William FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton

Who was William FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton?

William FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton, KG, English courtier, was the third son of Sir Thomas FitzWilliam of Aldwark and Lady Lucy Neville.

His father died while FitzWilliam was in his infancy, and his mother remarried Sir Anthony Browne senior so that William was half-brother to Sir Anthony Browne. Probably as a result of this connection, he was chosen as a companion for Henry, Prince of Wales 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 had recovered sufficiently to accompany the King into France as an Esquire of the Body, and was knighted on 25 September 1513, the day after the capture of Tournai. In November he married Mabel Clifford, daughter of the Lord Clifford, but the marriage would prove childless.