Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury

Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford KG (November 20, 1552 – May 8, 1616), was the son of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, by the latter's first marriage to Gertrude Manners, daughter of the first Earl of Rutland.

In 1568, Gilbert was married off to Mary Cavendish, daughter of his new stepmother, Bess of Hardwick. When Bess and her husband fell out, Gilbert took the side of his wife and his mother-in-law against his own father. However, when the old earl died in 1590, Gilbert refused Bess the portion she felt was her due, and consequently they fell out.

The children from his marriage to Mary Cavendish were:

*Lady Mary Talbot (1580-1649)
*Lady Elizabeth Talbot (1582-1651)
*Lady Alethea Talbot (1585-1654)

Two sons, George and John, died in infancy.

Gilbert became a patron of the arts, as was his daughter Alethea, who became Countess of Arundel by her marriage to Thomas Howard in 1606. Talbot's second daughter, Elizabeth, married Henry Grey, 8th Earl of Kent. The eldest, Mary, married William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke. As well as bringing up their three daughters, Gilbert and Mary Talbot spent a good deal of time with their orphaned niece, Arbella Stuart.

In 1592, Gilbert Talbot was created a Knight of the Garter. In the absence of a male heir, he was succeeded in the earldom of Shrewsbury by his younger brother, Edward (with whom he had once fought a duel). However, some of the extensive estates passed then (or after Edward's death) to his daughters.

External links

* [http://www.angeltowns.com/town/peerage]

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