his offices. Herbert went to Holland in June 1688, carrying the Invitation to William, and offered his services to the Prince of Orange at The Hague. The Prince appointed him commander-in-chief of the fleet which would take him to England. Following the Glorious Revolution, Herbert became Lord High Admiral and then, when the post of Lord High Admiral had been put into commission, he became First Lord of the Admiralty and Senior Naval Lord on the Board of Admiralty in March 1689. He was raised to the peerage by the new King William III as Earl of Torrington and Baron Herbert of Torbay in May 1689, following on his command of the English squadron at the Battle of Bantry Bay. He was credited with being the first to use the expression, "fleet in being". He proposed avoiding a set battle, except under very favourable conditions, until the arrival of reinforcements: by maintaining his fleet in being, he would force the French to remain in the area and prevent them from undertaking other operations. Herbert commanded the English and Dutch fleets at the Battle of Beachy Head in July 1690, a serious defeat for the allied fleet, in the Nine Years' War. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London and was court-martialed for failing to support the Dutch van squadron against the French, but was acquitted. Nevertheless, he lost his position as First Lord of the Admiralty, and took no further part in public life. The stories that Torrington was not a popular commander, because of his reputation of being a drunk and his habit of taking several prostitutes with him to sea, have been discredited. In 1696, he acquired Oatlands Park, an estate forfeited by his brother, Sir Edward Herbert, who had followed King James II into exile. He died on 13 April 1716 without children, rendering his titles extinct, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Marriages Torrington married twice, but had no issue by either wife: Firstly to Anne Hadley, from whom he later separated; Secondly to the twice widowed Anne (dowager Lady Crew), daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Airmine, 2nd Baronet. See also List of deserters from King James II to William of Orange References Sources Burke's Extinct Peerages: TORRINGTON, E |- |- 1640s births 1716 deaths 17th-century Royal Navy personnel Arthur, Earl of Torrington Earls in the Peerage of England Peers of England created by