In 1414 HUMPHREY PLANTAGENET, 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, earl of Suffolk. Accord ingly, on the death of Humphrey, without issue, in 1447 this nobleman became earl of Pembroke. He was beheaded in 1450 and his titles were forfeited. In 1453 the title was given to SIR JASPER TUDOR, half-brother of King Henry VI. Sir Jasper being a Lancastrian, his title was forfeited during the predominance of the house of York, but was restored on the accession of Henry VII. On his death without heirs in 1495, his title became extinct.
During his attainder Sir Jasper was taken prisoner by SIR WILLIAM HERBERT (d. 1469), a Yorkist, who had been raised to the peerage as Baron Herbert by Edward IV., and for this service Lord Herbert was created earl of Pembroke in 1468. His son William (d. 1491) received the earldom of Huntingdon in lieu of that of Pembroke, which he surrendered to Edward IV., who thereupon conferred it on his son EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES; and when this prince succeeded to the throne as Edward V., the earldom of Pembroke merged in the Crown. ANNE BOLEYN, a few months previous to her marriage with Henry VIII., was created marchioness of Pembroke in 1532.
The title of earl of Pembroke was next revived in favour of SIR WILLIAM HERBERT (C. 1501-1570), 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, and was created earl in 1551. The title has since been held by his descendants.
His elder son HENRY (c. 1534-1601), who succeeded as 2nd earl, was president of Wales from 1586 until his death. He mar ried in 1577 MARY SIDNEY, the famous countess of Pembroke (c. 1561-1621), third daughter of Sir Henry Sidney and his wife Mary Dudley. Sir Philip Sidney, her eldest brother, wrote the Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia for her pleasure. The two also worked at a metrical edition of the Psalms. On his death she made herself his literary executor, correcting the unauthorized editions of the Arcadia and of his poems, which appeared in 1590 and 1591. Spenser dedicated his Ruines of Time to her, and refers to her as Urania in Colin Clout's come home again; in Spenser's Astrophel she is "Clorinda." In 1599 Queen Elizabeth was her guest at Wilton, and the countess composed for the occasion a pastoral dialogue in praise of Astraea.