Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex PC (28 December 1670 – 10 January 1710,

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

) of Cassiobury House, Watford, Hertfordshire, was an English

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

, a

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

Origins

He was the son of Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex (1631–1683) by his wife Elizabeth Percy, a daughter of

Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy, KG, JP (29 September 160213 October 1668) was an English aristocrat, and supporter of the Parliamentary cause in the First English Civil War. The Percies had been the leading fam ...

Career

After his father's

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

in 1683, Capell became the 2nd

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

. He held the office of

Gentleman of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

to King William III between 1691 and 1702. As Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire he was

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

of the Hertfordshire Militia in 1697. He was Colonel of the 4th Dragoons between 1693 and 1710. In 1708 was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

by Queen Anne.

Marriage and children

On 28 February 1698 Algernon Capell married Mary Bentinck, a daughter of

William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, (20 July 164923 November 1709) was a Dutch and English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, and future King of England. ...

by his wife Anne Villiers, by whom he had three children: 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, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 52. * William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex (1697–1743), son and heir, who married twice. **Firstly to Lady Jane Hyde (died January 1723/24), daughter of

Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon and 2nd Earl of Rochester, PC (June 1672 – 10 December 1753), styled Lord Hyde from 1682 to 1711, was an English Army officer and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1692 ...

, by whom he had two daughters. **Secondly to Lady Elizabeth Russell (died 8 June 1784), a daughter of

Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford KG (1 November 1680 – 26 May 1711) was an English nobleman and politician. He was the son of William Russell, Lord Russell, and his wife Lady Rachel Wriothesley. From 1683 until 1694, he was styled L ...

, by whom he had children including William Capell, 4th Earl of Essex. * Lady Mary Capel (died 12 November 1762), wife of

Alan Brodrick, 2nd Viscount Midleton Alan Brodrick, 2nd Viscount Midleton (31 January 1702 – 8 June 1747) was a British peer and significant cricket patron who was jointly responsible for creating the sport's earliest known written rules. Cricket patronage Midleton succeeded his ...

(died 8 June 1747), with issue. * Lady Elizabeth Capell, who married twice: **Firstly to Samuel Molyneux, without issue. **Secondly to Nathaniel St. André, without issue.

References

External links

Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essex, Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl Of 1654 births 1710 deaths 17th-century English nobility 18th-century English people 4th Queen's Own Hussars officers Lord-Lieutenants of Hertfordshire Lord-Lieutenants of the Tower Hamlets Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain

Algernon Algernon may refer to: * Algernon (name), a given name (includes a list of people and characters with the name) * Algernon Township, Custer County, Nebraska See also * Treaty of Algeron, an agreement signed by the United Federation of Planets and ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

British colonels