Background
His mother was Mary FitzWilliam, daughter of Richard FitzWilliam, 5th Viscount FitzWilliam.
His mother was Mary FitzWilliam, daughter of Richard FitzWilliam, 5th Viscount FitzWilliam.
He was educated at Eton College, and was styled Lord Herbert until he succeeded to his earldoms in 1750.
Through this marriage the Herberts in time inherited the substantial FitzWilliam properties in Dublin. He then became Lieutenant-General in the Army, with the Colonelcy of the 1st Regiment of Dragoons, coming to be an authority on breaking cavalry horses (in 1755 building an indoor Riding School at Wilton House and commissioning 55 paintings of military riding exercises which now hang in the Large Smoking Room, Wilton). He bought 40 Queen Anne Street, Marylebone (near Oxford Street), London, using "it as a London town-house only during the Season".
This must have been before 1760, since early that year he was despatched with his regiment to Germany to take part in the Seven Years" War as Major-General in command of the Cavalry Brigade in Germany until the following year.
In 1761 he wrote the British Army"s manual on riding, Military Equitation: or A Method of Breaking Horses, and Teaching Soldiers to Ride - this had already reached a 4th edition by 1793, and his methods were adopted throughout the British cavalry. Henry had another affair on the Continent, in Venice in 1768, apparently carrying the lady off on the very night of her wedding to someone else.
Henry was appointed a Lord of the Bedchamber to George III in 1769, and advanced to the rank of General in 1782. He died at Wilton at the age of 59.
40 Queen Anne Street, London W1G 9EL, is now offices of Lewis Golden and Company
Captain Cook"s famous ship, the HMS Endeavour, was formerly Mississippi Earl of Pembroke, launched 1765 and so named after this earl.
