Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Robert Fulke Greville FRS (3 February 1751 – 27 April 1824) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer, courtier and politician 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 1774 and 1807.

Life

The son of

Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick, KT (10 October 1719 – 8 July 1773), known as Lord Brooke from 1727 to 1746 and Earl Brooke from 1746, was a British nobleman. He inherited Warwick Castle and the title of Baron Brooke from his father in 1 ...

, and his wife, the former Elizabeth Hamilton, he was a younger brother of

George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick, FRS, FSA (16 September 1746 – 1816), styled Lord Greville until 1773, was a British nobleman and politician. The eldest son of Francis Greville, 1st Earl Brooke (created Earl of Warwick in 1759), he was ...

, and of

Charles Francis Greville Charles Francis Greville PC FRS FRSE FLS FSA (12 May 1749 – 23 April 1809) was a British antiquarian, collector and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1790. Early life Greville was the second son of Francis Greville, ...

. He was educated at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He was commissioned as a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

in the 10th Dragoons in 1768, and promoted to lieutenant in 1772; he transferred to the

1st Foot Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

in April 1775 and became captain the same year, then lieutenant-colonel in 1777. He saw little or no active service and perhaps the most notable aspect of his army career was as an

equerry An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...

to King

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 ...

from 1781 to 1797. This included the king's first bout of physical and mental illness, then known as madness, for which Greville's diaries are a valuable primary source. Some incidents from them were incorporated into the play ''

The Madness of George III ''The Madness of George III'' is a 1991 play by Alan Bennett. It is a fictionalised biographical study of the latter half of the reign of George III of the United Kingdom, his battle with mental illness, and the inability of his court to handle h ...

'' and its

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

- a fictionalised Greville appears in both of them, played in the film by

Rupert Graves Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in ''A Room with a View'', ''Maurice'', ''The Madness of King George'' and ''The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he starred ...

. Greville's duties as an equerry did not prevent him starting a parliamentary career, initially 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

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

from 1774 to 1780, supporting the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

government of

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most o ...

. He went with the king's household on its 1794 season in Weymouth, again recording it in his diary in considerable detail. 1794 also saw Greville elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. In 1796, a year before leaving his post as equerry, he was elected Member of Parliament for New Windsor, holding the constituency for ten years. On 19 October 1797, he married Louisa Murray (née Cathcart), Countess of Mansfield - she was the widow of David Murray and daughter of Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart. He returned to the royal household as

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

from 1800 to 1818 (from 1812 at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

after the final onset of George III's illness). His diaries recounting the period are now held in the Royal Collection.

Fanny Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post as "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Mecklen ...

referred to Greville as "Colonel Wellbred" and he was a favourite at court.

Emma, Lady Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), generally known as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becoming the mistress of a series of wealthy men ...

, who had been the mistress of his brother Charles, wrote to Robert on several occasions, seeking financial assistance. Greville died on 27 April 1824. His brother Charles Francis had founded the port of

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

and Robert's son and namesake attempted to make improvements to it.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greville, Robert Fulke 1751 births 1824 deaths Younger sons of earls Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Tory MPs (pre-1834) British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 Equerries Grenadier Guards officers 10th Royal Hussars officers

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of the University of Edinburgh