George Villiers, 4th Viscount Grandison was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

peer from the

Villiers family Villiers ( ) is an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. Over time, various members of the Villiers family were made knights, baronets, and peers. Peerages held by the Villiers family include the dukedoms of Buckingham (1623–1687) and Clevel ...

. He is known for being the maternal grandfather of

Pitt the elder William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

, prime minister of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

from 1766 to 1768. He was also the uncle of two royal mistresses,

Barbara Villiers Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine (née Barbara Villiers, – 9 October 1709), was an English royal mistress of the Villiers family and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of Eng ...

(mistress of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

), and

Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Orkney {{Infobox noble , name = Elizabeth Hamilton , title = Countess of Orkney , image = Elizbeth Villiers.jpg , caption = Elizabeth Villiers , alt = , CoA = , more ...

(presumed mistress of

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

). He inherited the title

Viscount Grandison Viscount Grandison, of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1620 for Sir Oliver St John, the Lord Deputy of Ireland. He was the descendant and namesake of Oliver St John, whose elder brother Sir John St John was the ...

upon the death of

John Villier, 3rd Viscount Grandison John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. His son,

Edward FitzGerald-Villiers Edward FitzGerald-Villiers (c. 1654 – January 1693) was an Anglo-Irish soldier in the English Army from the Villiers family. He was the eldest son of George Villiers, 4th Viscount Grandison and his wife Mary, daughter of Francis Leigh, 1st E ...

died in 1693, so the title went to his grandson,

John Villiers, 1st Earl Grandison John Villiers, 1st Earl Grandison, 5th Viscount Grandison (c.1684 – 14 May 1766) was an Anglo-Irish peer from the Villiers family. Grandison was the son of Brigadier-General Hon. Edward FitzGerald-Villiers and Katherine FitzGerald. His ...

. He married Lady Mary Leigh, the daughter of

Francis Leigh, 1st Earl of Chichester Francis Leigh, 1st Earl of Chichester ( 28 April 1598 – 21 December 1653) was a Royalist politician and courtier around the period of the English Civil War.''Thomas Seccombe'', 'Leigh, Francis, first earl of Chichester (died 1653)', rev. Sean Ke ...

. His second wife was Mary Garford, daughter of Richard Garford. Villiers was knighted in 1644, most likely because he supported the royalist cause. In 1662, He was appointed

Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard The Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a UK Government post usually held by the Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords. The present Captain is The 9th Earl of Courtown, who was appointed to the position in ...

, and remained in that position until 1689, when he was removed from it by

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

. As captain, he was one of the most senior figures in the Royal household, which resulted in him walking immediately behind

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...

, during his coronation procession in 1685.

References

{{Reflist 1618 births 1699 deaths Villiers family English nobility Irish nobility