Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans (29 August 1798 – 7 October 1877), styled Lord Elliot from 1823–45, was a British politician, peer, and diplomat.

Background and education

St Germans was born in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, Devon, the son of

William Eliot, 2nd Earl of St Germans William Eliot, 2nd Earl of St Germans (1 April 1767 – 19 January 1845), styled as Hon. William Eliot from 1784 until 1823, was a British peer, diplomat and politician. Eliot was born at Port Eliot, Cornwall, the third son of Edward Craggs- ...

and his first wife, Lady Georgina (13 April 1769 – 4 March 1806), daughter of

Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, KG PC (4 August 172126 October 1803), known as Viscount Trentham from 1746 to 1754 and as The Earl Gower from 1754 to 1786, was a British politician from the Leveson-Gower family. Sitting in ...

. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

from 1809 to 1811, and matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

on 13 December 1815.

Political career

St Germans became the Secretary of Legation at Madrid on 21 November 1823. He became member of parliament for

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; ) is an ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) east of Bodmin. Th ...

the following year. Beginning his career as a Tory, he remained loyal to

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...

, and served as a Junior Lord of the Treasury from 1827 until 1830. Out of parliament between 1832 and 1837, he served in Peel's second government first as

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...

and later as

Postmaster General of the United Kingdom Postmaster General of the United Kingdom was a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet Minister of the Crown, ministerial position in Her Majesty's Government, HM Government. Aside from maintaining mail, the postal system, the Telegraph Act 1868 ...

. He brokered the so-called Lord Eliot Convention in Spain, which aimed to end the indiscriminate executions by firing squad of prisoners on both sides of the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...

. When the debate over the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. The la ...

broke the Conservative Party he followed Peel, and served as

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 ...

Lord Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in fo ...

's coalition government. In that role, he hosted the visit of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and the Prince Consort to the 1853 Great Exhibition held in Dublin. The Queen gave Lady St Germans a gift of jewellery to mark the occasion. He was twice

Lord Steward The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is one of the three Great Officers of the Household of the British monarch. He is, by tradition, the first great officer of the Court and he takes precedence over all other officers of the househ ...

under

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

. In 1860, he accompanied the Prince of Wales on his tour of Canada and the USA.

Marriage and issue

Lord St Germans married Lady Jemima Cornwallis (24 December 1803, Brome, Suffolk – 2 July 1856, Dover Street, London), the third daughter of

Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis (19 October 1774 – 9 August 1823), styled Viscount Brome until 1805, was a British Tory politician. He served as Master of the Buckhounds between 1807 and 1823. Background Cornwallis was the only ...

, at St James Church, Westminster, on 2 September 1824. They had six sons and two daughters: *Lady Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot (17 December 1825 – 15 January 1911), married

Walter Ponsonby, 7th Earl of Bessborough Rev. Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby, 7th Earl of Bessborough (13 August 1821 – 24 February 1906) was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and Anglican priest. Early life and education Ponsonby was born in Roehampton, London, the fifth son of John Ponso ...

and was the mother of

Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough file:Chapel, Stansted Park- memorial (4) (geograph 1913346).jpg, Memorial in the chapel at Stansted Park Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough, (1 March 1851 – 1 December 1920), known as Viscount Duncannon from 1895 until 1906, was a U ...

. *Edward John Cornwallis Eliot, Lord Eliot (2 April 1827 – 26 November 1864), born in London, educated at Eton from 1839 to 1843, matriculated at

on 21 October 1844, commissioned a Cornet and Sub-lieutenant,

1st Regiment of Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadi ...

and subsequently

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of that Regiment, 1852, died unmarried at

Port Eliot Port Eliot in the parish of St Germans, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, is the ancestral seat of the Eliot family, whose present head is Albert Eliot, 11th Earl of St Germans. Port Eliot comprises a stately home with its own church, which ...

. *Captain Hon. Granville Charles Cornwallis Eliot (9 September 1828 – 5 November 1854), officer

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

, killed at the

Battle of Inkerman The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, and w ...

. * William Gordon Cornwallis Eliot, 4th Earl of St Germans (14 December 1829 – 19 March 1881), diplomat; succeeded his father but died unmarried *Hon. Ernest Cornwallis Eliot (28 April 1831 – 23 January 1832), died in infancy *Hon. Elizabeth Harriet Cornwallis Eliot (24 August 1833 – 16 March 1835), died in infancy * Henry Cornwallis Eliot, 5th Earl of St Germans (11 February 1835 – 24 September 1911), succeeded elder brother *Colonel Hon. Charles George Cornwallis Eliot, CVO (16 October 1839 – 22 May 1901), courtier and soldier, equerry to THR

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

Princess Christian Princess Helena (Helena Augusta Victoria; 25 May 1846 – 9 June 1923), later Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, was the third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Helena was educated by private tutors chosen b ...

1869–96;

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Royal Household, Household of the monarch in early modern Kingdom of England, England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In King ...

1871–99, Gentleman Usher Daily Waiter to

1899–1901; married on 26 October 1865 Constance Rhiannon Guest (daughter of Sir John Josiah Guest, Bt and

Lady Charlotte Guest Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Guest (née Bertie; 19 May 1812 – 15 January 1895), later Lady Charlotte Schreiber, was an English aristocrat who is best known as the first publisher in modern print format of the ''Mabinogion'', the earliest prose li ...

), Lady-in-Waiting to HRH Princess Frederica of Hanover Lord St Germans died at

in October 1877, aged 79. Through his youngest son, he was the great-grandfather of

Margaret Eliot Margaret Augusta Eliot (26 February 1914 – 27 February 2011) was an English music teacher and musician. She was a professor of oboe at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and her best-known student (from 1948) was George Martin; in 2011, j ...

(1914–2011), the mother of

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)''The International Who's Who of Women'', 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and through her associatio ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Germans, Eliot, Edward, 3rd Earl Of Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Deputy lieutenants of Cornwall Earls of St Germans Politicians from Plymouth, Devon Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Postmasters general of the United Kingdom Eliot, Edward People educated at Westminster School, London Eliot, Edward Eliot, Edward Eliot, Edward Eliot, Edward Eliot, Edward Saint Germans, E3 1798 births 1877 deaths Edward Granville Eliot Chief secretaries for Ireland