Sir Augustus Berkeley Paget GCB (16 April 1823 – 11 July 1896) was a British

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. In 1876, Paget was appointed a member of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

Biography

Augustus Berkeley Paget was born on 16 April 1823, the son of the diplomat, the Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur Paget and Lady Augusta Fane. He was the nephew of General Sir

Edward Paget General Sir Edward Paget (3 November 1775 – 13 May 1849) was a British Army officer. Career Born the fourth son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, Edward Paget became a cornet in the 1st Regiment of Life Guards in 1792. He was Member o ...

and grandson of

Henry Bayly Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge Henry Bayly-Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge (18 June 1744 – 13 March 1812), known as Henry Bayly until 1769 and as Lord Paget between 1769 and 1784, was a British peer. Early life Born Henry Bayly, Uxbridge was the eldest son of Sir Nicholas Bay ...

. He was educated at

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey London ...

, and in 1840 he entered the service of the crown as clerk in the secretary's department of the general

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

. He was soon transferred to the Audit Office, and again on 21 August 1841 to the more competitive

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 ...

. Paget then decided to enter the diplomatic service, and on 2 December 1843, obtained an appointment as temporary attaché at

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, where he remained till 1846. On 6 February 1846, he was appointed ''precis'' writer to the foreign secretary,

Lord Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in ...

, but on 26 June became second paid attaché to the British embassy at

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Here he witnessed the

French demonstration of 15 May 1848 The French demonstration of 15 May 1848 was an event played out, mostly, in the streets of Paris. It was intended to reverse the results of a Second Republic election of deputies to the Constituent Assembly. It is difficult to say, with any prec ...

, and the establishment of the second empire; on 18 December 1851 he became first paid attaché. On 12 February 1852, he was promoted to be secretary of legation at

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

at a time when diplomatic relations with Greece were more or less in abeyance, so that his position was peculiar and required much tact. On 8 December 1852, he went on to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and acted as

consul-general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

till 19 February 1853, returned to England on leave of absence on 27 May 1853, and was transferred to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

as secretary of legation on 14 January 1854. Here he acted as ''chargé d'affaires'' from 7 May to 21 October 1855, and again from 3 July to 24 August 1856. He was transferred to Lisbon on 18 February 1857, and acted as ''chargé d'affaires'' from 9 July 1857 to 14 January 1858. On 1 April 1858, he was sent to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and acted as ''chargé d'affaires'' from 17 June to 20 November 1858. On 13 December 1858, he was appointed envoy extraordinary and

minister plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under th ...

to the

King of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast on ...

. On 6 June 1859, he was gazetted to the post of minister at the court of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, but on 6 July this appointment was cancelled in favour of that to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. As minister at Copenhagen, Paget saw the accession of

Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein ...

at the close of 1863, and had to play a leading part in regard to the Schleswig-Holstein difficulty in 1864; nor was his position much less difficult when in 1866 Prussia meditated war against Austria. On 9 June 1866, he was sent to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

as envoy extraordinary. Appointed on 6 July 1867 to Italy as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Victor Emmanuel, he represented Great Britain in Italy during one of the most critical periods of Italian history; he saw the entry of the Italian troops into Rome and the beginning of a new era of national life. It is admitted that in this trying period his tact was conspicuous. He remained in Italy for a long time, becoming ambassador extraordinary on 24 March 1876. On 12 September 1883 he relinquished this post and, after a short period of leave, became ambassador at Vienna on 1 January 1884. From that post he retired on 1 July 1893.

Family

Paget married in 1860 Countess Walburga Ehrengarde Helena von Hohenthal. The couple had three children: #Victor Frederick William Augustus Paget (1861–1927), a

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

#Alberta Victoria Sarah Caroline Paget (1863–1944), married

Robert Windsor-Clive, 1st Earl of Plymouth Robert George Windsor-Clive, 1st Earl of Plymouth, (27 August 1857 – 6 March 1923), known as the 14th Baron Windsor between 1869 and 1905, was a British nobleman and Conservative politician. He was the founding President of the London Socie ...

, GBE, CB, PC (1857–1923) #

Ralph Paget Sir Ralph Spencer Paget (26 November 1864 – 11 May 1940) was a British diplomat in the Foreign Service, culminating in his appointment as Ambassador to Brazil in 1918, a position he held until 1920. Early life and career Ralph Spencer Page ...

(1864–1940, later became ''Sir Ralph Paget'',

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

, CVO, PC) Sir Augustus died on 11 July 1896 and was buried in the cemetery of

Tardebigge Tardebigge () is a village in Worcestershire, England. The village is most famous for the Tardebigge Locks, a flight of 30 canal locks that raise the Worcester and Birmingham Canal over over the Lickey Ridge. It lies in the county of Worcester ...

, Worcestershire, next to the family plot of the Earls of Plymouth. His wife later achieved fame in her own right by publishing memoirs of her life in their various embassies.

References

;Attribution

External links

Antique prints
accessed 27 October 2006

accessed 27 October 2006

accessed 27 October 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Paget, Augustus Berkeley 1823 births 1896 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Denmark Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Germany Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Portugal Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Italy Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Charterhouse School

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Austria-Hungary