Sir Arthur James Herbert, (22 August 1855 – 31 August 1921) was a British diplomat who served as the first British envoy to Norway.

Early life

He was the second son of Hon. Augusta Charlotte Elizabeth ( Hall) Herbert and

John Arthur Edward Herbert John Arthur Edward Herbert (12 October 1818 – 18 August 1895) was Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Monmouthshire. He was also High Sheriff of Monmouthshire in 1849. Family John Arthur Edward Jones was born on 12 October 1818. His father w ...

, the

High Sheriff of Monmouthshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Monmouthshire, an office which was created in 1536 but not fully settled until 1540. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, the shrievalty of Monmouthshire was abolished, and replaced ...

. Among his siblings were

Ivor Herbert, 1st Baron Treowen Major-General Ivor John Caradoc Herbert, 1st Baron Treowen, CB, CMG, KStJ (15 July 1851 – 18 October 1933), known as Sir Ivor Herbert, Bt, between 1907 and 1917, was a British Liberal politician and British Army officer in the Grenadier Guard ...

, Florence Herbert (wife of

Joseph Monteith Joseph Dunsmore Monteith (June 2, 1865 – January 8, 1934) was an Ontario MLA for Perth North from 1923 to 1934. He was treasurer from 1926 to 1930 and Minister of Labour, Public Works and Highways from 1930 to 1934. Monteith, a physician ...

), and Lt.-Col. Edward Bleiddian Herbert of the

17th Lancers The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lanc ...

(who married Hon. Mary Dalberg-Acton, daughter of John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton). His paternal grandparents were John Jones of

Llanarth Court Llanarth Court is a late-18th-century country house with substantial 19th-century alterations in Llanarth, Monmouthshire, Wales. The court was built for the Jones family of Treowen and was subsequently the home of Ivor Herbert, 1st Baron Treowen ...

and the former Lady Harriet Plunkett (a daughter of

Arthur Plunkett, 8th Earl of Fingall Arthur James Plunkett, 8th Earl of Fingall KP (9 September 1759 – 30 July 1835), styled Lord Killeen until 1793, was an Irish peer. A prominent Roman Catholic, he was a leading supporter of the cause of Catholic Emancipation. He was at the sam ...

). His mother was the only child of Benjamin Hall, 1st Baron Llanover and the former Augusta Waddington (sister of Frances Bunsen, wife of the Prussian diplomat

Baron Bunsen Christian Charles or Karl Josias von Bunsen (25 August 1791 – 28 November 1860), also known as , was a German diplomat and scholar. Life Early life Bunsen was born at Korbach, an old town in the German principality of Waldeck. His fat ...

). Herbert was educated 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 ...

, and joined the Diplomatic Service in 1879.

Career

In the early years of his service, he was posted at

Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Washington, D.C., Buenos Aires, Tehran, Brussels,

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and Copenhagen. In August 1902, he was appointed Consul-General at Budapest, and the following year he became

chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

( Hesse) and Karlsruhe ( Baden). He received official allowances for knowledge of Russian and Persian and spoke five other languages fluently.''The Times'', 1 September 1921, page 13 After the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905, Herbert was appointed the first British envoy to the newly independent Norway, with the then-customary title of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. He was the first foreign envoy to arrive in Christiania (now Oslo) after the recognition of Norway as an independent state by foreign powers. Shortly afterwards he bought the Villa Frognæs, built in 1859 for the banker

Thomas Heftye Thomas Thomassen Heftye (10 April 1860 – 19 September 1921) was a Norwegian military officer, engineer, sports official and politician for the Liberal Party. He is best known as the Norwegian Minister of Defence from June to October 1903 and Ma ...

and recognized as one of the finest private residences in the city, to be the British

Legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...

. The

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

had strongly recommended a rental property, but Herbert argued that with the new Norwegian king, Haakon VII, married to a British princess, it was imperative for Britain to establish a first-class legation there, and the British Treasury approved the purchase early in 1906. The Villa Frognæs remains the official residence of the British Ambassador, but new offices have been built behind the house, facing Thomas Heftyes gate, to house the embassy. Herbert was appointed envoy to Mexico in 1911 but did not proceed and instead retired from the diplomatic service. Sir Arthur was Deputy Lieutenant of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

Personal life

Harriet Ives Gammell, age 6, Helen Louise Gammell, age 3

On 14 December 1892, Herbert was married Helen Louise Gammell at the church of Our Lady of the Isle in Newport, Rhode Island with the reception being held at the Gammell cottage known as "Ocean Lawn" there. Helen, who was from

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, the daughter of Elizabeth Amory ( Ives) Gammell and William Gammell, a professor at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. She was a direct descendant of the Ives family of Providence and also of Nicholas Brown, since Nicholas Brown's daughter married Thomas Ives in the 18th century. Together, they were the parents of: * John Arthur Herbert (1895–1943), an MP for

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

and

Governor of Bengal The Governor was the chief colonial administrator in the Bengal presidency, originally the "Presidency of Fort William" and later "Bengal province". In 1644, Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to ...

who married Lady Mary Fox-Strangeways (1903–1948), a Woman of the Bedchamber to Princess Elizabeth from 1944 to 1948 who was the eldest daughter of Giles Fox-Strangways, 6th Earl of Ilchester and Lady Helen Vane-Tempest-Stewart (a daughter of the 6th Marquess of Londonderry). After his retirement, Sir Arthur and Lady Herbert returned to American and vacationed amongst her family, including at Newport and Tuxedo Park, New York. Sir Arthur died on 31 August 1921.

Honours

Herbert was appointed

CVO CVO may refer to: Science and technology * Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington, US * Chief veterinary officer, the head of a veterinary authority * Circumventricular organs, positioned around the ventricular system of the brain * Co ...

in 1905, knighted KCVO on his appointment to Norway and raised to GCVO in 1908 on the occasion of a

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

by King Edward VII to Norway. He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Olav by King Haakon VII in 1906.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Arthur James 1855 births 1921 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Norway Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Welsh cricketers Europeans cricketers Deputy Lieutenants of Monmouthshire