Arms of Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans

Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, KG (8 May 167010 May 1726) was an

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

son of King

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child o ...

by his mistress

Nell Gwyn Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stag ...

Biography

On 21 December 1676, a warrant was passed for "a grant to Charles Beauclerc, the King's natural son, and to the heirs male of his body, of the dignities of Baron of Heddington, co. Oxford, and Earl of Burford in the same county, with remainder to his brother, James Beauclerc, and the heirs male of his body." A few weeks later, James was given "the title of Lord Beauclerc, with the place and precedence of the eldest son of an earl." Just after the death of

Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of Saint Albans, (25 March 1605 (baptised) – January 1684) was an English politician and courtier. He sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1625 and 1643 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Jermyn. ...

, at the turn of the year, on 5 January 1684, King Charles granted his son Charles, Earl of Burford, the title of Duke of St Albans, gave him an allowance of £1,000 a year, and granted him the offices of Chief Ranger of Enfield Chace and Master of the Hawks in reversion (i. e. after the death of the current incumbents). He became colonel in the 8th regiment of horse in 1687, and served with the emperor Leopold I, being present at the siege of Belgrade in 1688. When his mother died (14 November 1687), Beauclerk received a large estate, including Burford House, near

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 c ...

. After 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 combata ...

in 1693, William III made Beauclerk captain of the gentlemen pensioners, and four years later gentleman of the bedchamber. His father had given him the reversion of the office of Hereditary Master Falconer and that of Hereditary Registrar of the Court of Chancery, which fell vacant in 1698. His Whig sentiments prevented his advancement under Queen Anne, but he was restored to favour at the accession of King George I. In 1718, George made him a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

. Beauclerk died at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

two days after his 56th birthday and is buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. He was succeeded by his eldest son.

Marriage and issue

On 17 April 1694 he married Lady Diana de Vere, daughter and sole heiressHer other sisters died unmarried of

Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford Aubrey is traditionally a male English given name. The name is from the French derivation Aubry of the Germanic given name Alberic / Old High German given name Alberich, which consists of the elements ALF "elf" and RIK "king", from Proto-Germa ...

. She was a well-known beauty, who became lady of the bedchamber to

Caroline of Ansbach , father = John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach , mother = Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach , birth_date = , birth_place = Ansbach, Principality of Ansbach, Holy Roman Empire , death_date = , death_place = St James's Pa ...

, Princess of Wales. By his wife he had twelve children:

Sons

Charles Beauclerk, 2nd Duke of St Albans Charles Beauclerk, 2nd Duke of St Albans, KG KB (6 April 1696 – 27 July 1751) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1718 until 1726 when he succeeded to a peerage as Duke of St Albans. He was an illegitimate grandso ...

(6 April 169627 July 1751), eldest son and heir; *

Lord William Beauclerk Lord William Beauclerk (22 May 1698 – 1733) was a British army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1724 to 1733. Beauclerk was the second son of Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, and his wife Lady Diana de Ve ...

(22 May 169823 February 1733 N.S.) *Admiral Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere (14 July 169921 October 1781) *Colonel

Lord Henry Beauclerk Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

(11 August 17015 January 1761) * Lord Sidney Beauclerk (27 February 170323 November 1744) *Lieutenant-General

Lord George Beauclerk Lieutenant-General Lord George Beauclerk (26 December 1704 – 11 May 1768) was a British Army officer, the sixth son of Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans by his wife Diana, daughter of Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford. Military caree ...

(26 December 170411 May 1768) *Lord Seymour Beauclerk (born 24 June 1708c. 1709) *Rev.

Lord James Beauclerk Lord James Beauclerk ( – 20 October 1787) was an Anglican clergyman who served as the Bishop of Hereford from 1746 to 1787. Education He was the eighth son of Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans and Lady Diana de Vere. He was educated J ...

(c. 170920 October 1787); was

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Cathedral Church of Sa ...

(1746–1787) *

Lord Aubrey Beauclerk Lord Aubrey Beauclerk (c. 1710 – 22 March 1741) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He saw service during the War of the Austrian Succession and was killed at the Battle of Cartagena de Indias. Early naval service Lord Aubrey was born circa ...

(c. 171022 March 1741), became a captain in the Royal Navy, and died at the

Battle of Cartagena de Indias The Battle of Cartagena de Indias ( es, Sitio de Cartagena de Indias, lit=Siege of Cartagena de Indias) took place during the 1739 to 1748 War of Jenkins' Ear between Spain and Britain. The result of long-standing commercial tensions, the war w ...

Daughters

*Lady Diana Beauclerk (born c. 1697) *Lady Mary Beauclerk (born c. 1712) *Lady Anne Beauclerk (born c. 1714)

Earl of Burford

Several legends describe how Beauclerk became Earl of Burford. The first is that on arrival of the King, his mother said, "Come here, you little bastard, and greet your father." When the king rebuked her for calling him that, she replied, "Your Majesty has given me no other name to call him by." In response, Charles created him Earl of Burford. Another legend is that Beauclerk's mother held him out of a window (or above a river) and threatened to drop him unless he was given a peerage. Charles supposedly cried out "God save the Earl of Burford!" and subsequently created that peerage.

References

*John H roldWilson: ''Nell Gwyn: Royal Mistress'' (Dell Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 1952)

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Albans, Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of 1670 births 1726 deaths 17th-century English nobility 18th-century English people 101

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

Illegitimate children of Charles II of England Peers of England created by Charles II Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Berkshire People from Windsor, Berkshire C Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms Fellows of the Royal Society Burials at Westminster Abbey Sons of kings