William Paulet, 3rd Marquess of Winchester

The Most Honourable The Marquess of Winchester KB JP
Arms of Paulet, Marquess of Winchester: Sable, three swords pilewise points in base proper pomels and hilts or
Lord High Steward for the funeral of Mary, Queen of Scots
In office 31 August 1587 – 1 September 1587
Monarch	Elizabeth I
Chancellor	Sir Christopher Hatton
Preceded by	The Earl of Shrewsbury for the trial of the Duke of Norfolk
Succeeded by	The Earl of Derby for the trial of the Earl of Arundel and Surrey
Lord Lieutenant of Dorset
In office 1580 – ?
Monarch	Elizabeth I
Chancellor	Sir Thomas Bromley
Preceded by	The Lord Mountjoy
Succeeded by	The Earl of Bedford
In office 1 March 1586 – 24 November 1598
Monarch	Elizabeth I
Chancellor	See Sir Thomas Bromley (until 1587) Sir Christopher Hatton (1587-1591) Lord Commissioners of the Great Seal: (1591-1592) The Lord Burghley The Lord Hunsdon The Lord Cobham The Lord Buckhurst Sir Gilbert Gerard Sir John Puckering (1592-1596) (as Lord Keeper) The Viscount Ellesmere (from 1596)
Preceded by	The Earl of Bedford
Succeeded by	The Viscount Howard of Bindon
Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire
In office before 1585 – 24 November 1598 Serving with The Earl of Sussex (3 July 1585 – 14 December 1593) The Lord Mountjoy (from 4 August 1595) The Lord Hunsdon (from 8 September 1603)
Monarch	Elizabeth I
Chancellor	See Sir Thomas Bromley (until 1587) Sir Christopher Hatton (1587-1591) Lord Commissioners of the Great Seal: (1591-1592) The Lord Burghley The Lord Hunsdon The Lord Cobham The Lord Buckhurst Sir Gilbert Gerard Sir John Puckering (1592-1596) (as Lord Keeper) The Viscount Ellesmere (from 1596)
Preceded by	Unknown
Succeeded by	The Lord Mountjoy The Lord Hunsdon
High Sheriff of Hampshire
In office 1560–1561
Monarch	Elizabeth I
Chancellor	Sir Nicholas Bacon
Preceded by	Thomas Pace
Succeeded by	William Uvedale
Member of Parliament for Dorset
In office 1571–1571 Serving with John Horsey
Monarch	Elizabeth I
Chancellor	Sir Nicholas Bacon
Preceded by	Thomas Howard
Succeeded by	John Stroke
Constituency	Dorset
Personal details
Born	William Paulet 1532
Died	November 24, 1598(1598-11-24) (aged 65–66)
Resting place	St. Mary's Church, Basing, Hampshire 51°16′17″N 1°02′48″W / 51.271389°N 1.046667°W / 51.271389; -1.046667
Nationality	English
Spouse(s)	Anne Howard
Domestic partner	Jane Lambert (mistress)
Children	With Anne Howard: William Paulet, 4th Marquess of Winchester Lady Anne Dennis Lady Katherine Wroughton Lady Elizabeth Hoby With Jane Lambert: Sir William Paulet Sir John Paulet Sir Hercules Paulet Hector Paulet Susannah Warnfford
Parents	John Paulet, 2nd Marquess of Winchester (father) Elizabeth Willougby (mother)
The 3rd Marquess of Winchester Title 3rd Marquess of Winchester Tenure 1576-1598 Other titles 3rd Earl of Wiltshire 3rd Baron St John Predecessor John Paulet, 2nd Marquess of Winchester Successor William Paulet, 4th Marquess of Winchester

William Paulet, 3rd Marquess of Winchester KB JP (1532 – 24 November 1598) was an English nobleman, the son of John Paulet, 2nd Marquess of Winchester and his first wife, Elizabeth Willoughby. He was made a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of Mary I on 30 November 1553.

The offices he held during his career included:

Paulet was summoned to Parliament on 5 May 1572 in his father's Barony of St John. He succeeded his father as 3rd Marquess of Winchester on 4 November 1576. During October 1586, he was one of the judges at the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots, later acting as Lord High Steward at her funeral on 1 August 1587.

He is known as the author of The Lord Marquess Idleness, a remarkable and most ingenious acrostic of six Latin verses. It was published in 1586 and 1587.

Between 20 June 1544 and 10 February 1547/1548 he married Anne or Agnes Howard, daughter of William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham and his first wife, Katherine Broughton and had issue:

The marriage was not a happy one, and the couple were only reconciled, on one occasion, by Elizabeth I's intervention.

Paulet also had children with his recognised mistress Jane Lambert, who later married the much younger Sir Gerrard Fleetwood.

He died 24 November 1598 and was buried at Basing, Hampshire. His widow, Anne Paulet, died 18 November 1601. The date of Jane Lambert's death is not recorded.