Henry_Somerset,_5th_Duke_of_Beaufort

Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort

Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort

English courtier and politician

Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort KG (16 October 1744 – 11 October 1803) was an English courtier and politician. Styled the Marquess of Worcester from 1746, at his father's death on 28 October 1756, he succeeded him as 5th Duke of Beaufort, 7th Marquess of Worcester, 11th Earl of Worcester, and 13th Baron Herbert.[1]

Quick Facts His GraceThe Duke of BeaufortKG, Master of the Horse to Queen Charlotte ...

Early life

Somerset was born on 16 October 1744 at Brook Street, Hanover Square, London. He was the only son of Charles Noel Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort and Elizabeth Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort.

On 18 October 1760, he began his studies at Oriel College, Oxford, graduating on 7 July 1763 with a Doctor of Civil Laws (DCL) degree.[1]

Career

He held the office of Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England between 1767 and 1772.[1] From 1768 to 1770, he was Master of the Horse to Queen Charlotte.[1] He was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Monmouthshire in 1771 and Lord-Lieutenant of Brecknockshire in 1787, holding both offices until his death in 1803, as well as that of Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire from 1787 to 1799.[1] He was appointed Colonel of the Monmouthshire Militia on 23 December 1771 and assumed command of the Monmouth and Brecon Militia when the combined regiment was embodied on 1 February 1793. He remained in command until his death.[2]

He was invested as a Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG) on 2 June 1786.[1] On 4 June 1803, shortly before his death, he succeeded to the title of 5th Lord Botetourt.[1]

Personal life

Bookplate of the Duchess of Beaufort

On 2 January 1766, he married Elizabeth Boscawen, daughter of Hon. Edward Boscawen, Admiral of the Blue, and sister to George Boscawen, 3rd Viscount Falmouth.[1] Elizabeth died 15 June 1828. Together they had four daughters and nine sons:

  1. Henry Charles Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort (1766–1835), who married Lady Charlotte Leveson-Gower, a daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford and Lady Susanna Stewart (a daughter of the 6th Earl of Galloway), in 1791.[3]
  2. Lord Charles Henry Somerset (1767–1831), who married Hon. Elizabeth Courtenay, daughter of William Courtenay, 2nd Viscount Courtenay, in 1788. After her death in 1815, he married Lady Mary Poulett, daughter of John Poulett, 4th Earl Poulett, in 1821.[4]
  3. Lord Edward Somerset (1768–1769), who died young.[3]
  4. Lord Norborne Berkeley Henry Somerset (1771–1838)[3]
  5. Lady Elizabeth Somerset (1773–1836), who married Very Rev Charles Talbot, Dean of Salisbury, son of Rev. Hon. George Talbot (a son of the 1st Baron Talbot) and Hon. Anne Bouverie (a daughter of the 1st Viscount Folkestone), in 1796.[3]
  6. Lady Frances Elizabeth Somerset (1774–1841)[3]
  7. Lady Harriet Isabella Elizabeth Somerset (1775–1855), who married Col. Hugh Henry Mitchell, a son of Hugh Henry Mitchell, MP for Ballyshannon and Enniskillen, in 1804.[3]
  8. Lord Robert Edward Henry Somerset (1776–1842), who married Hon. Louisa Augusta Courtenay, daughter of William Courtenay, 2nd Viscount Courtenay, in 1805.[3]
  9. Lord Arthur John Henry Somerset (1780–1816), who married Hon. Elizabeth Boscawen, daughter of George Boscawen, 3rd Viscount Falmouth, in 1808.[3]
  10. Rev. Lord William George Henry Somerset (1784–1861), who married Elizabeth Molyneux, daughter of Lt.-Gen. Sir Thomas Molyneux, 5th Baronet, in 1813. After her death in 1843, he married Frances Westby Brady, daughter of Henry Brady, in 1844.[3]
  11. Lady Anne Elizabeth Somerset (1786–1803), who died unmarried.[3]
  12. Lord John Thomas Henry Somerset (1787–1846), who married Lady Catherine Annesley, daughter of Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Mountnorris and Hon. Sarah Cavendish (a daughter of Sir Henry Cavendish, 2nd Baronet and the 1st Baroness Waterpark), in 1814.[3]
  13. FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855), who married Lady Emily Wellesley-Pole, daughter of William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington, in 1814.[3]

Lord Beaufort died on 11 October 1803 and was buried at St Michael and All Angels Church, Badminton. His last will was dated from 21 June 1789 to 11 September 1800.[5] He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, Henry[1]

Plantagenet ancestry

Henry Somerset and Richard III were both male-line descendants of Edward III, Henry through Edward's 4th son John of Gaunt and Richard through Edward's 5th son Edmund of Langley.[6] But Y-DNA of Henry's descendants did not match Richard III, meaning that somewhere in one of their pedigrees, there was a false paternity event.[7]

References

  1. [1]
    G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910–1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 55.
  2. [2]
    Capt B.E. Sargeaunt, The Royal Monmouthshire Militia, London: RUSI, 1910/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, nd, ISBN 978-1-78331204-7, pp. 80–1, 258.
  3. [3]
    Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 307.
  4. [4]
    Charles Mosley, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, pp. 221–223.
  5. [5]
    Hammond, Peter W., editor, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda (Stroud, Gloucestershire: Allen Sutton Publishing, 1998), page 77.
  6. [6]
    "Richard III and the break in the male line". University of Leicester. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  7. [7]
    Richard III DNA results
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