Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, (20 July 164923 November 1709) was a Dutch and English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of

William William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The title ...

Stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

in the

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, and future King of England. He was reportedly steady, sensible, modest and usually moderate. The friendship and cooperation stopped in 1699.

Biography

Early life and nurse to Prince William

Hans Willem was born in Diepenheim, Overijssel, the son of Bernard, Baron Bentinck, and was descended from an ancient and noble family of

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in pr ...

and Overijssel. He was appointed first page of honour and chamberlain. When, in 1675, Prince William was attacked by

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ce ...

, his physicians, knowing his sexual preferences, suggested he sleep with one of his pages to absorb "animal spirits" from a young, healthy body. Bentinck was the page and he nursed the prince assiduously back to health. This devotion secured for him the special and enduring friendship of William. From that point on, Bentinck had the Prince's confidence, and in their correspondence, William was very open.

Communicator

In 1677 he was sent to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

to solicit for Prince William the hand of Mary, daughter of

James, Duke of York James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious R ...

and future King of England. He was again in England on William's behalf in 1683 and in 1685. Later, in 1688, when William was preparing to assist in the overthrow of (now King) James including an invasion by Dutch troops, Bentinck went to some of the German princes to secure their support, or at least their neutrality. He had also been, since 1687, a medium of communication between his master and his English friends. Bentinck superintended the arrangements for the invasion, including raising money, hiring an enormous transport fleet, organising a propaganda offensive, and preparing the possible landing sites, and also sailed to England with Prince William.

Titles and military service

The revolution accomplished, William (now King of England) made Bentinck

Groom of the Stole The Groom of the Stool (formally styled: "Groom of the King's Close Stool") was the most intimate of an English monarch's courtiers, responsible for assisting the king in excretion and hygiene. The physical intimacy of the role naturally led ...

, first gentleman of the bedchamber, and a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

. In April 1689 he was created Baron Cirencester, Viscount Woodstock and, in its second creation, Earl of Portland. (The first creation of the earldom had been made for Richard Weston in 1633, but it became extinct in 1688.) He commanded some cavalry at the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...

in 1690, and was present at the

Battle of Landen The Battle of Landen, also known as Neerwinden, took place on 29 July 1693, during the Nine Years' War near Landen in modern Belgium. A French army under Marshal Luxembourg defeated an Allied force led by William III. By 1693, all combatan ...

, where he was wounded, and at the Siege of Namur in 1695.

Diplomat

Bentinck's main work was of a diplomatic nature. In 1690 he was sent to The Hague to help solve the problem between William and the

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief ...

s of Amsterdam. He was caught up in the corruption scandal concerning the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sout ...

in 1695; the board was losing its monopoly under pressure from a New Company and was engaging profusely in bribery in an attempt to renew its charter. He was however cleared in the matter. Having thwarted the

Jacobite Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...

plot to murder the King in 1696, he helped to arrange the peace of Ryswick in 1697. In 1698 he was ambassador to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

for six months. While there, he opened negotiations with

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

for a partition of the Spanish monarchy, and as William's representative, signed the two partition treaties ( Treaty of The Hague (1698)).

Resignation and land gifts

William Bentinck had, however, become very jealous of the rising influence of another Dutchman, Arnold van Keppel, and, in 1699, he resigned all his offices in the royal household. He did not forfeit the esteem of the King, who continued to trust and employ him. Portland had been loaded with gifts, and this, together with the jealousy felt for him as a foreigner, made him very unpopular in England. He received 135,000 acres (546 km²) of land in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and only the strong opposition of a united

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. ...

prevented him obtaining a large gift of crown lands in North

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. For his share in drawing up the partition treaties, he was impeached in 1701, but the case against him did not proceed. He was occasionally employed on public business under Queen Anne until his death at his residence, Bulstrode Park in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

. Portland's eldest son Henry succeeded him as earl, and was granted the titles of Marquess of Titchfield and Duke of Portland in 1716.

Codex Bentingiana

While living in the Netherlands, Bentinck maintained a garden boasting many botanical rarities. Illustrations of these plants were collected under the name ''Codex Bentingiana''. This work has since disappeared from the botanical scene.

Family

Lord Portland was married twice. On 1 February 1678, he married his first wife, Anne Villiers (died 30 November 1688), daughter of

Sir Edward Villiers Sir Edward Villiers (c. 1585 – 7 September 1626) was an English nobleman from Leicestershire and member of the Villiers family, whose younger half-brother George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, was a favourite of both James VI and I a ...

and his wife Lady Frances Howard, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Suffolk. They had seven children: *

Lady Mary Bentinck Mary Capel, Countess of Essex (1679 – August 20, 1726), born Lady Mary Bentinck, was the daughter of William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, a Dutch and English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of stadtholder William, Prince ...

(20 August 167920 August 1726), who married, firstly, the

2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...

on 28 February 1692 and had one son and two daughters. She married, secondly, Sir Conyers D'Arcy (died 1 December 1758), circa August 1714 and had no issue. * Willem Bentinck (3 March 168126 May 1688) * Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland (17 March 16824 July 1726) *Lady Anna Margaretha Bentinck (19 March 16833 May 1763), who married Arent van Wassenaar, Baron van Wassenaar circa 1701 and had at least one daughter. *Lady Frances Wilhelmina Bentinck (18 February 168431 March 1712), who married the 4th Baron Byron (4 January 16708 August 1736) on 19 December 1706 and had four children. * Lady Eleonora Sophia Bentinck (born 8 April 1687) * Lady Isabella Bentinck (4 May 168823 February 1728), who married the 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull on 2 August 1714. He married on 12 May 1700, his second wife, Jane Martha Temple (167226 May 1751), daughter of Sir John Temple, and widow of John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton. They had the following children: * Lady Sophia Bentinck (4 April 17015 June 1741), who married the 1st Duke of Kent on 24 March 1729 and had issue. *Lady Elizabeth Adriana Bentinck (27 June 17031765), who married Rev. The Hon. Henry Egerton (died 1 April 1746) on 18 December 1720 and had issue. *The Hon. William Bentinck, 1st Count Bentinck (6 November 170413 October 1774), who married Charlotte Sophie, Countess von Aldenburg (4 August 17155 February 1800) on 1 June 1733 and had two sons. In 1990, after the extinction of the male line from his half-brother the 1st Duke of Portland, his descendant Henry Bentinck, 7th Count Bentinck became the 11th Earl of Portland. One of his sons, Captain John Albert Bentinck,

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

, of Terrington St Clement in Norfolk, a Count of the Empire, founded the line of Bentinck of Indio in the parish of Bovey Tracey in Devon. * Lady Harriet Bentinck (12 November 170510 June 1792), who married James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Clanbrassill (bef. 169717 March 1758) on 15 October 1728 and had two children. *The Hon. Charles John Bentinck (2 June 170818 March 1779), who married Lady Margaret Cadogan on 11 January 1738. * Lady Barbara Bentinck (20 October 17091 April 1736), who married the 2nd Baron Godolphin (170725 May 1785) on 18 February 1734; no issue. In 1718, as the Dowager Countess of Portland, Jane was appointed Governess to the daughters of George Augustus, Prince of Wales (later King George II), with a salary of £2000 a year.

References

External links

* N. Japikse, ed.,
van Willem III en van Hans Willem Bentinck, eersten graaf van Portland
'.
Biography of the 1st Earl, with links to online catalogues, from Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham

The Invasion of England in 1688: a learning resource based on the 1st Earl's papers, developed by Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham
* David Onnekink,
The Anglo-Dutch Favourite - The career of Hans Willem Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland (1649-1709)
' (Ashgate Publishing, 2007) , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Portland, William Bentinck, 1st Earl of 1649 births 1709 deaths People from Hof van Twente William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland British and English royal favourites Peers of England created by William III 17th-century Dutch diplomats Dutch nobility Garter Knights appointed by William III Pages of Honour Diplomatic peers Bentinck 17th-century English diplomats Dutch emigrants to the Kingdom of England Members of the Privy Council of England Grooms of the Stool Earls of Portland