Francis George Hugh Seymour, 5th Marquess of Hertford (11 February 1812 – 25 January 1884), known as Francis Seymour until 1870, was a

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer, courtier and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician. He served as

Lord Chamberlain of the Household Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

under

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

from 1874 to 1879.

Family and education

Seymour was the eldest son of Admiral

Sir George Seymour Sir George Seymour was an English knight. Born in Chelmsford on 11 June. Life He was a younger son of John Seymour and Elizabeth Darrell. He was High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High She ...

by his wife Georgiana Mary Berkeley, daughter of Sir George Berkeley; he was the elder brother of Henry Seymour and Lady Laura Seymour. He was the grandson of

Lord Hugh Seymour Vice-Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour (29 April 1759 – 11 September 1801) was a senior British Royal Navy officer of the late 18th century who was the fifth son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, and became known for being both a ...

and a great-grandson of

Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, KG, PC, PC (Ire) (5 July 1718 – 14 June 1794) of Ragley Hall, Arrow, in Warwickshire, was a British courtier and politician who, briefly, was Viceroy of Ireland where he had substantial ...

, and it is through this line he succeeded to the Hertford marquessate when his distant cousin,

Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford Captain Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford KG (22 February 1800 – 25 August 1870) was an English aristocrat and sometime politician who spent his life in France devoted to collecting art. From birth to 1822 he was styled V ...

, died unmarried and without issue in 1870. He inherited the

entailed In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust established by deed or settlement which restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents the property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise alien ...

property from the 4th Marquess, including

Ragley Hall Ragley Hall in the parish of Arrow in Warwickshire is a stately home, located south of Alcester and eight miles (13 km) west of Stratford-upon-Avon. It is the ancestral seat of the Seymour-Conway family, Marquesses of Hertford. History ...

, whilst the unentailed property went to his cousin's illegitimate son Richard Wallace, including what became the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along w ...

. He was educated at Harrow.

Career

Seymour joined the

Scots Fusilier Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

as a lieutenant in July 1827, rising to the rank of general in 1876 and retiring in 1881. He was

Groom of the Robes Groom of the Robes is an office in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of England (later Great Britain, ultimately the United Kingdom). In 1953, the Groom of the Robes to Elizabeth II had the task of bringing forward the robes and other items of ...

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

between 1833 and 1870. In 1874 Seymour, now Lord Hertford, was sworn of the

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 ...

and appointed

under

, a post he held until 1879. Just before his retirement he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

Family

Lord Hertford married, on 9 May 1839, Lady Emily Murray (1816-1902), daughter of

David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield, KT (7 March 1777 – 18 February 1840) was a British army officer and peer. Mansfield served as Lord Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire from 1803 until his death. Family David William Murray was born in ...

and Frederica Markham. They had ten children: *Frederica Georgina Seymour (c. 1841–1848), died young. *Lady Horatia Elizabeth Seymour (1842–1922), married Sir Henry David Erskine, a direct descendant of the Earls of Mar and had issue. * Hugh de Grey Seymour, 6th Marquess of Hertford (1843–1912) *Lady Florence Catherine Seymour (1845–1921), married Rev. James Blunt. *Lord Albert Charles Seymour (1847–1891), married Sarah Napier and had issue. *Lady Georgina Emily Lucy Seymour (1848–1944), married Henry Stirling-Home-Drummond, maternal grandson of

Charles Douglas, 6th Marquess of Queensberry Charles Douglas, 6th Marquess of Queensberry, (March 1777 – 3 December 1837), known as Sir Charles Douglas, 5th Baronet between 1783 and 1810, was a Scottish peer and member of Clan Douglas. Early life Douglas was the eldest son and heir of Si ...

. *Lord Ernest James Seymour (1850–1930), married Lady Georgiana Fortescue, daughter of

Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue DL (4 April 1818 – 10 October 1905), known as Viscount Ebrington from 1841 to 1861, was a British peer and occasional Liberal Party politician. Life He was born in London on 4 April 1818. He was the eld ...

and had issue. *Lady Constance Adelaide Seymour (1852–1915), married Frederick St John Newdigate Barne and had issue, including

Michael Barne Michael Barne (15 October 1877 – 31 May 1961) was an officer of the 1901-04 Discovery Expedition and was the last survivor of the expedition. Early life Barne was born at Sotterley Park, Suffolk, the son of Frederick Barne and his wife, La ...

. *Lady Mary Margaret Seymour (1855–1948), married Sir George Dashwood, 6th Baronet and had issue. *Reverend Lord Victor Alexander Seymour (1859–1935), married Elizabeth Cator and had issue. His brother-in-law was

Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Admiral Prince Victor Ferdinand Franz Eugen Gustaf Adolf Constantin Friedrich of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, (11 December 1833 – 31 December 1891), also known as Count von Gleichen, was an officer in the Royal Navy, and a sculptor. Biography He wa ...

, a nephew of Queen Victoria and a famous sculptor. Lord Hertford died on 25 January 1884, aged 71, from injuries following a fall from a horse at Ragley Hall. He was succeeded in the marquessate by his eldest son,

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

. The Dowager Marchioness of Hertford died at

Westcott, Surrey Westcott is a semi-rural English village and former civil parish west of the centre of Dorking on the A25 between the North Downs and Greensand Ridge, making it one of the 'Vale of Holmesdale' villages (greatly in Westcott an AONB) and is in ...

, on 24 June 1902, aged 86.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hertford, Francis Seymour, 5th Marquess of 1812 births 1884 deaths Francis Seymour People educated at Harrow School British Army generals Scots Guards officers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom British landowners 5 19th-century British businesspeople