RISE OF THE SOMERSETS 



Almost the first of the new nobility was Charles 

 Somerset, whose early years were passed under 

 the shadow of the misfortunes and death of his 

 father, the third Duke of Somerset. So much 

 was this the case that the date of his birth is not 

 known, though he was always acknowledged as 

 the Duke's son, in days when royal descent signi- 

 fied more and legitimacy less than in our own 

 time. The third Duke of Somerset had been 

 one of the great men of his day, a gallant soldier, 

 a keen sportsman and possessing the love of 

 splendour that has always characterised the Beau- 

 forts. The latter were also illegitimate, though 

 the children of Katherine Swynford had been legi- 

 timatised by Act of Parliament, while at the same 

 time they were expressly excluded from succession 

 to the crown. 



It seems likely that part of Charles Somerset's 

 early life was passed under the care of Henry VII., 

 who ever after watched over his fortunes and 

 acknowledged the relationship between them. The 

 king was not only drawn to Somerset by the ties 

 of a common descent, but by the attraction of a 

 common taste for sport. In examining the records 

 of Somerset's life, it seems possible to trace a 

 close friendship and confidence between him and 

 the king, and he was certainly privy to Henry's 

 two great ideas of establishing a navy and of found- 

 ing a standing army. That he was a man of con- 

 siderable tact and diplomatic skill may be inferred 



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