Sir John Perrot was born in 1530 to Mary Berkely, wife of the prominent Pembrokeshire landowner and courtier Sir Thomas Perrot of Haroldston. But he was rumored to be the illegitimate son of Henry VIII, to whom he bore a strong resemblance. He was a favourite at court during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI but was briefly imprisoned by Mary Tudor for sheltering Protestant heretics, and spent much of her reign abroad. His fortunes revived when Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558, and he was one of the four bearers who carried her canopy of state at her coronation. During Queen Elizabeth's reign he rose to particular prominence becoming Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1589. In Ireland he gained a reputation for brutality but came back a much wealthier man. Flamboyant and ambitious, Perrot was noted for "majesty of personage" and dubbed "good Sir John". However, he seems to have had an unfortunate talent for making enemies. As Vice-Admiral of West Wales one of his duties was to stamp out piracy and smuggling along the coast. Local merchants complained that - far from fulfilling his duty - he was deeply implicated in contraband operations, and they petitioned the Crown for an investigation. Perrot's worst mistake, however, was to make indiscreet remarks about the Queen. In 1591 he was arrested, tried and convicted of high treason. Elizabeth was reluctant to sign her supposed half-brother's death warrant or to pardon him. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he solved Elizabeth's dilemma by dying of natural causes in 1592.