Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery, (10 October 1584 – 23 January 1650) was an English courtier, nobleman, and politician active during the reigns of James I and Charles I. He married Susan de Vere, the youngest daughter of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. Philip and his older brother William were the "incomparable pair of brethren" to whom the First Folio of Shakespeare's collected works was dedicated in 1623.
Born at Wilton House, he was the son of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, and his third wife, Mary Sidney, sister of Sir Philip Sidney the poet, after whom he was named.
In 1593, at age 9, Philip was sent to study at New College, Oxford, but left after a few months.
Favourite of James I, 1603–1625
In 1600 the 16-year-old Philip made his first appearance at court. On the accession of James I in 1603 he soon caught the king's eye. According to Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, and John Aubrey, Philip's major interests at the time were hunting and hawking and it was in these fields that he first drew the king's attention. In May 1603, James made Philip a gentleman of the privy chamber and a Knight of the Bath in July of the same year. Some historians believe that Philip and James had a sexual relationship as well around this time.
Philip Herbert and his brother William, performed in The Masque of Indian and China Knights at Hampton Court on 1 January 1604. On 27 December 1604, with James I's enthusiastic urging (he played a prominent role in the ceremony and provided generous financial gifts for the bride), Philip married Susan de Vere, the youngest daughter of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. That same year he was elected Member of Parliament for Glamorgan.
James continued bestowing favours throughout 1605, first making Philip a gentleman of the bedchamber and then creating him Baron Herbert of Shurland and Earl of Montgomery. In addition, James had Montgomery created MA during a visit of Oxford. In addition to hunting and hawking, Montgomery regularly participated in this period in tournaments and court masques. He also took an interest in gambling and amassed large debts, which James paid off for him in 1606/1607. In 1608, James made him a Knight of the Garter. He had him appointed high steward of Oxford in 1615.
When Montgomery had a noted quarrel with Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, after a game of tennis between the two in 1610, James stepped in to effect a reconciliation. Montgomery had a second violent quarrel, this time with Lord Howard de Walden, in 1617. He was to become notorious for his violent assaults, which were usually unprovoked, but he was invariably forgiven by the King.
Montgomery took a keen interest in English colonial ventures, which were just taking off at this time, and was involved with several joint stock companies: he became a member of the council of the Virginia Company in 1612; was one of the original incorporators of the Northwest Passage Company in 1612; and became a member of the Honourable East India Company in 1614.
Honours continued throughout the remainder of James' reign: Montgomery became keeper of the Palace of Westminster and St. James's Park in 1617; Lord Lieutenant of Kent in 1624; and finally, in December 1624, a member of the privy council.
The Earl of Montgomery produced a masque entertainment at Elsyng Palace, Enfield, in December 1618, performed by male courtiers and attended by Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford. The theme was a country wedding and George Goring played a farmer's son. According to Gerard Herbert, the masque was performed again at Theobalds for King James.
Continued favour under Charles I
After Charles I's accession to the throne in 1625, Montgomery continued to receive royal favour. He was appointed to the embassy which accompanied Henrietta Maria from Paris to England and went on to hold the spurs at Charles' coronation in 1626, before succeeding his older brother as Lord Chamberlain. He was made Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire in 1628. (Montgomery was a friend of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, serving as godfather of Buckingham's son Lord Charles Herbert, and in 1626 agreeing to a betrothal between his 4-year-old daughter and Lord Charles Herbert.)
Montgomery continued to be interested in colonial ventures under Charles I. He was an incorporator of the Guiana Company in 1626. In 1628, he received a grant of the islands of Trinidad, Tobago and Barbados.
Montgomery's first wife died in early 1629, and in 1630 he remarried, to Lady Anne Clifford, daughter of George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, and widow of Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset.
Montgomery's older brother died in 1630, and he succeeded to the title of Earl of Pembroke and to several of his brother's other titles, including Lord Lieutenant of Somerset and Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. He was soon appointed to his brother's former positions of high steward of the Duchy of Cornwall and Lord Warden of the Stannaries.
Pembroke maintained a large household of 80 at his home in London, and an even larger staff of over 150 at Wilton House, his family's ancestral seat in Wiltshire. Through the 1630s, Pembroke entertained Charles I at Wilton House for a hunting expedition every year. He encouraged Pembroke to rebuild Wilton House in the Palladian style, recommending Inigo Jones for the job (Salomon de Caus performed the work when Jones proved to be unavailable, while his brother, Isaac de Caus, designed a variety of formal and informal gardens for the property).
Pembroke was a fan of painting and a member of the Whitehall group. He amassed a large art collection and was a patron of Anthony van Dyck. This love of painting was shared with Charles I: in 1637, when Pope Urban VIII sent Charles a large shipment of paintings, Pembroke was one of a select group invited by Charles to join him in opening the cases (the group also included Henrietta Maria, Inigo Jones, and Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland). Pembroke promoted the artistic career of his page, Richard Gibson, who became a successful portrait miniaturist.