RISE OF THE SOMERSETS 



kine's confidence. There is a characteristic of the 

 Somerset family that will appear often in the course 

 of this story. They were men of the most un- 

 daunted loyalty. Later on we find them the ad- 

 herents of a lost cause and of an unpopular 

 Church, much to their own hurt. The Somersets 

 were slow to change sides. They were staunch 

 to the Tudor and Stuart monarchs they served so 

 well. 



Apart too from Charles Somerset's personal 

 character and his kinship to Henry, he had another 

 and possibly a stronger recommendation to the 

 royal favour in his absolute dependence on the 

 crown. Somerset had neither means nor position 

 save such as were given him of the royal grace 

 and bounty. Promotion and grants of land were 

 doled out to him at considerable intervals and 

 only as rewards for past services. So far as I 

 can gather, his first appointment was as Captain 

 of the Yeomen of the Guard, a force enrolled 

 in Henry's time as a personal guard on the sove- 

 reign, and which was the germ of the standing 

 army of later times. If then we may regard this 

 company as the foundation on which our military 

 organisation has been built up, a Somerset was one 

 of the first officers of that army in which his de- 

 scendants have served ever since. 



Charles Somerset may also claim the credit of 

 being one of the earliest of English admirals. 



It has often been said that Henry VIII. was the 



7 



