George Bussy Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey, PC FSA (9 June 173522 August 1805,

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

), ''styled'' Viscount Villiers from 1742 to 1769; was an English nobleman, peer, politician and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

at the court of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

Early life

He was the oldest surviving son of William Villiers, 3rd Earl of Jersey, and the former Anne Russell, Duchess of Bedford. Born Lady Anne Egerton, his mother was the widow of Wriothesley Russell, 3rd Duke of Bedford, who died in 1732 at age 24, before his parent's married in 1733. His elder brother, Frederick William Villiers, ''styled'' Viscount Villiers, died in childhood in 1742, at which time he was ''styled'' Viscount Villiers. His paternal grandparents were William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey and the former Judith Herne (a daughter of Frederick Herne). His maternal grandparents were Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater and Lady Elizabeth Churchill (herself the daughter of

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was a Briti ...

, and Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough).

Career

Between 1756 and his father's death in 1769, which took him into 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 ...

, he served continuously 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 ...

as MP for, in turn, Tamworth in Staffordshire, Aldborough in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

in Kent. He followed the political lead of the

Duke of Grafton Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke o ...

in both the Commons and Lords. He was a Lord of the Admiralty from 1761 to 1763 and was sworn of the Privy Council on 11 July 1765 and served as Vice-Chamberlain from 1765 to 1769. On his elevation to the peerage in 1769, he was made a

Gentleman 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 Households of the United Kingdo ...

to George III from 1769 to 1777, and served as

Master of the Buckhounds The Master of the Buckhounds (or Master of the Hounds) was an officer in the Master of the Horse's department of the British Royal Household. The holder was also His/Her Majesty's Representative at Ascot. The role was to oversee a hunting pack; a ...

from 1782 to 1783, and in other court posts until 1800. Because of his courtly manners was called the "Prince of Maccaronies." He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1787.

Personal life

Lord Jersey married Frances Twysden at her

stepfather A stepfather or stepdad is a biologically unrelated male parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepfather-in-law is a stepfather of one's spouse. Children from his spouse's previous unions are known as his stepchildren. In fiction Thou ...

's house in the parish of

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...

on 26 March 1770. Lady Jersey, who was seventeen years younger than her husband, became one of the more notorious mistresses of

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

in 1793, when he was still

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. She was 40 years old at the time and more than once a grandmother. Together, Lord and Lady Jersey had ten children: * Lady Charlotte Anne Villiers (1771–1808), who married Lord William Russell, the posthumous son of Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (eldest son of the 4th Duke of Bedford), in 1789. The 4th Duke was the younger brother of the 4th Earl's mother's first husband, Wriothesley. Lord William was the younger brother of the 5th and 6th Dukes of Bedford, and uncle of the 7th Duke of Bedford. * Lady Anne Barbara Frances Villiers (1772–1832), who married William Henry Lambton, MP for Durham, who was a son of Maj.-Gen. John Lambton, in 1791. After his death in 1797, she married Hon. Charles William Wyndham, a son of Charles, 2nd Earl of Egremont. * George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey (1773–1859), who married Sarah Sophia Fane, a daughter of John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland, and Sarah Anne Child (only child of Robert Child, the principal shareholder in the banking firm Child & Co.). * Lady Caroline Elizabeth Villiers (1774–1835), who married

Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (17 May 1768 – 29 April 1854), styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as the Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a member ...

, eldest son of Henry Bayley-Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge and Jane Champagné (a daughter of the Very Rev. Arthur Champagné, Dean of Clonmacnoise). After their divorce in the Scottish courts in 1809, she married secondly George Campbell, 6th Duke of Argyll, the eldest son of John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll and his wife, Elizabeth Campbell, 1st Baroness Hamilton. * Lady Georgiana Villiers (1776–1776), who died in infancy. * Lady Sarah Villiers (1779–1852), who married Charles Nathaniel Bayley in 1799. * Hon. William Augustus Henry Villiers (1780–1813), who died unmarried in America, having assumed the surname of Mansel in 1802, pursuant to the will of Louisa Barbara, Baroness Vernon. * Lady Catherine Villiers (1782–1810), who died unmarried. * Lady Frances Elizabeth Villiers (1786–1866), who married John Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Ponsonby, the eldest son of William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby, and Louisa Molesworth, in 1803. * Lady Harriet Villiers (1788–1870), who married Richard Bagot,

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

, a younger son of William Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot, and Hon. Elizabeth Louisa St John (a daughter of the 2nd Viscount St John), in 1806. Lord Jersey died on 22 August 1805 at

Descendants

Through his daughter Anne, he was a grandfather of

John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, (12 April 1792 – 28 July 1840), also known as "Radical Jack" and commonly referred to in Canadian history texts as Lord Durham, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman, colonial ...

, who married Harriet Cholmondeley, the illegitimate daughter of the 4th Earl of Cholmondeley. After her death in July 1815, he married Lady Louisa Grey, daughter of the 2nd Earl Grey. Through his daughter Caroline, he is an ancestor of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

, and of her sons, Princes

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, the

, and Harry, Duke of Sussex.

Ancestry

References

External links

*
George Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey
at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

George Bussy Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey (1735-1805), Courtier
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

George Bussey, Lord Villiers, Afterwards 4th Earl Of Jersey
at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art {{DEFAULTSORT:Jersey, George Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey 1735 births 1805 deaths 18th-century English nobility 19th-century English nobility 4 Villiers, George British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 Earls in the Jacobite peerage Masters of the Buckhounds George Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms Lords of the Admiralty Viscounts Grandison Younger sons of earls