Robert Sutton, 2nd Baron Lexington PC (6 January 166219 September 1723) was an English diplomat.

Family

He was the son of Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexington and his third wife Mary St. Leger. On 14 September 1691, he married Margaret, (d. April 1703), the daughter of Sir Giles Hungerford of Coulston, Wiltshire, by whom he had three children: *William George Sutton (1697October 1713), died in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

while his father was ambassador there *Bridget Sutton (30 Nov 16991734), married John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland *Leonora Cordelia Margueretta (October 1715)

Career

He served as a captain of a

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...

of horse, resigning his commission in 1686. He was appointed a gentleman of horse to the Prince and Princess of Denmark ( Princess Anne, later Queen Anne), in 1690; a position he resigned in February 1692/3. Lord Lexington supported 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 ...

the elevation of William of Orange to the throne, and was employed by that king at court and on diplomatic business, being sent as envoy extraordinary to the

Elector of Brandenburg This article lists the Margraves and Prince-elector, Electors of Margraviate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg during the time when Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark, or ''March'', of Brandenburg was one of the prima ...

in 1689. He was appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

on 17 March 1692, and was 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 King William from 1692 until 1702. Lexington was again sent abroad in 1694 as envoy extraordinary to the Court in Vienna, and served until the

Treaty of Ryswick The Peace of Ryswick, or Rijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Rijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance, which included the Dutc ...

was concluded in 1697. He was a Lord of Trade from 1699 to 1702, and

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the Court of Madrid from 1712 until 1713, during negotiations for the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

. His appointment to the Privy Council was not renewed upon the accession of George I in 1714. He was sent abroad for the last time in 1718, as minister at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He died on 10 September 1723. His letters from Vienna, selected and edited by H. M. Sutton, were published as the ''Lexington Papers'' (1851). Lexington's barony became extinct on his death, but his estates descended to Lord Robert and Lord George Manners-Sutton, the younger sons of his daughter Bridget and her husband John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland.

Memorial

A memorial to him and his wife is in St Wilfrid's Church, Kelham, Nottinghamshire.

References

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lexington, Robert Sutton, 2nd Baron 1662 births 1723 deaths 17th-century English diplomats Ambassadors of England to the Holy Roman Empire Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Diplomatic peers Ambassadors of Great Britain to Spain Ambassadors of England to Denmark Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Holy Roman Emperor