Henry Herbert

Sir Henry Herbert (baptized 7 July 1594 – 27 April 1673) was Master of the Revels to both King Charles I and King Charles II, as well as a politician during both reigns. Biography Baptised in July 1594, Herbert was the sixth son of Magdelen Herbert and Richard Herbert of Montgomery Castle. Richard was a younger brother of Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury and the poet George Herbert, both former members of the Parliament of England, and older brother of naval officer Thomas Herbert. Their family was related to the Herbert Earls of Pembroke, prominent figures in English government and society throughout the Jacobean and Caroline era. Edward Herbert was ambassador in Paris, and Henry joined him in 1619 and became involved in the case of Piero Hugon and the jewels of Anne of Denmark. Herbert's role as Master of the Revels involved reading and licensing plays and supervising all kinds of public entertainment. Officially, Herbert became Master of the Revels in 1641 but he had been doing the work of the office even earlier. Sir John Astley, the official Master from 1622 to his death in January 1640, had appointed Herbert his deputy the year that he was knighted in 1623. For this arrangement Herbert paid Astley £150 per year in return for the income that the office provided.