Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, KG, PC (16715 June 1740) was a British politician and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

. None of his sons outlived him, so his new title became extinct on his death. Though the house he built at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire has gone, parts of his very grand garden have survived relatively untouched.

Family

He was a son of

Anthony Grey, 11th Earl of Kent Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

, and

Mary Grey, 1st Baroness Lucas of Crudwell Mary Grey, Countess of Kent (died 1 November 1702), '' suo jure'' 1st Baroness Lucas of Crudwell (née Mary Lucas), was an English peeress in her own right. Origins She was the only surviving child of John Lucas, 1st Baron Lucas (1606–1671) o ...

. He succeeded his father as 12th

Earl of Kent The peerage title Earl of Kent has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In fiction, the Earl of Kent is also known as a prominent supporting character in William Shakespeare's traged ...

in 1702, having succeeded his mother as 2nd Baron Lucas earlier the same year. He was the grandfather, through his daughter Anne Grey, of

Henry Cavendish Henry Cavendish ( ; 10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was an English natural philosopher and scientist who was an important experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed "infl ...

, the preeminent English chemist and physicist of the late 18th century.

Political career

Having taken his seat in the House of Lords and though regarded as lacking talent and ambitionPhilip Carter, 'Grey, Henry, duke of Kent', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 he, as the politically expedient candidate, was made

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main c ...

and a Privy Councillor in 1704. Grey was unpopular; he was nicknamed 'Bug' for his body odour. He traded his position for a dukedom in 1710, and was succeeded as Lord Chamberlain by the Duke of Shrewsbury. Contemporary commentators including

John Macky John Macky (died 1726) was a Scottish spy. He was the first person to inform the British authorities of James II's intended invasion of England in 1692 after the former king had fled from France to England. In October 1693 he was made inspector of ...

and

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, ...

did defend Grey. He might have been, for his time, the right man in the right place. After 1710 he served in politically minor positions: Gentleman of the Bedchamber, Constable of Windsor Castle, Lord Steward of the Household from 1716 until 1718, and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal from 1719 until 1720. He was one of the Lords Justices appointed during the absence of George I of Great Britain. In 1719, Grey was one of the main subscribers in the eighteenth-century

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...

, a corporation that produced baroque opera on stage. At the age of 68, a year before his death, he took part, as a founding governor, in the creation of Britain's first home for abandoned children,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word " hospita ...

Titles

Grey succeeded his father as 12th Earl of Kent in 1702, having succeeded his mother as 2nd Baron Lucas earlier the same year. He was created

Marquess of Kent A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman ...

, Earl of Harold and

Viscount Goderich Viscount Goderich was a title that was created twice in British history. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1706 in favour of Henry Grey, 12th Earl of Kent. He was made Marquess of Kent at the same time and was further honoure ...

in 1706, Duke of Kent in 1710 for relinquishing his Lord Chamberlain position, and made a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

in 1712. Left without a male heir after the death of his son George Grey, Earl of Harold, in 1733, he was created Marquess Grey in 1740, with a special remainder to his granddaughter Lady Jemima Campbell and her heirs male. She also succeeded to the Barony of Lucas. All his other titles became extinct at his death.

Marriages and children

Henry married firstly, in 1694, Jemima Crew (died 2 July 1728), a daughter of Thomas Crew, 2nd Baron Crew, and his second wife, Anne Armine, daughter of Sir William Armine, 2nd Baronet.John and J.B. Burke. ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies of England'', Scott, Webster, and Geary, 1838. pg 3
''Google eBook''
/ref> They had at least six children: * Anthony Grey, Earl of Harold (died 1723). Married Lady Mary Tufton, a daughter of Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet, and Lady Catharine Cavendish. *Henry Grey (c. 16961717). *Amabel Grey (died 2 March 1726). Married John Campbell, 3rd Earl of Breadalbane and Holland. *Jemima Grey (c. 16997 July 1731). Married John Ashburnham, 1st Earl of Ashburnham. *Anne Grey (died 20 September 1733). Married Lord Charles Cavendish. *Mary Grey. Married David Gregory of Christ Church. He married secondly Sophia Bentinck (died 5 June 1741) on 24 March 1729, a daughter of William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, and his second wife Jane Martha Temple. They had a son and a daughter: *George Grey, Earl of Harold (c. 1732–1733) *Anne Sophia Grey (died 24 March 1780). Married John Egerton,

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durha ...

Footnotes

Sources

The Complete Peerage ''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a bord ...

External links

A Grey family pedigree available to subscribers
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Henry Grey, 1st Duke of 1671 births 1740 deaths Dukes of Kent Garter Knights appointed by Anne Lord-Lieutenants of Bedfordshire Lord-Lieutenants of Buckinghamshire Lord-Lieutenants of Herefordshire Lords Privy Seal Henry Marquesses Grey Earls of Kent (1465 creation) Barons Lucas