Norborne Berkeley was born about 1717 at Stoke Gifford in Gloucestershire, England, the son of John Symes Berkeley and Elizabeth Norborne Berkeley. The spreadsheet renders his first name as “Narborne,” but contemporary and modern references generally use Norborne. He belonged to the Berkeley family of Stoke Gifford, a landed gentry line with aristocratic connections and a long tradition of parliamentary and county service. Berkeley grew up on a substantial English estate and received the education expected of an heir: classics, Anglican religion, estate management, riding, and the manners necessary for court and political society. Exact details of his schools are not consistently preserved. He inherited Stoke Park and responsibilities for tenants, finances, and local influence, experiences that prepared him for public office even before he obtained a peerage. As a young gentleman Berkeley entered politics and served in the House of Commons. He cultivated court connections but also faced the expensive obligations of maintaining aristocratic status. In 1764 he successfully established his claim to the old title Baron Botetourt, which had long been in abeyance. The restored title elevated him to the House of Lords and gave him the name by which Virginians later knew him. Berkeley never married and left no direct legitimate heir. His adult identity centered on estate, politics, patronage, and public reputation rather than a household of his own children. He became known for courtesy and a desire to be regarded as an honorable administrator. Before his appointment as royal governor of Virginia in 1768, Botetourt had been shaped by English landed privilege, parliamentary service, legal pursuit of an ancestral title, and the financial and ceremonial burdens of aristocratic life. These experiences influenced his conciliatory manner in Williamsburg. Unlike a professional soldier or colonial merchant, he approached imperial government as a paternal nobleman whose authority depended heavily upon personal dignity and reciprocal respect.