Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester

Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester
Born	1568
Died	March 3, 1628
Spouse	Elizabeth Hastings
Parents	William Somerset (3rd Earl of Worcester) Christian North
Children	Henry Thomas Catherine Blanche Frances plus ten others

Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester KG (bef. 1568 – 3 March 1628) was the only son of three children born to the 3rd Earl of Worcester and Christian North. On February 21, 1589, he succeeded his father as Earl of Worcester, and in 1593 he was made a Knight of the Garter. He was an important adviser to King James I, serving as Lord Privy Seal.

In 1606 he was appointed Keeper of the Great Park, a park which was created for hunting by Henry VIII around Nonsuch Palace of which Worcester Park was a part. The residence Worcester Park House was built in 1607

He married Elizabeth Hastings. She was a daughter of Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole. Catherine was a daughter of Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu and Jane Neville. Jane was in turn a daughter of George Nevill, 4th Baron Bergavenny and Margaret Fenne. They had fifteen children among whom are:

Henry Somerset, 5th Earl of Worcester, his heir and successor, who was later created the 1st Marquess of Worcester;
Thomas Somerset, 1st Viscount Somerset (Peerage of Ireland), who was born in 1579, died in 1649; he was created Viscount Somerset on December 8, 1626; in 1616 he married Helen Barry - her third marriage -, with whom he had one daughter:
- Elizabeth Somerset, who might have died young, but that is unsure;
Lady Catherine or Katherine Somerset, who died on November 6, 1654 and, before January 14, 1607, married Thomas Windsor, 6th Baron Windsor, with whom she had no issue; and
Lady Blanche Somerset, who died October 28, 1649, and married Thomas Arundell, 2nd Baron Arundell of Wardour, with whom she had one son and two daughters, his only children; the settlement for this marriage was on May 11, 1607.
Lady Frances Somerset, wife of William Morgan, 1st Baronet Of Llantarnam to be his daughter.^[1]

[edit] References

^ John Burke and John Bernard Burke., Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies, pp. 369-370

Political offices
Preceded by The Earl of Essex	Master of the Horse 1601–1616	Succeeded by Sir George Villiers
Preceded by In Commission	Earl Marshal 1603	Succeeded by In Commission
Preceded by The Earl of Somerset	Lord Privy Seal 1616–1625	Succeeded by Sir John Coke
Honorary Titles
Preceded by The Earl of Pembroke	Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan and Monmoutshire jointly with Henry Somerset 1626–1628 1602–1628	Succeeded by The Earl of Worcester
Preceded by The Earl of Pembroke	Custos Rotulorum of Monmouthshire 1601–1628	Succeeded by The Earl of Pembroke
Peerage of England
Preceded by William Somerset	Earl of Worcester 1589–1628	Succeeded by Henry Somerset