Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon, PC (1709 – 11 December 1786) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

politician and diplomat from the

Villiers family Villiers ( ) is an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. Over time, various members of the Villiers family were made knights, baronets, and peers. Peerages held by the Villiers family include the dukedoms of Buckingham (1623–1687) and Cleve ...

. Clarendon was the second son of

William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey William Villers, 2nd Earl of Jersey (c. 1682 – 13 July 1721), known as Viscount Villiers from 1697 to 1711, was an English peer and politician from the Villiers family. Jersey was the son of Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey, and his wife ...

, and his wife Judith Herne, daughter of Frederick Herne.

Political career

Villiers received his education at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and then Queens' College, Cambridge. Following his graduation, he became a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. Villiers became the British envoy to both the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

and the Electorate of Saxony from 1740 to 1747. At the time both realms were in

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

under

Augustus III of Poland Augustus III ( pl, August III Sas, lt, Augustas III; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Aug ...

. He was also sent to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, capital of the Archduchy of Austria, as an envoy to the court of

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

from 1742 to 1743. He was last sent to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, capital of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

, as an envoy to the court of

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

from 1746 to 1748. Villiers was also involved in domestic politics as a member of the British Whig Party, which at the time dominated the Parliament of Great Britain. He was elected to Parliament in the 1747 British general election. He sat as a

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 Tamworth from 1747 to 1756. He retired from all diplomatic offices at this time. He was a

Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

, one of seven members of the Board of Admiralty exercising command over the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

from 26 February 1748 to 17 November 1756. He served under First Lords of the Admiralty

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS (13 November 1718 – 30 April 1792) was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten. During his life ...

, and

George Anson, 1st Baron Anson Admiral of the Fleet George Anson, 1st Baron Anson, (23 April 1697 – 6 June 1762) was a Royal Navy officer. Anson served as a junior officer during the War of the Spanish Succession and then saw active service against Spain at the Battl ...

throughout his term. On 3 June 1756, the barony of Hyde held by his wife's ancestors the Earls of Clarendon was revived. Villiers was raised to the peerage as Baron Hyde of Hindon in the County of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. Hyde served as

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 responsib ...

from 1763 to 1765. On 9 September 1763, he was admitted to the Privy Council. He also served as

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...

from 1771 to 1782 and again from 1783 to 1786. On 14 June 1776 the earldom of Clarendon, which had become extinct with the death of

Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon and 2nd Earl of Rochester, PC (June 1672 – 10 December 1753), styled Lord Hyde from 1682 to 1711, was an English Army officer and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1692 u ...

in 1753, was revived and Hyde was made Earl of Clarendon. In 1782 he was also made a Baron of the

, an honour which he received Royal licence to use in

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

. Clarendon returned to the office of Postmaster-General in commission with

Henry Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret Henry Frederick Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret PC (1735–1826), of Haynes, Bedfordshire (known until 1776 as the Honourable Henry Frederick Thynne), was Member of Parliament for Staffordshire (1757–1761), for Weobley in Herefordshire (1761� ...

, in September 1786. This was to be his final political assignment. Lord Clarendon died in December 1786, aged 77. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Family

The Grove and golf course, Watford - geograph

On 30 March 1752 he married Charlotte Capell, daughter of

William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex, (11 January 16978 January 1743) was an English courtier and diplomat. Early life He was the son of the 2nd Earl of Essex and Lady Mary Bentinck. His younger sister, Lady Mary Capel, married Alan Brodrick, 2n ...

, and his wife

Jane Hyde Jane Hyde may refer to: *Jane Hyde, Countess of Clarendon Jane Hyde, Countess of Clarendon (1669 – 24 May 1725), formerly Jane Leveson-Gower, was the wife of Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon. She was the daughter of Sir William Leveson-G ...

, daughter of

(of the 1661 creation) and Jane Leveson-Gower. They had four children: * Thomas Villiers, 2nd Earl of Clarendon (25 December 1753 – 7 March 1824). *

John Villiers, 3rd Earl of Clarendon John Charles Villiers, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, PC (14 November 1757 – 22 December 1838) was a British peer and Member of Parliament from the Villiers family. Biography Villiers was born on 14 December 1757, the second son of Lady Charlotte, da ...

(14 November 1757 – 22 December 1838).''The Register of Births & Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster Vol. IV. 1741-1760''. 7 December 1757. * George Villiers (23 November 1759 – 21 March 1827). Father of

George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, (12 January 180027 June 1870) was an English diplomat and statesman from the Villiers family. He served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs three times as part of a distinguishe ...

. *Lady Charlotte Barbara Villiers (27 March 1761 – 9 April 1810). He bought and remodelled The Grove, a country house near Watford, Hertfordshire.

References

External links

His profile in the Peerage.com
*

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarendon, Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl Of 1709 births 1786 deaths Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster 1 Lords of the Admiralty Viliers, Thomas Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain People educated at Eton College United Kingdom Postmasters General

Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon, PC (1709 – 11 December 1786) was a British politician and diplomat from the Villiers family. Clarendon was the second son of William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey, and his wife Judith Herne, daughter of ...

Villiers, Thomas Ambassadors of Great Britain to Poland Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Holy Roman Emperor