Sir John Herbert (1550 – 9 July 1617) was a Welsh lawyer, diplomat and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

at various times between 1586 and 1611. He was Secretary of State under

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

and

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

Life

Herbert was the son of Matthew Herbert of SwanseaW R Williams ''Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales''
/ref> and was descended from an illegitimate son of William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. Herbert may have been educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, although this is questioned. He was admitted an honorary member of the College of Doctors of Law in November 1573 and awarded an MA. He was a commissioner of the

High Court of Admiralty Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses. United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest records, held in West R ...

from 1575 to 1584 (with David Lewis) and Master of Requests from 1586 to 1601 (with William Aubrey from 1590). Queen Elizabeth appointed him secretary to the Council of the North and Keeper of the Signet. In 1586, Herbert was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for

Grampound Grampound () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Grampound with Creed, in the Cornwall (district), Cornwall district, in the ceremonial county of Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and ...

. He was awarded the degree of

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of except ...

by the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 1587. In 1588, he was elected MP for Gatton. He was elected MP for

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

in 1593 and MP for

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...

in 1597. In April 1600, he was appointed second Secretary of State and a member of the Privy Council. In 1601 he was elected MP for

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

and for Wallingford and chose to sit for Glamorgan. Besides serving in Parliament, he also was appointed as

Dean of Wells The Dean of Wells is the head of the Chapter of Wells Cathedral in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The dean's residence is The Dean's Lodging, 25 The Liberty, Wells. List of deans High Medieval *1140–1164: Ivo *1164–1189: ...

in 1590, and served until late 1602. He was knighted in 1602. In 1604 he was elected MP for

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

and sat until 1611. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Glamorgan This page is a list of High Sheriffs of Glamorgan. Sheriffs of Glamorgan served under and were answerable to the independent Lords of Glamorgan until that lordship was merged into the crown. This is in contrast to sheriffs of the English shires w ...

for 1605 and in 1607

Chancellor of the Order of the Garter The Chancellor of the Order of the Garter is an officer of the Order of the Garter. History of the office When the Order of the Garter was founded in 1348 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle by Edward III of England, three officers were initial ...

for life. Herbert was a talented linguist (not just speaking English and Welsh) and so was used to interrogate foreign prisoners and on trade and political missions to Denmark, Poland, Brandenburg, the Netherlands and France. He continued in office under

, although James preferred to use unofficial secretaries such as

Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery, (10 October 158423 January 1650) was an English courtier, nobleman, and politician active during the reigns of James I of England, James I and Charles I of England, Charles I. ...

. When

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612) was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury ser ...

died in 1612, Herbert hoped to succeed him as principal secretary of state, but James I left the office vacant until 1614. He was thereafter Secretary of State in name only. Herbert was of Neath Abbey. He died in Cardiff aged 67 on 9 July 1617, having fought a duel with Sir Lewis Tresham two months earlier. He is buried in St John the Baptist Church, Cardiff. Herbert married Margaret Morgan, daughter of William Morgan of Cefn Coch.

French embassy of 1598

Herbert,

Sir Robert Cecil Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612) was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury ser ...

, and

Thomas Wilkes Sir Thomas Wilkes (c.1545 – 2 March 1598 ( N.S in Rouen)) was an English civil servant and diplomat during the reign of Elizabeth I of England. He served as Clerk of the Privy Council, Member of Parliament for Downton and Southampton, and ...

were chosen as ambassadors to France in January 1598 to discuss peace with France and Spain. Wilkes died soon after arrival at Rouen. Cecil and Herbert lodged at a house of the

Duke of Montpensier The French fief, lordship of Montpensier (named after the village of Montpensier, Puy-de-Dôme, Montpensier, département in France, département of Puy-de-Dôme), located in historical Auvergne (province), Auvergne, became a countship in the 14 ...

in Paris, and subsequently travelled south to meet

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

in March. They had their final audiences with the king at

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and the Duke de Bouillon gave Cecil a locket with the king's portrait. They sailed home to Portsmouth from

Ouistreham Ouistreham () is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy region in northwestern France. Ouistreham is a small port with fishing boats, leisure craft and a ferry harbour. It serves as the port of the city of Caen. The town borders t ...

, a port near

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

, in the ''Adventure'' commanded by Sir Alexander Clifford.Thomas Birch, ''Memoirs of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth'', vol. 2 (London, 1754), pp. 372–80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, John Welsh diplomats

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Secretaries of state of the Kingdom of England 1550 births 1617 deaths People of the Elizabethan era Chancellors of the Order of the Garter Welsh lawyers 16th-century Welsh politicians 17th-century Welsh politicians Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Deans of Wells Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611