Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke
The 10th Earl, his wife Elizabeth Spencer,
and their son the 11th Earl (born 1759) as a boy.
Engraving by James Watson, after painting by
Sir Joshua Reynolds,
published 1773.
See
full size.
From
NPG.
See
terms of use.
Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke
and 7th Earl of Montgomery,
born July 1734, Pembroke House, London.
Descendant of
Edward III.
See
Wikipedia
and
Wikitree
and
thepeerage
and
genealogics.
His nickname as a child was "Chuff".
-
A footnote
in the publication of a letter of 1738
thought "Chuff" referred to the family dog.
This seems to be an error.
Note
in 2057/F4/25
says Chuff does not refer to the dog but to "one of the children".
- Henry signs himself "Chuff" in childhood letter of 29 Nov 1743.
See 2057/F4/25.
-
His uncle
Robert Sawyer Herbert
writes to 9th Earl on 4 Jan 1744.
See 2057/F4/25.
He refers to his nephew as "Chuff".
He was
educ
Eton.
Supposed to be there 1748-1750.
Though he
appears in
list of 1747-1748.
[PP, vol.1, p.22]
thinks he was at Eton by 1746, left 1750.
He
succ as Earl age 15 in Jan 1750 when his
father died.
His seat was the great mansion of
Wilton House, Wiltshire.
Like all the Earls since the 3rd Earl, he became
Visitor of Jesus College, Oxford
when he became Earl.
His mother
remarried in Sept 1751.
Henry
went on an extensive
Grand Tour
1751-1755.
In 1752-53 (age 18) he was appointed a
Cornet
in the
1st Dragoon Guards.
He spent nearly a year in
Florence,
from Dec 1753 to Oct 1754.
On 16 Feb 1754 he became a
Captain
in the
1st Dragoon Guards.
He became an
authority on breaking cavalry horses.
Returned to England in Dec 1755, now age 21.
He
built indoor
Riding School
at Wilton House in
1755 (now visitors centre).
He
commissioned 55 paintings of military riding exercises 1755.
These now hang in Large Smoking Room, Wilton.
They were published in
The Wilton House Riding School, Dorian Williams.
- A stillborn baby,
born 9 June 1758, Pembroke House.
- George Augustus Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke.
He was born 10 Sept 1759 (NOT 20 Sept), either Wilton House
or Whitehall, London (must be Pembroke House).
He was bapt 29 Oct 1759,
St Martin in the Fields,
London.
See entry
from here.
[PP, vol.1, p.30]
seems wrong to say bapt at Wilton.
"George" was not a Herbert name before this.
He was possibly named after the Spencer side.
His uncle
George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough,
had just succeeded as Duke in 1758.
- Charlotte Herbert,
born 14 July 1773.
2057/L/9
says 15 July.
She died from consumption, in France, 21 Apr 1784, age 10 yrs.
Henry was
appointed
Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire
3 April 1756.
Though 2057/L/9
says 6 April.
Held that post until 22 March 1780.
On 27 Sept 1756 he became a Major
in the 1st Foot Guards.
He was made a Lord of the Bedchamber to
George, Prince of Wales (later George III)
in Nov 1756.
In 1756-1759 he re-built the family's town house,
Pembroke House, London.
He lived in the family's old London house,
12 St James's Square, London,
until Pembroke House was finished in 1759.
On 9 May 1758 he was appointed Aide-de-Camp to
George II.
On 14 Mar 1759 he became
Lieutenant Colonel
in the new
15th Light Dragoons.
He
was despatched c. early 1760 with his regiment to Germany
to take part in the
Seven Years' War
(spanned 1756-63, Prussia was Britain's ally).
He served under
John Manners, Marquess of Granby
(as did
Dr. William Kerr).
He was present at the Battle of Warburg, central Germany, 31 July 1760.
Lord of the Bedchamber to
George III 1760-1763.
He became a Major-General 10 Mar 1761.
He commanded the Cavalry Brigade in Germany 1761-63.
He
wrote the British Army's manual on riding,
Military Equitation: or A Method of Breaking Horses, and Teaching Soldiers to Ride
(1761).
His methods were adopted throughout the British cavalry.
(His book had gone into
4th edn
by 1793.)
- Augustus Reebkomp (later Montgomery),
illegitimate child,
born 23 Nov 1762.
[PP, vol.1, p.33]
thought he was
born in England, and
[Thomas, 2008]
thought he was born in Whitehall (Pembroke House).
But apparently not, since he was baptised in Holland
(where the lovers had gone to escape the scandal).
Must be born in Holland.
He was bapt
16 Dec 1762,
at the village of Loenen, province of Utrecht, Holland.
Listed as
child of Henry Herbert, Earl of Pembroke,
and Catherine Hunter.
Baptism is recorded in records of
St. Mary's Church, Rotterdam, Holland.
Though Loenen is a long way from Rotterdam.
See image
from [NA.UK],
General Register Office: Foreign Registers and Returns; Class: RG 33; Piece: 89.
His surname is "Herbert" at baptism but they then settled on "Reebkomp"
or "Repkombe", anagrams of "Pembroke".
He is
referred to in letters as "Reeb" or "Rep".
They also gave him a first name
"Retnuh", which is "Hunter" backwards.
"Retnuh Augustus Herbert" at baptism.
"Augustus Retnuh Repkombe" in Eton College register.
"Augustus Retnuh Reebkomp"
or
"Augustus Reebkomp" in Navy records until he changed to "Augustus Montgomery".
See ancestry at
genealogics.org
and
thepeerage.
Henry returned to England Feb 1763 and was reconciled to his wife Mar 1763.
His wife
Elizabeth was admired by the King
George III
in the early 1760s.
This came back to embarrass her
when he suffered madness in later life.
The Marquess of Tavistock
was also
an admirer of Lady Pembroke, and he
"studied law for six months to see whether a divorce was possible for a wife 'on the notorious adultery of her husband'"
[Thomas, 2008].
In 1768 Henry wrote another book, Instructions for the Education of Cavalry.
Affair in 1768:
Henry had another affair in 1768, and an illegitimate daughter.
[PP, vol.1, p.41]
says there was a story that he had an affair in Venice,
and he carried the lady off on the very night of her wedding to someone else.
[Thomas, 2008]
suggests she might be Maria Lavinia Capriano, who is mentioned in Henry's will.
It is unclear if the Venice lady is the mother of the following child Caroline.
A letter in 1780
[PP, vol.1, p.394]
says Caroline's mother is dead.
Henry
had illegitimate issue by unknown woman:
- Caroline Medkaff,
or Medkalf, or Medcalf,
born 1768 or 1769, illegitimate.
See Wikitree.
WSHC
says
"Mebkoper" is an anagram for Pembroke,
and "Medkalf" is an "Anglicisation" of that.
As with his other illegitimate child Augustus, the 10th Earl acknowledged Caroline and paid for her.
She was
educ in France and England.
She
mar 1786, London, to John Williams
[himself an illegitimate child of gentry]
and had issue.
She is listed at marriage as of parish of
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London.
Henry was again a Lord of the Bedchamber to
George III in 1770-1780.
He became a
Lieutenant-General 30 Apr 1770.
The King and Queen stayed with them at
Wilton for two nights in 1778.
See Royal visit to Wilton, 1778.
"Husbands are dreadfull and powerfull Animals" wrote the long-suffering Elizabeth
after taking her husband back.
But she was not completely helpless.
She prevented him from giving Reebkomp the surname "Herbert".
(Reebkomp had to make do with adopting the name "Montgomery" in
1781.)
She and Henry ended up in separate quarters at Wilton (him downstairs, her upstairs).
Henry advanced to the rank
of
General 26 Nov 1782.
He was Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire
again from 8 April 1782 to death 1794.
He was
Governor of Portsmouth 1782-1794.
See inventories of his property
at the Government House, Portsmouth, dates 1785 to 1792.
Elizabeth leaves Henry:
Elizabeth was Lady of the Bedchamber
to Queen Charlotte
in
1783-1818.
Eventually she left Henry in 1788.
She moved to Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park, London.
This was a house granted to her by the King in 1787.
She moved there in 1788
and extended it.
The King's madness:
But then the King, who had been attracted to Elizabeth all his life,
suffered his first bout of insanity in 1788,
and she had to endure (at age 51) the embarrassment of his unwanted attentions.
See will of 10th Earl dated 26 May 1788.
He leaves Wilton House and Pembroke House to his son George.
At the start of the will he says he leaves £1000 to his wife
and then immediately says he leaves £100
to his ex-lover Kitty Hunter.
He then makes provision for his son by her, Augustus Montgomery.
He then makes provision for a list of children, who may be further natural children of his.
Henry dies, 1794:
The last codicil to his will was written 21 Sept 1793.
In a letter of 26 Dec 1793 it is reported that he has had what seems like a stroke
and is part paralysed.
He
died at Wilton, 26 Jan 1794, age 59 yrs.
He was
bur 3 Feb 1794 at
Wilton parish church.
His will proved 21 March 1794,
Prerogative Court of Canterbury.
Elizabeth continued to live at Pembroke Lodge in London,
leaving Wilton House to her son the 11th Earl.
Augustus Reebkomp died 1797.
Elizabeth suffered the unwanted attentions of the King sporadically until 1805 (her age 68).
She outlived her son the 11th Earl
who died 26 Oct 1827.
She outlived both her son and her husband's natural son.
Her will dated 17 Nov 1827.
Elizabeth dies, 1831:
She is listed as of Richmond Park at death.
She died at Pembroke Lodge, 30 Apr 1831, age 93 yrs.
Her will proved 26 May 1831,
Prerogative Court of Canterbury.
"Lord Herbert" at Eton in
list of 1747-48.
From
p.43
of
Eton College Lists, 1678-1790.
Listing of the Earls in
[Watson's Almanack, Dublin, 1761].
Shows the 10th Earl of Pembroke
with his London town house at
"Privy-Garden".
See full size.
See another copy.
Title page of the
4th edn (1793)
of the 10th Earl's book
Military Equitation.
The 1st edn was dated from
Pembroke House
15 Feb 1761.
Letter of 26 Dec 1793 from
Susanna, Marchioness of Stafford
to her son
Granville Leveson-Gower (later 1st Earl Granville).
This reports that the 10th Earl of Pembroke has had what seems like a stroke
and is part paralysed.
Lady Stafford hopes that he will now repent of his "great Sins" before his death.
From pp.72-73
of vol.1
of Lord Granville Leveson Gower: private correspondence,
pub 1916.
The ship, the Earl of Pembroke
- The Earl of Pembroke (1764)
-
Captain Cook's famous ship,
the
Endeavour,
was formerly the
Earl of Pembroke.
- It was
a merchant ship built in 1764,
and
named after the 10th Earl of Pembroke.
-
It was
purchased for Cook in 1768, refitted and renamed
the Endeavour.
- It was scuttled in 1778.
- A replica was built, finished in 1994.
- The Earl of Pembroke (1994)
-
There is a modern replica 18th century ship called
the
Earl of Pembroke.
-
This was
built in 1945 as the
Orion.
- It was
reconstructed as an 18th century style ship in 1994.
-
This has been
used in many films,
and was re-named the Earl of Pembroke in the time of the
17th Earl the film-maker.
-
However, the inspiration for the name was apparently the fact that
Captain Cook's Endeavour
used to be the
Earl of Pembroke.
The
Earl of Pembroke, later HMS
Endeavour,
leaving
Whitby Harbour, North Yorkshire, in 1768.
See
full size.
From
here.
The Madness of King George
- Lady Pembroke (Elizabeth Spencer, wife of the 10th Earl) features in the movie
The Madness of King George
(1994).
-
The movie shows the mad King harassing her,
but shows her (and the Queen) remaining loyal to him.
- The ages are not accurate:
-
Set in 1788, Lady Pembroke was actually much older than portrayed.
She was age 51 in real life but is
played by 32 year old Amanda Donohoe.
- In 1788,
the King was age 50,
the Queen was age 44,
and Lady Pembroke was age 51.
- However in the movie,
the actor playing the King is age 65,
the actress playing the Queen is age 49,
and the actress playing Lady Pembroke is age 32.
-
In the movie, Lady Pembroke
says "My mother-in-law lost her wits" [but is now cured].
This is invention.
Her mother-in-law Mary Fitzwilliam died in 1769.
- It is obviously more accurate than, say, the ludicrous
Bridgerton
series,
but it is still not that accurate.
- Movie scenes shot in Wilton
The King introduces her:
"Now, that's Lady Pembroke. Handsome woman, what?
Daughter of the Duke of Marlborough. Stuff of generals. Blood of Blenheim.
Husband an utter rascal. Eloped in a packet-boat."
The concert with the bell-ringers,
and two later scenes with the Prince of Wales,
are actually shot in the Double Cube Room at Wilton
(with group portrait
visible).
Though it is not meant to be Wilton in the story.
The Complete Peerage
10th Earl
in [Complete Peerage].
Baptisms
Baptism of 11th Earl in London, 29 Oct 1759.
Reebkomp's baptism in Holland, 16 Dec 1762.
See full size.
Possible other natural children
This may be another natural child of the 10th Earl:
The baptism of
Charles Henry Herbert,
son of "Henry and Jane Berkepom",
born 11 Jan 1767,
bapt 7 Feb 1767,
St Marylebone Church of England.
"Berkepom" is an anagram for "Pembroke".
See
full size.
Will of 10th Earl
sets up provision for a number of children.
Starting with this boy, apparently called George Bell,
who was born 5 Oct 1773 and baptised 28 Oct 1773.
There are more children listed below him, including one in Naples.
Can they all be the 10th Earl's natural children?
List of natural sons (only, not daughters)
of the 10th Earl, according to research by the
College of Arms in 1952-1959.
See
full size.
From
2057/F1/5.
References
Sources yet to be consulted
- The Pembroke Papers
(family papers of 1734-1794).
Edited by the
16th Earl.
- Volume 1:
- Henry, Elizabeth and George: Letters and Diaries of Henry, 10th Earl of Pembroke and his Circle (1734-1780), 1939.
- "Augustus Reebkomp" in
Appendix A (pp. 497-498).
-
Republished as:
The Pembroke Papers vol. I (1734-1780), 1942.
- Can apparently order PDF of pages at NLA
but very expensive.
- Volume 2:
- The Pembroke Papers vol. II (1780-1794), 1950.
