George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, 4th Earl of Waterford, 10th Baron Talbot, KG, KB, PC (c. 1468 – 26 July 1538) was the son of John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, and Lady Catherine Stafford, daughter of the 1st Duke of Buckingham. He also held the subsidiary titles of 13th Baron Strange of Blackmere and 9th Baron Furnivall. Early life The Earl was born at Shifnal, Shropshire, in 1468. He succeeded to his father's peerage in 1473, when aged five years, and was appointed a Knight of the Bath in 1475. Career Under King Henry VII, the Earl was a distinguished and honoured warrior. He fought with distinction against Lambert Simnel at the Battle of Stoke and was created a Knight of the Garter after the battle. In 1489 he joined the English expedition to Flanders to aid the Emperor against the French. The same year, upon the birth of Henry's second child, a daughter named Margaret Tudor, Talbot became the first Tudor princess's godfather. On the accession of King Henry VIII, the Earl continued to serve the King as he did his father and again distinguished himself amongst his peers as a great warrior. During Henry's reign, the Earl became a powerful man. Already hereditary Lord High Steward of Ireland from 1473 to 1538, he was then appointed Lord Steward of the King's Household and a Chamberlain of the Exchequer from 1509 to 1538, a Privy Counsellor in 1512 and Lieutenant-General of the North in 1522. He was Lieutenant-General of the English army sent to invade France in 1512, where he was present at the Battle of the Spurs and captured Thérouanne in August 1513. He was later present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, commanded the army sent to control the border of Scotland, and was given many other high political positions at court. When the divorce question came on King Henry's 'Great Matter', Shrewsbury supported it, gave evidence at Queen Katherine of Aragon's trial, and signed the letter to the pope urging him to grant the divorce. He also signed the articles against Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in 1529. On 4 Nov 1530, Wolsey was arrested for treason and brought south from York for his trial, arriving four days later at the Manor Lodge of the Earl where he stayed for eighteen days. He was treated kindly by the Earl and his family, who tried