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
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...
from 1718 until 1726 when he succeeded to a
peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks.
Peerages include:
A ...
as
Duke of St Albans
Duke of St Albans is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1684 for Charles Beauclerk, 1st Earl of Burford, then 14 years old. King Charles II had accepted that Burford was his illegitimate son by Nell Gwyn, an actress, and awa ...
. He was an illegitimate grandson of King Charles II.
Origins
He was the son and heir of
Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans
Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St. Albans, KG (8 May 167010 May 1726) was an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England by his mistress Nell Gwyn.
Biography
His surname, Beauclerk ( Anglo-Norman for "fine scholar"), had been an epithet of ...
by his wife
Diana de Vere, daughter and sole heiress of
Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford
Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford, Order of the Garter, KG, Privy Council of England, PC (28 February 1627 – 12 March 1703) was an English army officer and magistrate who fought on the Cavalier, Royalist side during the English Civil War.
...
. His paternal grandparents were 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 King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest su ...
and his mistress
Nell Gwynne
Eleanor Gwyn (also spelled Gwynn, Gwynne; 2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687) was an English stage actress and celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on t ...
. He was styled Earl of Burford until 1726.
Career
He was educated at
Eton College
Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
from 1706 and matriculated at
New College, Oxford
New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...
on 24 April 1714.
From 1716 to 1717 he undertook a
Grand Tour in Italy.
He was elected as a
Member of Parliament for
Bodmin
Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor.
The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...
, Cornwall, at a by-election on 26 February 1718. At the 1722 general election he was returned as an MP for
Windsor. He sat until 1726 when on the death of his father he succeeded to the
peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks.
Peerages include:
A ...
and vacated his seat in the House of Commons. He was appointed Master of the Hawks in 1726 which office he held until his death. He was
Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Berkshire.
Lord-Lieutenants of Berkshire
*Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk 1545–22 August 1545
*Edw ...
from 1727 to his death. In 1730 he was appointed Constable and Governor of
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
and
Warden of Windsor Forest. He was appointed
Lord of the Bedchamber
Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the Royal Household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household, the term being fir ...
in 1738 and held the position until his death. He was
High Steward of Windsor.
[
]
Marriage and children
On 13 December 1722 he married Lucy Werden Shute Barrington
Shute Barrington (26 May 173425 March 1826) was an English churchman, Bishop of Llandaff in Wales, as well as Bishop of Salisbury and Bishop of Durham in England.
Early life
Barrington was born at Beckett Hall in Shrivenham in Berkshire (n ...
, a son of John Shute Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington.
Mistresses
With his mistress and first-cousin Renee Lennox (1709–1774), illegitimate daughter of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond
Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox (29 July 167227 May 1723), of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was the youngest of the seven illegitimate sons of King Charles II, and was that king's only son by his French- ...
(himself an illegitimate son of 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 King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest su ...
), he had a daughter:
* Diane Beauclerk-Lennox (1727–?); became the mistress of Baron Alessandro Mompalao Cuzkeri.
With his mistress Marie-Françoise de la Rochefoucauld, daughter of Casimir-Jean Charles, Lord of Fontpastour and Chey, he had a daughter:
* Suzanne Beauclerk; married Jean IX Nolasque, Marquess of Noves and Count of Mimet.
Death and burial
Beauclerk died in 1751, aged 55 in London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and was interred in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
.
References
1696 births
1751 deaths
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of New College, Oxford
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
Burford, Charles Beauclerk, Earl of
102 102 may refer to:
*102 (number), the number
* AD 102, a year in the 2nd century AD
* 102 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
* 102 (ambulance service), an emergency medical transport service in Uttar Pradesh, India
* 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron, Royal E ...
Knights of the Garter
Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath
Lord-lieutenants of Berkshire
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
Burford, Charles Beauclerk, Earl of
Burford, Charles Beauclerk, Earl of
Burford, Charles Beauclerk, Earl of
Burials at Westminster Abbey
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