Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, (17 May 1718 – 16 May 1778), known before 1721 as Lord Darcy and Conyers, was a British diplomat and politician.
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Career

In 1741 he collaborated with G.F. Handel in the production of Deidamia. From 1744 to 1746 he was ambassador at

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and from 1749 to 1751 he represented his country at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. In 1751 he became

Secretary of State for the Southern Department The secretary of state for the Southern Department was a position in the Cabinet (government), cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department (Great Britain), Southern Department became the H ...

, transferring in 1754 to the

Northern Department The Northern Department was a department of the government of the Kingdom of England from 1660 to 1707 and later the Kingdom of Great Britain from 1707 until 1782 when its functions were reorganised into the new Home Office and Foreign Office. ...

, and he remained in office until March 1761, when he was dismissed by

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

in favour of

Lord Bute John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Mini ...

, although he had largely been a cipher in that position to the stronger personalities of his colleagues, successively the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Willi ...

, Thomas Robinson, Henry Fox, and

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

. From 1771 to 1776 he acted as governor to two of the King's sons, a solemn phantom as Horace Walpole calls him. He left no sons who survived childhood, and all his titles became extinct except the Baronies of Darcy de Knayth and Conyers, which were baronies by writ inherited from his father, and the Portuguese countship of Mértola, inherited from his mother. In those peerages, he was succeeded by his daughter, Amelia Osborne, Marchioness of Carmarthen.

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist who was best known for his highly influential system of empiricism, philosophical scepticism and metaphysical naturalism. Beg ...

wrote, "It is remarkable that this family of d'Arcy icseems to be the only male descendant of any of the Conqueror's barons now remaining among the Peers. Lord Holdernessae icis the heir of that family".

Family

He was the only surviving son of Robert Darcy, 3rd Earl of Holderness, and his wife Lady Frederica Schomberg. On 29 October 1743, Darcy married Mary Doublet, daughter of Francis Doublet and Constantia Van-der-Beck. The couple had three children, only one of whom survived childhood: *George Darcy, Lord Darcy and Conyers (September 1745 – 27 September 1747) *Thomas Darcy, Lord Darcy and Conyers (born and died 1750), buried 29 July 1750 in the Great or St. James Church in

, the NetherlandsWildeman, Marinus Godefridus
De grafboeken der Groote of St. Jacobskerk te 's Gravenhage, (1620-1830)...
Robijns Publishers, 1898 * Lady Amelia Darcy (12 October 1754 – 27 January 1784); married firstly Francis Osborne, Marquess of Carmarthen, and had issue. The couple divorced in 1779. She married secondly John "Mad Jack" Byron, father of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

, and had one daughter,

Augusta Leigh Augusta Maria Leigh (''née'' Byron; 26 January 1783 – 12 October 1851) was the only surviving daughter of John Byron (British Army officer), John "Mad Jack" Byron, the poet Lord Byron's father, by his first wife, Amelia Osborne, Marchiones ...

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Holderness, Robert Darcy, 4th Earl Of 1718 births 1778 deaths Secretaries of state for the Northern Department Darcy, Robert Diplomatic peers Earls of Holderness Lord-lieutenants of the North Riding of Yorkshire Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Dutch Republic Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Republic of Venice 18th-century British politicians 11 Barons Conyers

Career

Family

See also

References

External links