Henry William Greville (28 October 1801 – 12 December 1872) was an English aristocrat and diarist. He was the youngest son of Charles Greville, grandson of the fifth Lord Warwick, by Lady Charlotte Cavendish Bentinck, eldest daughter of

William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, (14 April 173830 October 1809) was a British Whig and then a Tory politician during the late Georgian era. He served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford (1792–1809) an ...

. He was born on 28 Oct. 1801, and was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, where he graduated B.A. on 4 June 1823. Much of his boyhood was spent on the continent, chiefly at

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, where his family resided. He thus learned to speak French and Italian with fluency. He was taken by the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

to the celebrated ball given by the Duchess of Richmond at Brussels on the night before the

battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

. He became private secretary to Lord Francis Egerton, afterwards earl of Ellesmere, when

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

. From 1834 to 1844 he was attaché to the British embassy in Paris. He afterwards held the post of

gentleman usher Gentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders. Gentlemen Ushers as servants Historical Gentlemen Ushers were originally a class of servants fou ...

at court. Greville was fond of society, of music, and the drama.

Fanny Kemble Frances Anne "Fanny" Kemble (27 November 180915 January 1893) was a British actress from a theatre family in the early and mid-19th century. She was a well-known and popular writer and abolitionist, whose published works included plays, poetry ...

knew him well, and described his fine voice and handsome appearance in her ''Records of a Girlhood'', iii. 173. He was known to have been homosexual, and enjoyed a close relationship with the younger artist

Frederic Leighton Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subjec ...

whom he met in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

in 1856. Greville's letters are full of nicknames for Leighton - calling him 'Fay' and 'Bimbo' and addressing him as "dear boy". However, the affection seems not to have been reciprocated.Emmanuel Cooper, ''The Sexual Perspective: Homosexuality and Art'', London, 1986 He died on 12 Dec. 1872 at his house in

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

. Like his brother,

Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville (2 April 1794 – 17 January 1865) was an English diarist and an amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1819 to 1827. His father Charles Greville was a second cousin of the 1st Earl of Warwick, and ...

, he kept during many years of his life a diary of such events, public and private, as specially interested him, a portion of which has been edited by his niece, Viscountess Enfield, under the title, ''Leaves from the Diary of Henry Greville'', 1883–4, 2 vols. 8vo. The ''Diary'' derives its chief importance as an historical authority from the author's position at Paris between 1834 and 1844.

References

1801 births 1872 deaths 19th-century English non-fiction writers People educated at Westminster School, London

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, ...

LGBT people from England English diarists Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English male non-fiction writers 19th-century English male writers 19th-century diarists {{england-writer-stub