William FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton

Common card · No. 435205

William FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton, (c. 1490 – 15 October 1542) was an English courtier and soldier. He was the third son of Sir Thomas FitzWilliam of Aldwark and Lady Lucy Neville, daughter of John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu. FitzWilliam's father died when he was in his infancy, and his mother remarried Sir Anthony Browne Sr. so that FitzWilliam was half-brother to Sir Anthony Browne Jr. Probably as a result of this connection, he was chosen as a companion for Henry Tudor, Prince of Wales (later King Henry VIII of England) and brought up alongside him. After King Henry's coronation in 1509, he was made a Gentleman Usher and King's Cupbearer, and gradually rose at Court. He began his military career at sea, serving under the Marquess of Dorset in 1512, and Sir Edward Howard in the disastrous second attack on Brest. Unlike his commander, he escaped the debacle, but was badly injured by a crossbow bolt. He recovered sufficiently in time to accompany King Henry VIII into...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Hans Holbein the Younger, Public domain