Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset

Robert Carr
Portrait of Robert Carr Earl of Somerset by John Hoskins
Born	Robert Kerr 1587 Wrington, Somerset, England
Died	17 July 1645
Residence	Sherborne Castle, Dorset
Nationality	Scottish
Alma mater	Queen's College, Oxford
Occupation	Privy Councillor Treasurer of Scotland Lord Chamberlain
Employer	King James VI and I
Known for	Poetry, murder of Sir Thomas Overbury
Opponent(s)	Francis Bacon
Spouse(s)	Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset
Parent(s)	Sir Thomas Kerr, Janet Scott

Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, (c. 1587 – 17 July 1645), was a politician, and favourite of King James VI and I.

Robert Kerr was born in Wrington, Somerset, England, the younger son of Sir Thomas Kerr (Carr) of Ferniehurst, Scotland, by his second wife, Janet, sister of Walter Scott of Buccleuch. About the year 1601, while an obscure page to George Home, 1st Earl of Dunbar, he met Thomas Overbury in Edinburgh. The two became friends and travelled to London together. Overbury soon became secretary to Carr. When the latter embarked on his career at court, Overbury took the position of mentor, secretary, and political advisor to his more charismatic friend, becoming the brains behind Carr's steady rise to prominence.

In 1607, Carr happened to break his leg at a tilting match, at which King James VI and I was in attendance. According to Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, the king instantly fell in love with the young man, even helping nurse him back to health, all the while teaching him Latin. The king subsequently knighted the young Carr and took him into favour. Sir Walter Raleigh had, through his attainder, forfeited his life-interest in the manor of Sherborne, even though he had previously executed a conveyance by which the property was to pass on his death to his eldest son (a conveyance which helped to codify many aspects of the United Kingdom's use of primogeniture, still in practice even today). Unfortunately for Raleigh, this document was rendered worthless by a flaw that gave the king eventual possession of the property. Acting on the advice of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, his Secretary of State, James conferred the manor to Carr. The case was argued at law, and in 1609 judgment was given for the Crown. Apparently Lady Raleigh received some inadequate compensation, and Carr at once entered on possession. Carr's influence became such that in 1610 he was instrumental in persuading the king to dissolve Parliament, which had shown signs of attacking the king's Scottish favourites. On 24 March 1611 he was bestowed Viscount Rochester, and subsequently a Privy Councillor.