Lord Charles Henry Somerset PC (12 December 1767 – 18 February 1831), born in

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

, England, was a British soldier, politician and colonial administrator.Charles Mosley, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, page 221 – 223. He was governor of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, from 1814 to 1826.

Background

Somerset was the second son of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort, and Elizabeth, daughter of Admiral the Hon. Edward Boscawen. He was the brother of

Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort Henry Charles Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort, KG (22 December 1766 – 23 November 1835), styled Marquess of Worcester until 1803, was a British politician. Background and education Somerset was the son of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufor ...

, General Lord Robert Somerset, Lord Arthur Somerset and Field Marshal FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan.

Political career

Somerset sat as

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 ...

for Scarborough between 1796 and 1802 and for

Monmouth Boroughs Monmouth Boroughs (also known as the Monmouth District of Boroughs) was a United Kingdom constituencies, parliamentary constituency consisting of several towns in Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (Uni ...

between 1802 and 1813. He served as

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of ...

between 1797 and 1804 and as Joint Paymaster of the Forces between 1804 and 1806 and 1807 and 1813 and 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 mo ...

on 26 April 1797. In 1814 he was appointed Governor of the Cape Colony, a post he held until 1826. The towns of

Somerset West Somerset West ( af, Somerset-Wes) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality as a suburb of the Helderberg region (formerly called Hottent ...

and

Somerset East Somerset East ( af, Somerset-Oos) is a town in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825. The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 from Pearston, via S ...

in South Africa are named after him.

Family

Somerset married firstly Lady Elizabeth Courtenay (2 September 1788 – 11 September 1815), on 7 June 1788, following their elopement. She was the daughter of the 8th Earl of Devon. They had six children: #Elizabeth Somerset (October 1790 – 1872), married General the Hon. Sir Henry Wyndham (1790–1860) in July 1812 #Mary Georgiana Somerset (February 1793 – 19 May 1856), married Lt-Col. Stirling Freeman Glover on 25 June 1833 #Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Somerset (1794–1862) #Charlotte Augusta Somerset (2 January 1799 – 17 March 1864), married Herbert Cornewoll in May 1822 #Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Henry Somerset (24 September 1800 – 28 May 1835) #Reverend Villiers Somerset (12 February 1803 – 3 February 1855), married Frances Dorothy Ley on 8 August 1844 and had issue After the death of Lady Elizabeth, he married secondly Lady Mary Poulett, daughter of the 4th Earl Poulett, on 9 August 1821. They had three children: #Colonel

Poulett Somerset Colonel Poulett George Henry Somerset CB (19 June 1822 – 7 September 1875) was a British soldier and Conservative Party politician. Biography Somerset was the eldest son of Lord Charles Somerset by his second wife, Lady Mary Poulett, Somerset ...

(1822–1875) #Mary Sophia Somerset (20 May 1823 – 11 November 1869) #Augusta Anne Somerset (21 April 1824 – 27 December 1881), married Sir Henry Barron, 1st Baronet on 1 August 1863. Somerset died in February 1831, aged 63. His second wife died in June 1860, aged 72.

Ancestry

Matthew Bryn Volker

Biographies

References

External links

* https://isbndb.com/book/9780196370774 {{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset, Charles 1767 births 1831 deaths Younger sons of dukes Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Paymasters of the Forces Governors of the Cape Colony C People from Badminton, Gloucestershire