George Berkeley, 8th Baron Berkeley and Frances de Vere, daughter of John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford and Elizabeth Trussell. Berkeley's childhood was spent in Warwickshire, where he was a pupil of the translator, Philemon Holland of Coventry, and of Henry Ashwood. He succeeded to his titles of Baron Berkeley of Berkeley, Mowbray, Segrave, & Breuse of Gower at the death of his grandfather, Henry Berkeley, 7th Baron Berkeley, on 26 November 1613. His family seat was at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire. He was made a Knight of the Order of the Bath on November 4, 1616, when Prince Charles was made Prince of
Berkeley Castle "motte". In the early 18th century the 4th Earl of Berkeley planted a pine that was reputed to have been grown from a cutting taken from a tree at the Battle of Culloden. In the early 20th century the 8th Earl of Berkeley, repaired and remodelled parts of the castle and added a new porch in the same Gothic style as the rest of the building. A restoration appeal was launched in 2006 to raise £5.5 million needed to renovate and restore the Norman building. The castle is the third oldest continuously occupied castle in England after the royal fortresses