Lord Charles Spencer PC (31 March 1740 – 16 June 1820) was a British courtier and politician from the

Spencer family The Spencer family is an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. From the 16th century, its members have held numerous titles including the dukedom of Marlborough, the earldoms of Sunderland and Spencer, and the Churchill barony. Two prom ...

who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

between 1761 and 1801.

Background

Spencer was the second son of

Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, (22 November 170620 October 1758), styled as The Honourable Charles Spencer between 1706 and 1729 and as The Earl of Sunderland between 1729 and 1733, was a British soldier, nobleman, and politician fr ...

, and the Hon. Elizabeth Trevor, daughter of Thomas Trevor, 2nd Baron Trevor.

George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough, (26 January 1739 – 29 January 1817), styled Marquess of Blandford until 1758, was a British courtier, nobleman, and politician from the Spencer family. He served as Lord Chamberlain between 1762 a ...

, was his elder brother.thepeerage.com Lord Charles Spencer
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Political career

Spencer sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

from 1761 to 1790 and 1796 to 1801 and 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 ...

in 1763. He served as

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of t ...

from 1763 to 1765, as a Junior Lord of the Admiralty from 1768 to 1779 and as

Treasurer of the Chamber The Treasurer of the Chamber was at various points a position in the British royal household. 13th century The post of Treasurer of the Chamber first arose in the early 13th century. As part of the evolutionary changes that saw the Treasurer of the ...

from 1779 to 1782, when that sinecure post was abolished. He was later

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official respons ...

from 1801 to 1806 and

Master of the Mint Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint given to the most senior person responsible for its operation. It was an important office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, between ...

in 1806. From 1806 until his death he was a

Gentleman of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

Family

Reynolds-joshua-sir--lady-charles-spencer-792789

Spencer married Lady Mary Beauclerk (4 December 1743 – 13 January 1812), daughter of

Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere Admiral Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere (14 July 1699 – 21 October 1781), known as Lord Vere Beauclerk until 1750, was a Royal Navy officer, British peer and politician who sat in the House of Commons for 24 years from 1726 to 1750. After s ...

and sister of

Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans (3 June 1740 – 9 February 1802) was a British landowner, and a collector of antiquities and works of art. Early life Aubrey Beauclerk was born in 1740, the son of Admiral Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron V ...

, on 2 October 1762. They had three sons.''Burkes Peerage'' (1939 edition), s.v Marlborough, Duke * Robert Spencer (''circa'' 1764 – 1831) * John Spencer (21 December 1767 – 17 December 1831) * William Robert Spencer (9 January 1769 – 23 October 1834) Lady Charles Spencer died in January 1812 aged 68. Spencer survived her by eight years and died in June 1820, aged 80.

References

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Charles, Lord 1740 births 1820 deaths Younger sons of dukes Lords of the Admiralty United Kingdom Postmasters General Masters of the Mint Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Charles Spencer