Sir Henry Belasyse KB (c. 1639 – August 1667) was an English army officer and Member of the Parliament of England. He was killed in a duel after a trivial quarrel with a friend, a tragedy which gave rise to much public comment.

Biography

He was the only surviving son of

John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse (or Bellasis) (24 June 1614 – 10 September 1689) was an English nobleman, Royalist officer and Member of Parliament, notable for his role during and after the Civil War. He suffered a long spell of imprison ...

and his first wife Jane Boteler, daughter of Sir Robert Boteler. Belasyse was captain of

foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

in the garrison of Hull in 1660–1662 and from 1665 to his death, as well as holding a lieutenant's commission for a few months during 1666 in the Duke of Buckingham's Regiment of Horse. He was made a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

in 1661. In November 1666 was elected to Parliament for

Great Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linc ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

. Nine months later he was killed in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

following a drunken quarrel with a close friend, the dramatist Thomas Porter.

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

described the episode at length in his

Diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

, and commented that it was the silliest and most trivial quarrel imaginable: "the world doth talk of them as a couple of fools".

Family

He married Susan, daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Airmine, 2nd Baronet and Anne Crane: they had one son, Henry. Unlike her husband, Susan was a Protestant. She was described as a lady of great life and vivacity, but very little beauty. Susan was created Baroness Belasyse of Osgodby for life in 1674, and their son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

succeeded his grandfather as second and last Baron Belasyse of Worlaby in 1689. Susan remarried James Fortrey and died in 1713, having outlived her only son by many years. In her last years, she was much troubled by lawsuits. After the death of his first wife

Anne Hyde Anne Hyde (12 March 163731 March 1671) was Duchess of York and Albany as the first wife of James, Duke of York, who later became King James II and VII. Anne was the daughter of a member of the English gentry – Edward Hyde (later created ...

. in 1671, the future James II was privately pledged to marry Susan, but his brother Charles II forbade the marriage and Susan was bullied into surrendering the written proofs of the engagement, although it is said that she managed to retain copies of the relevant papers.Fraser, Antonia ''King Charles II'' Mandarin edition 1993 p. 320

Notes

References

* * 1630s births 1667 deaths Knights of the Bath Heirs apparent who never acceded English MPs 1661–1679 Eldest sons of British hereditary barons Members of the Parliament of England for Great Grimsby {{17thC-England-MP-stub