Powis Castle. Powis Castle is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country mansion near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales. It is known for housing the treasures that were brought home by Robert Clive and his son, Edward Clive from India. The castle has also been known as Castell Coch, Castell Pool, Castell Pola, Castell Pole, Castell Trallwng, Red Castle, Redde Castle and Castel Cough. The seat of the Earl of Powis, the castle is known for its extensive, attractive formal gardens, terraces, parkland, deerpark and landscaped estate. The property is under the care of the National Trust. Princess Victoria visited the castle as a child when her mother took her to tour England and Wales in 1832. Unlike the case of castles at Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech and nearby Montgomery which were all built by the English to subdue the Welsh, Powis castle was built by a Welsh prince in the thirteenth century. Following the end of the Welsh Wars and for his loyalty to Edward I, the King permitted Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn to begin building Powis Castle circa 1283. In 1286, four years after Edward I's conquest of Wales, Owain ap Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn, the last hereditary prince of Powis, renounced his royal claim title and was granted the title of Baron de la Pole. The ancient Kingdom of Powys had once included the counties of Montgomeryshire, much of Denbighshire, parts of Radnorshire and previously large areas of Shropshire, but by the 13th century had been reduced to two independent principalities-Powys Wenwynwyn and Powys Fadog-roughly equivalent to Montgomeryshire and South Denbighshire, respectively; Welshpool had latterly become the capital of Powys Wenwynwyn, of which Owain had been heir. On the death of Owain, the baronry passed to his daughter Hawise who married Sir John Charleton. The Charletons continued to live at Powis until the fifteenth century when two daughters, Joan Tiptoft and Joan Grey inherited the castle. The Grey family took control of the whole castle in the 1530s. In 1578 an illegitimate son of the last Baron Grey of Powis, began leasing the lordship and castle to a distant relative-Sir Edward Herbert, second son of Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke. Edward eventually bought the castle outright in 1587 and started a connection between the Herberts and Powis Castle which would continue to the present day. Sir Edward's wife was a Roman Catholic and the family's allegiance to Rome and to the Stuart kings was to shape its destiny for over a century. On 22 October 1644 Powis Castle was captured by Parliamentary troops and was not returned to the family until the restoration of Charles II. The castle passed on to Robert Clive's son, Edward when the latter married Henrietta, a descendant of the original owners, and took the surname of Herbert for himself and his descendants. It continues to be owned by the Herbert family, through the National Trust. According to William Dalrymple, much of the wealth amassed by Clive was loot that was illicitly collected after the Battle of Plassey. Much of it is today displayed at the Clive Museum at Powis. When Clive returned to UK with E234,000, he was the richest self-made man in Europe. The magnificent State bedroom was installed in about 1665 and further improvements were carried out during the 1670s and 1680s, possible under the direction of William Winde, who may also have designed the extraordinary terraced gardens. Winde's employer was William, third Lord Powis, who was created Earl and then Marquess of Powis. Barred by his Catholic faith from high office under Charles II, Lord Powis became one of James II's chief ministers and followed his master into exile in 1688. Thereafter King William III granted the castle to the 1st Earl of Rochford in 1696. The second Marquess was reinstated in 1722, and on the death of the third Marquess in 1748, Powis was inherited by his Protestant kinsman, Henry Arthur Herbert of Oakly Park, Ludlow, who was made Earl of Powis by George II. On 6 July 1756 Lord Lyttelton wrote that About E3,000 laid out upon Powis Castle would make it the most august place in the kingdom and in 1774 Sir John Cullum remarked: grand situation, its charming and magnificent prospects, its extensive woody parks of many 100 acres render it one of the first seats of the Kingdom. In 1784, Lord Powis's daughter, Lady Henrietta Herbert, married Edward Clive, the eldest son of Clive of India. Edward also worked in the East India Company and was then the Governor of Madras. Their marriage led to the union of the Clive and Powis estates in 1801, and in 1804 the earldom of Powis was recreated for the third time for Edward Clive.