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. ...

William Coutts Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle, , MP, ADC (15 April 1832 - 28 August 1894), styled Viscount Bury between 1851 and 1891, was a British soldier and politician. He served in the

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 ...

before entering Parliament in 1857. Initially a

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 ...

, he served as

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons. The current holder of the office is Ma ...

between 1859 and 1866 in the Liberal administrations headed by

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 ...

and Lord Russell. He later switched to the

Conservatives 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 ...

and held office as

Under-Secretary of State for War The position of Under-Secretary of State for War was a British government position, first applied to Evan Nepean (appointed in 1794). In 1801 the offices for War and the Colonies were merged and the post became that of Under-Secretary of State for ...

under

Lord Beaconsfield Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...

between 1878 and 1880 and under

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...

between 1885 and 1886. Lord Albemarle was 6th in direct line-of-descent from King Charles II; he was the father-in-law of Mrs George (Alice) Keppel (1898-1910) the mistress and confidante of King Edward VII; and he was the great-great-grandfather of

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the a ...

Early life

Keppel was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England on 15 April 1832. He was the only son of General

George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle General George Thomas Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle, (13 June 179921 February 1891), styled The Honourable from birth until 1851, was a British soldier, Liberal politician and writer. Background and education Born in Marylebone, he was the thir ...

, by his wife Susan Coutts Trotter, daughter of Sir Coutts Trotter, 1st Baronet of Westville. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

. He became known by the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

Viscount Bury when his father succeeded in the earldom of Albemarle in 1851.thepeerage.com William Coutts Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle
/ref>

Career

Keppel became an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

and

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the 43rd (Regiment of) Foot in 1843, a lieutenant in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

in 1848 and an Aide-de-camp to

Lord Frederick FitzClarence Lieutenant-General Lord Frederick FitzClarence, GCH (9 December 1799 – 30 October 1854) was a British Army officer and the third illegitimate son of King William IV by his mistress Dorothea Jordan. Military career FitzClarence was commissi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1853. From 1854 until 1856, he was Superintendent of Indian Affairs in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He raised the 21st Middlesex Rifles Volunteer Corps (Civil Service Rifles) in 1860.

Political career

Initially a

, Lord Bury was elected

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 ...

(MP) for

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

in 1857, and later represented Wick Burghs from 1860 to 1865 and

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

from 1868 to 1874. In 1859 he was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

and appointed

of Queen Victoria, under

, a post he held until 1866, the last year under the premiership of Lord Russell. In 1870, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

. On 6 September 1876 he was summoned to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

through a

writ of acceleration A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father ...

in his father's barony of Ashford. Two years later Lord Bury was appointed

in Lord Beaconsfield's Conservative administration which he remained until the government fell in 1880. In 1881, he became a Volunteer Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the Queen. He was once again Under-Secretary of State for War from 1885 to 1886 under

. He wrote a history of the American colonization called ''Exodus of the Western Nations'' (1865), ''A Report on the Condition of the Indians of British North America'', and was the principal author, with George Lacy Hillier, of the ''Cycling'' volume of the

Badminton Library The ''Badminton Library'', called in full ''The Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes'', was a sporting and publishing project conceived by Longmans Green & Co. and edited by Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort (1824–1899). Between 1885 a ...

(1887). In 1891 he succeeded his father in the earldom.

Personal life

Right Honourable Sophia Countess of Albemarle

Lord Albemarle married Sophia Mary MacNab at

Dundurn Castle Dundurn Castle is a historic neoclassical mansion on York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The house took three years and $175,000 to build, and was completed in 1835. The forty-room castle featured the latest conveniences of gas lighti ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Canada, on 15 November 1855. MacNab was the daughter of Allan MacNab, a

Joint Premier of the Province of Canada Joint premiers of the Province of Canada were the prime ministers of the Province of Canada, from the 1841 unification of Upper Canada and Lower Canada until Confederation in 1867. Following the abortive Rebellions of 1837, Lord Durham was appoin ...

, and a descendant of

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

Ephraim Jones Ephraim Jones (April 17, 1750 – January 24, 1812) was a soldier, judge, and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Weston, Massachusetts, in 1750. His father, Elisha, and five of his brothers served with the British during the American ...

. Together, they had ten children: * Lt.-Col. Sir Arnold Allen Cecil Keppel, 8th Earl of Albemarle (1 June 1858– 12 April 1942); married Lady Gertrude Lucia Egerton, only child of Wilbraham Egerton, 1st Earl Egerton of Tatton. * Hon. Gertrude Mary Keppel (November 1859–7 April 1860); died in infancy. * Lady Theodora Keppel (11 January 1862 – 30 October 1945); married Colonel William Leslie Davidson and had issue: ** Leopoldina Theodora Davidson, of Inchmarlo (October 1894 - 1974); Justice of the Peace for Wiltshire (1930); she married on 7 October 1924 at

Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory is a large neo-classical Roman Catholic church in the Knightsbridge area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. Its full name is the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as named in its Grade II* archite ...

Major Walter Basil Louis Bonn and had issue. ** Hilary Davidson, of Inchmarlo, a Roman Catholic nun. ** Vera Marian Davidson, of Inchmarlo; married (15 December 1914) Aylmer Probyn Maude, Solicitor ** Captain Donald Alastair Davidson, of Inchmarlo (6 October 1891 – 20 April 1917);

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The onl ...

to King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

from 1902 to 1908; killed in action during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. ** Lt.-Col. Colin Keppel Davidson, of Inchmarlo; Equerry to

The Duke of Windsor Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...

from 1936-1940; married in 1939 Lady Mary ''Rachel'' Fitzalan-Howard, daughter of

Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, (27 December 184711 February 1917), styled Lord Maltravers until 1856 and Earl of Arundel and Surrey between 1856 and 1860, was a British Unionist politician and philanthropist. He served as Postmas ...

, and had issue. Lady Rachel was

Lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (27 August 1968), born Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark ( el, Μαρίνα), was a Greek princess by birth and a British princess by marriage. She was a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark a ...

, later Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent. * Lt.-Col. Hon. Sir Derek William George Keppel * Lady Hilda Mary Keppel (1864–1955); died unmarried, a nun. * Lt.-Col. Hon. George Keppel (14 October 1865 – 22 November 1947); married Alice Edmonstone (the long-time (1898-1910) mistress and confidante of King

); Keppel and Edmonstone were the great-great-grandparents of

. * Lady Leopoldina Olivia Keppel (1866–1948); a goddaughter of King

Leopold II of Belgium * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

; she became a nun, known religiously as "Madame Keppel". * Lady Susan Mary Keppel (1868–1953); married Sir Walter Beaupre Townley in 1896. * Lady Mary Stuart Keppel (1869–1906); married Major-General Sir Harold Arthur Lewis Tagart in 1900. * Lady Florence Cecilia Keppel (1871–1963); married

William Boyle, 12th Earl of Cork and Orrery Admiral of the Fleet William Henry Dudley Boyle, 12th Earl of Cork, 12th Earl of Orrery, (30 November 1873 – 19 April 1967) was a British Royal Navy officer and peer. He served as a junior officer on the China Station during the Boxer Rebell ...

, in 1902. Lord Albemarle was received into the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

, 13 April 1879. He died in August 1894, aged 62, of

paralysis Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

, and was buried at Quidenham in Norfolk. His eldest son Arnold succeeded in the earldom. The Countess of Albemarle died in April 1917, aged 84.

References

External links

* *www.thepeerage.com *www.geneall.net , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Albemarle, William Keppel, 7th Earl 1832 births 1894 deaths People educated at Eton College 43rd Regiment of Foot officers William 7

William Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle Lieutenant-colonel William Coutts Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle, , MP, ADC (15 April 1832 - 28 August 1894), styled Viscount Bury between 1851 and 1891, was a British soldier and politician. He served in the British Army before entering Parliame ...

Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George English Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Bury, William Keppel, Viscount Bury, William Keppel, Viscount Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Scottish Liberal Party MPs Scots Guards officers Bury, William Keppel, Viscount Bury, William Keppel, Viscount Bury, William Keppel, Viscount Albemarle, E7 Treasurers of the Household