His Grace

The Duke of Beaufort

KG
Born22 December 1766 (1766-12-22)
Died23 November 1835 (1835-11-24) (aged 68)
Noble familyBeaufort
Spouse(s)Charlotte Sophia Leveson-Gower
Issue12, including Henry, Granville, and Harriet
FatherHenry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort
MotherElizabeth Boscawen

Henry Charles Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort, KG (22 December 1766 – 23 November 1835), styled Marquess of Worcester until 1803, was a British politician.

Background and education

Somerset was the son of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort. He was styled by the courtesy title Marquess of Worcester from his birth until his accession to the dukedom in 1803.[1] He was educated at Westminster School, London and graduated from Trinity College, Oxford, on 28 June 1786 with a Master of Arts.

Political career

Worcester was a Tory Member of Parliament (MP) for Monmouth between 1788 and 1790, for Bristol between 1790 and 1796, and for Gloucestershire between 1796 and 1803, when he succeeded to his father's seat in the House of Lords. He was Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire and Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire from 1803, and Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire from 1810, until his death in 1835. He bore the Queen's Crown for the coronation of William IV and Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, 8 September 1831. He became Constable of St Briavel's Castle and Warden of the Forest of Dean in 1812, and High Steward of Bristol in 1834; he held all these posts for the rest of his life. He was nominated and invested as a Knight of the Garter on 17 January 1805, and was installed on 23 April the same year; since no Knight had been installed since 1801, there were seven vacancies at the time.[2]

He was commissioned Major in his father's Monmouth and Brecon Militia in February 1793 on the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War. He succeeded his father as Colonel of the regiment in 1803, and retained the command until his own death.[3]

Family

Worcester married Lady Charlotte Sophia Leveson-Gower (1771–1854), daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, on 16 May 1791 at Lambeth Church, London. They had four sons and eight daughters:[4]

Beaufort died at Badminton House, Gloucestershire, and was buried there in St Michael and All Angels Church on 2 December 1835, shortly before his 69th birthday.

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Complete Peerage, Vol. II, pp. 55–6; all data not otherwise referenced are from this location.
  2. ^ Complete Peerage, Vol. II, p. 568
  3. ^ Capt B.E. Sargeaunt, The Royal Monmouthshire Militia, London: RUSI, 1910/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, nd, ISBN 978-1-78331204-7, pp. 80–3, 259.
  4. ^ Debrett's, 1840 edition, p. 71.

External links

Parliament of Great Britain Preceded bySir John Stepney Member of Parliament for Monmouth Boroughs 1788–1790 Succeeded byCharles Bragge Preceded byMatthew Brickdale Henry Cruger Member of Parliament for Bristol 1790–1796 With: The Lord Sheffield Succeeded byThe Lord Sheffield Charles Bragge Preceded bySir George Cranfield Berkeley Thomas Master Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire 1796–1801 With: Sir George Cranfield Berkeley Succeeded byParliament of the United Kingdom Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded byParliament of Great Britain Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire 1801–1803 With: Sir George Cranfield Berkeley Succeeded bySir George Cranfield Berkeley Lord Robert Somerset Honorary titles Preceded byThe Duke of Beaufort Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire 1803–1835 Succeeded byPenry Williams Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire 1803–1835 Succeeded byCapel Hanbury Leigh Preceded byThe Earl of Berkeley Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire 1810–1835 Succeeded byThe Lord Segrave Vice-Admiral of Gloucestershire 1810–1835 Vacant Peerage of England Preceded byHenry Somerset Duke of Beaufort 1803–1835 Succeeded byHenry Somerset
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