Hopton had been removed from office by the Queen eighteen months prior to Perrot's imprisonment, so he could not have overheard Perrot make the claim there. Perrot joined the household of
William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester, and thereby gained his introduction to Henry VIII. His advancement faltered on the death of the King in January 1547, but in the following month he was
knighted at the coronation of Henry's successor,
Edward VI. In 1551, Perrot was appointed
High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire, and in June of the same year he visited France in the train of
William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, who had been sent to arrange Edward VI's betrothal to
Elisabeth of Valois, the young daughter of
Henry II of France. Perrot's skill as a knight and in the hunt fascinated King Henry, who sought to retain him for reward. Perrot declined, but on his return to
England his debts were paid by the French Crown. During the reign of
Mary I, Perrot suffered brief imprisonment in the
Fleet with his uncle, Robert Perrot, on a charge of sheltering heretics at his house in Wales. Following his release, he declined to assist the
Earl of Pembroke in seeking out heretics in south Wales, but in 1557 was content to serve the same Earl at the
capture of Saint-Quentin in France. Perrot inherited the
castle and lordship of
Carew. At the beginning of
Elizabeth I's reign the naval defence of
South Wales was entrusted to his care. His advancement continued in 1562, when he was elected
Knight of Pembrokeshire. He served as member of
parliament for
Carmarthenshire in 1547,
Sandwich in 1553 and 1555,
Wareham in 1559 (presumably through pressure exerted on the Rogers family by the
2nd Earl of Bedford, his former commander),
Pembrokeshire in 1563, and
Haverfordwest in 1589. ==Munster==