William Herbert, 18th Earl of Pembroke

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For other persons named William Herbert, see William Herbert (disambiguation).

William Alexander Sidney Herbert, 18th Earl of Pembroke, 15th Earl of Montgomery (born 18 May 1978) inherited the title in 2003 following the death of Henry Herbert, 17th Earl of Pembroke.

1 Estate
2 Family
3 Education and career
4 Heir presumptive
5 Sources

[edit] Estate

He ranked 440th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2005, with an estimated wealth of £125m (as estimated July 2005), which includes the value of the art collection at Wilton House, recently estimated at £25m, and the house and estate. The total is estimated after death duties.

[edit] Family

Lord Pembroke is the only son of the late 17th Earl by his first wife, the former Claire Rose Pelly (now wife of Wyndham Murray-Threipland). He has three older sisters and three younger half-sisters (by his father's second marriage). Since his father has no brothers, and his grandfather's brothers died unmarried, and other lines of descent from earlier earls have mostly petered out, the heir presumptive to the earldoms of Pembroke (created 1551) and Montgomery (created for the brother of the 3rd Earl, who succeeded him as 4th Earl) is the 8th Earl of Carnarvon (born 10 November 1958). There are some further heirs in the Carnarvon branch, descended from the 2nd Earl.

[edit] Education and career

Lord Pembroke was educated at Bryanston, then at Leeds for two years where he did a foundation course in 3-D design. He then pursued a course in industrial design at Sheffield Hallam University, being the first Herbert to graduate with a first (according to the Observer interview). He then worked with Sebastian Conran as an industrial designer, being forced to quit that job in October 2004 to assume the responsibilities of the house and estate at Wilton, a year after his father's premature death of cancer.

[edit] Heir presumptive

In a July 2005 interview with The Observer, Lord Pembroke spoke frankly of the responsibilities and difficulties in managing a historic home and estate today. He would like to increase the number of celebrity events, such as Madonna's birthday party, at Wilton House to increase revenues; opening the property to more tourists is not paying in the long run as it increases wear-and-tear on the house. He also spoke frankly on the need for him to marry and father a son to secure the succession (for the sake of his immediate family as well as the estate and house and all those who depend on it for a livelihood), and in fact, he was not aware who his current heir presumptive is.

If the present Earl dies without an heir male (a son or a grandson), the title of Baron Herbert of Lea (created 15 January 1861) for his ancestor Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea (who died months later) will become extinct. The Earldom of Pembroke (created 1551 by Edward VI) and the Earldom of Montgomery will descend to the 8th Earl of Carnarvon, holding the earldom created 1793 for the first son of the second surviving son of the 8th Earl. Lord Carnarvon is a ninth cousin of Lord Pembroke.