Ferdinando, the son of Henry (the 4th Earl) was born in 1559. He was a poet, and through his mother Margaret Clifford he was one of the nearest heirs to the throne. He married Alice Spence and they had daughters but no son, so when Ferdinando died on the 16th April 1594 (believed to be by poison or the victim of witchcraft), he was succeeded by his younger brother William.