Edward Turberville or Turbervile (c. 1648 – 1681) was a Welsh professional soldier and priest hunter, better known to history as an informer who perjured himself in support of the fictitious Popish Plot. Life He came from an ancient Glamorganshire family, his father being a native of Sker in that county. He was a younger son and a Roman Catholic, his brother Anthony being a monk in Paris. The family estate at Sker passed on their father's death to the eldest son Christopher. Edward entered the household of Lady Mary Molyneux, daughter of William Herbert, 1st Marquis of Powis, and remained there until the end of 1675. It was then proposed that he become a monk like his brother, but instead, he entered the French army as a trooper, receiving his discharge at Aire after six months. He spent some time in Douai at the English College, then moved to Paris. It was in Paris in about 1676 (although he was vague about the precise date) that he claimed to have met the English Catholic peer William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford. Stafford for his part insisted at his trial in 1680 that he had never seen Turberville in his life, and this was probably true, although Stafford was often abroad, and he was certainly in France in 1678. Popish Plot Turberville claimed that Stafford had tried to hire him to assassinate King Charles II of England but never explained why he waited so long to reveal the fact. He first told this improbable tale at the Bar of the English House of Commons in November 1680. The Commons was then seeking evidence to proceed with the long-delayed trials of Stafford and the rest of the "five popish lords", which had received a serious setback from the recent death of the leading informer William Bedloe (two prosecution witnesses being necessary in a treason trial) The Commons requested the King to grant Turberville the usual royal pardon for all treasons, felonies and misdemeanours committed before the date of the pardon, and the King duly granted it. Edward had already acted briefly as a priest hunter, using his local knowledge of the large Catholic community in South Wales, but without much success, on one occasion suffering the embarrassment of being arrested himself. Turberville duly gave evidence against Stafford at his trial before the House of Lords on a charge of high treason. Largely