Sir Robert Peel, 3rd Baronet
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sir Robert Peel, 3rd Baronet, GCB, PC (4 May 1822 – 9 May 1895) was a British Peelite,
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
and from 1884 until 1886
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
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 o ...
(MP). Eldest son of the prime minister Robert Peel, he was educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford and entered the
Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...
in 1844. He served as co-member for Tamworth, his father's constituency, from 1850 until 1880, for
Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
from 1884 and for
Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...
from 1885 to 1886. He was appointed Irish secretary in 1861 in
Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman an ...
's ministry, but in 1865, under Russell he was replaced by Chichester Fortescue. He was appointed a GCB in 1866. His variety of parties and tendency not to toe the party line saw republication of a charge of moral want, volatility and 'lack of dignity' from pre- Liberal landslide biographies after his death such as the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' which mention signs of general profligacy and of his rift from his wife.


Background and education

Born in London on 4 May 1822, Peel was the eldest son of
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
, the statesman, and Julia, daughter of
Sir John Floyd, 1st Baronet General Sir John William Floyd, 1st Baronet (22 February 1748 – 10 January 1818), was a British cavalry officer. Family and early life Born on 22 February 1748, he was the oldest child of Captain John Floyd and Mary Floyd (née Bate). Career ...
. He went to Harrow School in February 1835. He matriculated from Christ Church, Oxford on 26 May 1841, but did not take a degree.


Diplomatic career

Entering the diplomatic service, he became an attaché to the British legation at Madrid on 18 June 1844. He was promoted to be secretary of legation in Switzerland on 2 May 1846, and was chargé d'affaires there in November 1846. On his father's death, on 2 July 1850, and his own succession to the baronetcy, he resigned his office at Bern.


Political career

Entering the House of Commons as the 'Liberal-Conservative' (i.e. as one of the
Peelites The Peelites were a breakaway dissident political faction of the British Conservative Party from 1846 to 1859. Initially led by Robert Peel, the former Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader in 1846, the Peelites supported free trade whilst ...
) member for his father's former constituency, Tamworth, on 19 July 1850, he had every opportunity open to him of taking a distinguished place in public life. He had a fine presence and gaiety of manner, and was popular in social life; while his oratorical gifts – a rich ringing voice, a perfect command of language, rare powers of irony, a capacity for producing unexpected rhetorical effects – ought to have rendered his success in parliament a certainty. But he used his abilities fitfully. The want of moral fibre in his volatile character, an absence of dignity, and an inability to accept a fixed political creed, prevented him from acquiring the confidence of his associates or of the public. On 24 April 1854 he was shipwrecked off the coast of
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
in the '' SS Ercolano'', and only saved his life by swimming ashore on some portion of the wreck. From 29 March 1854 to 1859 he served as a captain in the Staffordshire Yeomanry. In March 1855
Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...
, who had been
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
while Peel was in the diplomatic service, appointed him a junior
Civil Lord of the Admiralty The Civil Lord of the Admiralty formally known as the Office of the Civil Lord of Admiralty also referred to as the Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty was a member of the Board of Admiralty who was responsible for managing the Royal N ...
. Henceforth he was regarded as a Liberal, and his persistent advocacy of the liberation of Italy fully justified this view of his political opinions. In July 1856 he acted as secretary to Lord Granville's special mission to Russia at the coronation of Alexander II. On 5 January 1857, during a lecture delivered at the opening of the new library at Adderley Park, near
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
, he spoke discourteously of the Russian court and the court officials. The lecture, severely commented on by the Russian and French press, was the subject of a parliamentary debate, and caused great annoyance to the English court. Nevertheless, on Palmerston's return to power, he, on 26 July 1861, made Peel Chief Secretary for Ireland and a privy councillor. In this position his careless good humour pleased the Irish and the prime minister, and he almost thought he had solved the Irish question when he made excursions incognito through the country on a jaunting-car and interviewed the peasants. His speeches were very optimistic; but, before his connection with the castle ended,
fenianism The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood, secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated ...
came to a head. Irish debates became more embittered, and his replies and speeches in parliament lacked discretion and were not calculated to promote peace. In February 1862 he received a challenge from the O'Donoghue, but the matter was brought before the commons on 25 February and was adjusted. Although he took a warm interest in some Irish questions, especially higher education, which he had aided by a handsome contribution to the Queen's Colleges founded by his father, his career in Ireland was a failure. When the Liberal government was reconstituted, after the death of Lord Palmerston, by
Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...
, to whom Peel's failings were peculiarly obnoxious his post was filled by Chichester Fortescue and he did not again hold office. On 5 January 1866 he was created G.C.B. He continued to sit for Tamworth as a Liberal, but was often a severe critic of Mr. Gladstone's policy. In 1871 he gave a remarkable proof of his eloquence by describing to the House the rout, which he had himself witnessed, of the French army of General Bourbaki, and its flight over the Swiss frontier in the depth of winter during the Franco-Prussian War. In 1874 he for a second time christened himself a Liberal-Conservative; and when the eastern question, during Lord Beaconsfield's administration, came to the front, he wholly separated himself from the followers of Mr. Gladstone. He did not stand for Tamworth at the general election in 1880, but unsuccessfully contested Gravesend in the conservative interest; and his voice was often heard on Conservative platforms, denouncing the action of the Liberal administration in Egypt and Ireland. In ''The Times'' of 8 May 1880 he published a letter, in which he recounted the offers from various governments of honours and offices which he had refused. On 21 March 1884 he was returned as a Conservative member for
Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
. When that borough was disfranchised, he was, in November 1885, returned for
Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...
. On the critical division on the second reading of the Home Rule Bill, on 7 June 1886, he abstained from voting. At the general election in the following July Peel contested the Inverness Burghs for the Liberal party against a
Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a politic ...
who had broken with his party on the issue of Home Rule. Peel was not successful. Subsequently, with characteristic impetuosity, he threw himself into the home rule agitation as a supporter of the Irish demands, and at a by-election in 1889 was the Liberal candidate for Brighton, duly advocating (Irish) home rule. Neither of the incumbents returned had been Liberals since the election of 1880 but the by-election was expected to be a closer affair, and polling 39.3% of the vote, he decided not to stand again to be an MP.


Horse racing

From about 1856 he was extensively engaged in racing under the name of Mr. F. Robinson; and later on had an establishment at Bonehill, near Tamworth, where he bred horses.


Later life

His father's fine collection of 77 pictures and 18 drawings, including ''Chapeau de Poil'' by Rubens, he sold to the National Gallery in March 1871 for . Per ''The Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland'' (1883) he owned across Staffordshire,
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...
, and
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
yielding an annual rent of £24532. However, in later life his private circumstances, a reckless extravagance and rift from his wife, meant he ceased to live at
Drayton Manor Drayton Manor, one of Britain's lost houses, was a British stately home at Drayton Bassett, since its formation in the District of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. In modern administrative areas, it was first put into Tamworth Poor Law Unio ...
, Staffordshire. These circumstances made him a stranger there in his final years. His last public appearance was the week before his death, attending St James's Hall to protest atrocities in
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
. ''The Times'' wrote his obituary to include a statement that his death "left no gap in English public life...his career has closed in disappointment and futility." It added "he had much of his great father's impressive dignity, though without any of his stiffness, for which, indeed, he substituted a Bohemian easiness of manner."


Family

Peel married Lady Emily Hay, seventh daughter of
George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale Field Marshal George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale (1 February 1787 – 10 October 1876) was a British soldier and administrator. He served as a staff officer in the Peninsular War under Arthur Wellesley and was with Wellesley at the Second B ...
, on 13 January 1856. Twin daughters Gwendolin Cecilia and Agnes Helen (1860–1964) were born in 1860, followed by Victoria Alexandrina Julia (1865–1935), Robert (1867–1925) and Evelyn Emily (1869–1960). On 9 May 1895, aged 73, Peel died from hæmorrhage on the brain. He was found dead in his bedroom at 12 Stratton Street, London. His valet had to enter his room via a window and summoned his doctor from Harley Street.''The Times'' (London, England), Friday, 10 May 1895, Issue 34573, p.10: Sir Robert Peel He was buried at
Drayton Bassett Drayton Bassett is a village and civil parish since 1974 in Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England. The village is on the Heart of England Way, a footpath. Much of the housing is clustered together but more than half is 20th century in t ...
's Anglican church on 16 May. His probate was sworn that year at .https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk Calendar of Probates and Administrations His son Robert succeeded in the baronetcy, and he left three daughters. Lady Peel died in April 1924 in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
at the age of 88.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peel, Robert, 3rd Baronet 1822 births 1895 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Peel baronets Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Lords of the Admiralty Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of Ireland UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 Politics of Blackburn with Darwen
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 ...
Chief Secretaries for Ireland English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers