Sir Alexander Malet, 2nd Baronet (1800–1886) was an English diplomat and writer.

Life

The eldest son of

Sir Charles Malet, 1st Baronet Sir Charles Warre Malet, 1st Baronet (30 December 1752 – 24 January 1815) was a British diplomat who served in the British East India Company as a Resident in the court of the Peshwa Marathas. He was the oldest son of Alexander Malet (1704– ...

, born at Hartham Park, Wiltshire in June 1800, he succeeded to the baronetcy in 1815. He was educated at Winchester College and at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

(B.A. 1822), and entered the diplomatic service in 1824 as unpaid attaché at St. Petersburg. There he was an eye-witness to the Decembrist revolt of 1825. Malet later became secretary of legation at

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

under Lord Howden during the

Miguelite war The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War (), the War of the Two Brothers () or Miguelite War (), was a war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 18 ...

of 1832–1834. He served in a similar post at The Hague, and was then secretary of the embassy at Vienna, and British minister at Württemberg. In 1849 Malet became minister plenipotentiary to the Germanic Confederation at Frankfurt, and there formed a close friendship with Prince Bismarck. He was in post from the Revolution in Baden, to the

battle of Sadowa A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, and the expulsion of Austria from the Confederation. On the fall of the Germanic confederation in 1866, Malet retired on a pension, and was made a K.C.B. He died on 28 November 1886.

Works

Malet was the author of: * ''Some Account of the System of Fagging at Winchester School, with Remarks … on the late Expulsions thence for resistance to the Authority of the Prefects'', London, 1828; * An English metrical translation of Wace's ''

Roman de Rou ''Roman de Rou'' is a verse chronicle by Wace in Norman covering the history of the Dukes of Normandy from the time of Rollo of Normandy to the battle of Tinchebray in 1106. It is a national epic of Normandy. Following the success of his ''Roma ...

'', London, 1860; and of * ''The Overthrow of the Germanic Confederation by Prussia in 1866'', London, 1870.

Family

In 1834 Malet married Marianne Dora, only daughter of John Spalding, of the Holm, Scotland and stepdaughter of

Lord Brougham Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor and played a prominent role in passing the 1832 Reform Act and 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. ...

. They had two sons, Lieutenant-colonel Sir Henry Charles Eden Malet, 3rd Baronet, and

Edward Malet Sir Edward Baldwin Malet, 4th Baronet (10 October 1837 – 29 June 1908) was a British diplomat. Edward Malet came from a family of diplomats; his father was Sir Alexander Malet, British minister to Württemberg and later to the German Co ...

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Malet, Alexander 1800 births 1886 deaths Deputy Lieutenants of Wiltshire British diplomats English writers Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain People from Wiltshire