Charles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond KG (7 March 1639December 1672) was an English peer who was the fourth cousin 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 ...

, being both descended in the male line from John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox.

Early life

He was the only son and heir of George Stewart, 9th Seigneur d'Aubigny by his wife Lady Katherine Howard, a daughter of

Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, (13 August 15843 June 1640) was an England, English nobleman and politician. Career Born at the family estate of Saffron Walden, he was the son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, by his second wife, ...

. He was a grandson of Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox.

Career

On 10 December 1645, he was created Baron Stuart of Newbury, Berkshire, and Earl of Lichfield, titles conferred on him "to perpetuate the titles which were intended to have been conferred on his uncle" Lord Bernard Stewart, youngest son of the Duke of Lennox, who had been killed in the

Battle of Rowton Heath The Battle of Rowton Heath, also known as the Battle of Rowton Moor, occurred on 24 September 1645 during the English Civil War. The Parliamentarians, commanded by Sydnam Poyntz, inflicted a significant defeat on the Royalists under the per ...

in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

in September of that year.Money 1881, pp. 187–188 In January 1658, Charles Stewart went into exile in France, and took up his residence in the house of his uncle, Ludovic Stewart, 10th Seigneur d'Aubigny. In the following year he fell under the displeasure of

The Protectorate The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, was the English form of government lasting from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659, under which the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotl ...

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

, and warrants were issued for seizing his person and goods.Dictionary of National Biography, p. 73 He returned to England with King Charles II in 1660, on the Restoration of the Monarchy and sat in the Convention Parliament, showing great animosity towards the supporters of the Commonwealth. On the death of his 10-year-old cousin Esmé Stewart on 10 August 1660, He succeeded as 3rd

Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles ...

and 6th Duke of Lennox. In that same year he was created Hereditary Great Chamberlain of Scotland, Hereditary Great Admiral of Scotland, and

Lord-Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility o ...

of Dorset. On 15 April 1661 he was invested with the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

. Around 1660 he built Richmond House on the site of the bowling green of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

Palace of Whitehall The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...

. He also owned (and extended) Cobham Hall in the County of Kent. On the death of his uncle, Ludovic Stuart, he succeeded him as 12th Seigneur D'Aubigny, for which title he did homage by proxy to King

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

on 11 May 1670. In July 1667, on the death of his cousin, Mary Butler, countess of Arran, he became Baron Clifton. On 4 May 1668 he was made Lord Lieutenant and Vice Admiral of Kent, jointly with the Earl of Winchilsea, and commanded one of the regiments of

Kent Militia The Kent Militia was an auxiliary military force in the county of Kent in South East England. From their formal organisation as Trainband, Trained Bands in 1558 until their final service as the Special Reserve, the Militia (United Kingdom), Mili ...

J.R. Western, ''The English Militia in the Eighteenth Century: The Story of a Political Issue 1660–1802'', London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965, p. 23. In 1671 he was sent as ambassador to the Danish court to persuade Denmark to join England and France in a projected attack on the Dutch. Whilst there at Elsinore in 1672 he died by drowning, aged 33.

Personal life

Charles Stewart married three times, but had no children. Firstly, after June 1659, to Elizabeth Rogers, and after her death, secondly, on 31 March 1662, to Margaret Banaster, widow of William Lewis, who died in 1666. His third marriage was in March 1667, to Frances Teresa Stewart (1647–1702), granddaughter of Walter Stewart, 1st Lord Blantyre, known at court as "La Belle Stuart" who had been desired by Richmond's cousin, King Charles II, as a mistress. Richmond died in December 1672 and was buried 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 ...

on 20 September 1673. As he died without issue, his titles became extinct, with the exception of that of Baron Clifton, which passed with most of his property to his sister Katherine, Lady O'Brien. His wife, however, had been granted the Lennox estates for life. In 1675, the titles Duke of Richmond, Duke of Lennox and Earl of March, were resurrected for Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond and Lennox, the illegitimate son of King Charles II by his mistress Louise de Kérouaille.

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