Charles Talbot, 1st Duke Of Shrewsbury
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Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury (15 July 16601 February 1718) was a British Whig statesman who was part of the Immortal Seven group that invited William of Orange to depose King
James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...
during the
Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...
. Born to
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parents, he remained in that faith until 1679 when—during the time of the Popish Plot and following the advice of the divine John Tillotson—he converted to the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
.Stuart Handley, â
Talbot, Charles, duke of Shrewsbury (1660–1718)
€™, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, retrieved 30 January 2011.
He was appointed to several minor roles before the revolution, but came to prominence as a member of William's government, under whom he served as Secretary of State in the 1690s. From 1700 until 1705, Shrewsbury was in self-imposed exile abroad, during which he married Countess Adelhida Paleotti. After his return to England he avoided politics until April 1710, when he was appointed
Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...
and joined the
Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...
government of Robert Harley, the Earl of Oxford. In November 1712 he was appointed ambassador to France and then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, returning to England in June 1714. In July of 1714 Shrewsbury was appointed Lord Treasurer but in August Queen Anne died and George I succeeded her. The new Whig regime opposed Shrewsbury remaining in government and by 1715 he had lost all his governmental offices, although until his death he remained George's Groom of the Stool, and he opposed Whig policies. He died in 1718.


Early life and family

He was the only son of the 11th Earl of Shrewsbury and his second wife, formerly Anna Maria Brudenell, a daughter of the 2nd Earl of Cardigan. His mother became the notorious mistress of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, who killed her husband in a duel in 1668. On his father's death Charles succeeded to the Earldom of Shrewsbury. It has been argued that the traumatic events of his early childhood left a permanent mark on him. Talbot was a godson of King Charles II, after whom he was named, and he was brought up as a Roman Catholic, but after the scandal of his father's death, he was placed in the care of Protestant relatives: the earl of Cardigan (the new earl's grandfather); the Hon. Mervyn Tuchett, later earl of Castlehaven (d. 1686), his uncle through marriage to Mary Talbot, the daughter of the tenth earl of Shrewsbury; William Talbot (d. 1686) of Whittington (a kinsman: the uncle of Sir John Talbot of Lacock and father of the bishop of Oxford); and Gilbert Crouch (the family lawyer). From 1674 to 1678, Shrewsbury studied in Paris. In the Spring of 1678 he joined the troops of
James, duke of York James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...
, in preparation for an Anglo-French war; when this failed to manifest, he returned to England in June. In 1679, under the influence of John Tillotson, he became a member of the Church of England.


Under Charles II and James II

Shrewsbury was summoned to the
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in 1680 and three years later was appointed Gentleman-Extraordinary of the Bedchamber, suggesting he was in favour at the court of Charles II. With the accession in 1685 of James II, Shrewsbury was appointed a captain and then colonel in order to defeat the
Monmouth rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion in June 1685 was an attempt to depose James II of England, James II, who in February had succeeded his brother Charles II of England, Charles II as king of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and ...
, but he resigned his commission in January 1687 after refusing to bow to pressure from James to convert back to the Catholic faith. In that year he entered in correspondence with the
Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...
; Shrewsbury's home became a meeting place for the opposition to James II and he was one of the seven signatories of the letter of invitation to William in June 1688. In September he fled England for Holland and returned with William to England in November. Shrewsbury was influential in the making of the Revolution Settlement, arguing strongly in favour of recognising William and Mary as sovereigns.


William III

After the ascension of William and Mary, Shrewsbury regained his regiment, received the lieutenancies of
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
and
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
, and became
Secretary of State for the Southern Department The secretary of state for the Southern Department was a position in the Cabinet (government), cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department (Great Britain), Southern Department became the H ...
, succeeding his uncle the Earl of Middleton. Shrewsbury resigned from William's government in 1690 due to ill health and his opposition to the dissolution of Parliament and the dropping of the Bill that would have required an oath abjuring James as King. While in opposition he brought forward the Triennial Bill, to which the King initially refused assent. In 1694 he again became Secretary of State and was prominent in persuading the House of Commons to vote for the funds needed for William's war against France; but there is evidence that as early as 1690, when he resigned, he had made overtures to the Jacobites and was in correspondence with James at his court in exile at Saint Germain, though it has been stated on the other hand that these relations were entered upon with William's full connivance, for reasons of policy. Others aver that Shrewsbury himself was unaware of the King's knowledge and toleration, which would explain the terrifying letters he was in the habit of penning to him. However this may be, William affected to have no suspicion of Shrewsbury's loyalty, although often presented with evidence against him. On 30 April 1694 Shrewsbury was created Marquess of Alton and Duke of Shrewsbury, and he acted as one of the
regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
s during the King's absence from England in the two following years. In 1696 definite accusations of
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
were brought against him by Sir John Fenwick, which William immediately communicated to Shrewsbury; and about this time the Secretary of State took but a small part in public business, again professing his anxiety to resign. As Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire, he served as
Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
of the Worcestershire Militia in 1697. His plea of ill health was a genuine one, and in 1700 the King reluctantly consented to his retirement into private life.


Exile

From 1700 until 1705, Shrewsbury lived abroad, chiefly at
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, whence in 1701 he wrote a celebrated letter to Lord Somers expressing his abhorrence of public life and declaring that if he had a son he "would sooner bind him to a cobbler than a courtier, and a hangman than a statesman". He also visited France and Switzerland. After the accession of Queen Anne in 1702 the Whig leaders, Godolphin and Marlborough made ineffectual attempts to persuade Shrewsbury to return to office. In April 1705 he left Rome for Venice, then for Augsburg, where he married Countess Adelhida Paleotti on 9 September 1705. He returned to England on 30 December 1705.


Under Queen Anne

He took his seat in the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
in January 1706. Upon his return to England, Shrewsbury concentrated on the construction of Heythrop Park, eschewed London society and court politics. However, he gradually became alienated from his old political associates, and in 1710 he accepted the post of
Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...
in the Tory administration, to which the queen appointed him without the knowledge of Godolphin and Marlborough; his wife was at the same time made a
Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. A lady of the bedchamber would gi ...
. Shrewsbury played a vital role as a conciliator between Robert Harley, the Earl of Oxford and
Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke Henry St. John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (; 16 September 1678 â€“ 12 December 1751) was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tory (British political party), Tories, and supported the ...
. He was an early supporter of the Tory efforts to negotiate peace with France to end the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
, concerned at the negative financial impact it was having on landowners. However, he was uncomfortable with peace negotiations that left out Britain's ally, the Dutch. After a diplomatic mission to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
for the purpose of negotiating preliminaries of peace, Shrewsbury became
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
in 1713; but he was in London in July 1714 during the memorable crisis occasioned by the impending death of Queen Anne. On 29 July, when the queen was dying, the
Earl of Oxford Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford, Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. De Vere family, His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half cen ...
received his long-delayed dismissal from the office of
Lord Treasurer The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord ...
. On 30 July, Shrewsbury and other ministers assembled at
Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence situated within Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has served as a residence for the British royal family since the 17th century and is currently the ...
and, being admitted to the queen's bedchamber, Bolingbroke recommended the appointment of Shrewsbury to the vacant treasurership; Anne at once placed the staff of that high office in the duke's hands. He was to be the last person to hold that position but the first to have been Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Chamberlain and Lord Treasurer at the same time.


Accession of George I

Thus, when the queen died on 1 August, Shrewsbury was in a position of supreme power with reference to the momentous question of the succession to the crown. He threw his influence into the scale in favour of the Elector of Hanover, and was powerfully influential in bringing about the peaceful accession of George I, and in defeating the design of the Jacobites to place the son of James II on the throne. The new Whig regime opposed Shrewsbury remaining in government and by 1715 he had lost all his governmental offices, although until his death he remained George's Groom of the Stool. Shrewsbury opposed the Whigs' attack on the previous Tory ministers and opposed their other policies in the Lords (such as the
Septennial Act 1715 The Septennial Act 1715 ( 1 Geo. 1. St. 2. c. 38), sometimes called the Septennial Act 1716, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain. It was passed in May 1716. It increased the maximum length of a parliament (and hence the maximum perio ...
), making contact with the Stuart
Pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term may often be used to either refer to a descendant of a deposed monarchy or a claim that is not legitimat ...
and sending him money.


Legacy

The Duke of Shrewsbury was one of the greatest noblemen of the reign of Queen Anne. Though blind in one eye, he was strikingly handsome in person, his demeanour was dignified and his manners full of grace and courtesy.
Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIF ...
described him as "the finest gentleman we have", and as "the favourite of the nation", while William III spoke of him as "the King of Hearts". Like most of his contemporaries, he endeavoured to keep himself in favour both with the exiled house of Stuart and with the reigning sovereign in England; but at the two critical junctures of 1688 and 1714, he acted decisively in favour of the Protestant succession. At other times he appeared weak and vacillating, and he never wholeheartedly supported either Whigs or Tories, though he co-operated with each in turn. His magnanimous disposition saved him from the vindictiveness of the party politician of the period; and the weak health from which he suffered through life probably combined with a congenital lack of ambition to prevent his grasping the power which his personality and talents might have placed in his hands.


Private life and death

In 1705 Shrewsbury married, at
Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
,
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, Adelhida Paleotti, daughter of the Marquis Andrea Paleotti by his second wife Maria Cristina Dudley, fifth daughter of Carlo Dudley, titular Duke of Northumberland (himself son of Sir Robert Dudley (1574–1649), an Englishman turned member of the Tuscan nobility). This lady, who is said to have had "a great many engaging qualities" besides many accomplishments, was the subject of much malicious gossip. She was the widow, or as some declared, the mistress of a Count Brachiano; and Lady Cowper reported that the lady's brother had forced Shrewsbury to marry her "after an intrigue together". After Shrewsbury's return to England, the duchess became conspicuous in London society, where the caustic wit of Lady
Mary Wortley Montagu Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (née Pierrepont; 15 May 168921 August 1762) was an English people, English Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, medical pioneer, writer, and poet. Born in 1689, Lady Mary spent her early life in England. In 1712, Lady Ma ...
was exercised at her expense. She won the favour of Queen Anne, after the death of
Prince George of Denmark Prince George of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Cumberland (; 2 April 165328 October 1708), was the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. He was the consort of the British monarch from Anne's accession on 8 March 1702 until his death in 1708. ...
, by her impulsive comment: "Oh my poor Queen I see how much you do miss your dear husband". During the Paris embassy, she became extremely popular, due to her hospitality and lively conversation. Saint Simon thought that her eccentricity bordered on madness, but he did praise the simple, practical hairstyle which she made fashionable. On the accession of George I, the Duchess of Shrewsbury became a lady of the bedchamber to the
Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (; ) is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales. The Princess is the apparent future queen consort, as "Prince of Wales" is a title reserved by custom for the heir apparent to the Monarchy of the ...
, a position which she retained till her death on 29 June 1726. Shrewsbury left no children, and at his death the dukedom became extinct, the earldom of Shrewsbury passing to his cousin Gilbert Talbot. Gilbert was a Roman Catholic priest living abroad and on his death in 1744 the titles and estates devolved on his brother George. He died at his London home, Warwick House,
Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...
, on 1 February 1718, from inflammation of the lungs, aged fifty-seven. He was buried in the family tomb at the parish church of Albrighton (near Wolverhampton), Shropshire.


Cultural references

The Duke is the central character in the historical novel, ''Shrewsbury'' (1897), by Stanley Weyman. As a minor but pivotal character, he was portrayed by Job Stewart in six episodes of the sprawling ensemble BBC serial '' The First Churchills'' (1969).''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'', Volume 185 (1969), p. 19


See also

* William Chaloner


Notes


References

* *Stuart Handley, â
Talbot, Charles, duke of Shrewsbury (1660–1718)
€™, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, retrieved 30 Jan 2011. *Dorothy H. Somerville, ''The King of Hearts. Charles Talbot, Duke of Shrewsbury'' (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1962).


Further reading

* *
Capt Robert Holden, ''Historical Records of the 3rd and 4th Battalions of the Worcestershire Regiment'', London: Kegan, Paul, Trench, 1887.
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shrewsbury, Charles Talbot, Duke of 5th Dragoon Guards officers Secretaries of state for the Northern Department Diplomatic peers Secretaries of state for the Southern Department Garter Knights appointed by William III Lord high treasurers Lord-lieutenants of Anglesey Lord-lieutenants of Caernarvonshire Lord-lieutenants of Denbighshire Lord-lieutenants of Flintshire Lord-lieutenants of Herefordshire Lord-lieutenants of Hertfordshire Lord-lieutenants of Merionethshire Lord-lieutenants of Montgomeryshire Lord-lieutenants of Shropshire Lord-lieutenants of Staffordshire Lord-lieutenants of Worcestershire Worcestershire Militia officers People expelled from the Privy Council of England 1660 births 1718 deaths
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 ''* ...
Dukes in the Peerage of England Ambassadors of Great Britain to France Earls of Shrewsbury Earls of Waterford Lords Lieutenant of Ireland People of the Glorious Revolution