William Beauclerk, 8th Duke of St Albans (18 December 1766 – 17 July 1825) was an English aristocrat.

Early life and career

William was born on 18 December 1766. He was the second son of Lady Catharine Ponsonby and

Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans (3 June 1740 – 9 February 1802) was a British landowner, and a collector of antiquities and works of art. Early life Aubrey Beauclerk was born in 1740, the son of Admiral Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron V ...

, a Whig Member of Parliament for Thetford from 1761 to 1768 and for Aldborough from 1768 to 1774. His elder brother was Aubrey Beauclerk, 6th Duke of St Albans (father of Aubrey Beauclerk, 7th Duke of St Albans). His younger brothers were Adm. Lord Amelius Beauclerk (principal Naval '' aide de camp'' to King

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

and

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 Rev. Lord Frederick Beauclerk (Vicar of Kimpton, Redbourn and St Michael's who married Hon. Charlotte Dillon-Lee, the daughter of

Charles Dillon-Lee, 12th Viscount Dillon Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

). His sisters included Lady Catherine Beauclerk (wife of Rev James Burgess, Vicar of Hanworth), Lady Caroline Beauclerk (wife of Hon. Charles Dundas, fourth son of Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas). His father was eldest surviving son of Mary Chambers (eldest daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Chambers of Hanworth) and

Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere Admiral Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere (14 July 1699 – 21 October 1781), known as Lord Vere Beauclerk until 1750, was a Royal Navy officer, British peer and politician who sat in the House of Commons for 24 years from 1726 to 1750. After s ...

(third son of

Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St. Albans, KG (8 May 167010 May 1726) was an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England by his mistress Nell Gwyn. Biography His surname, Beauclerk ( Anglo-Norman for "fine scholar"), had been an epithet of ...

, himself the illegitimate son 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 ...

and his mistress,

Nell Gwyn Eleanor Gwyn (also spelled Gwynn, Gwynne; 2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687) was an English people, English stage actress and celebrity figure of the Stuart Restoration, Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances ...

). His mother was the eldest daughter of

William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough (1704 – 11 March 1793) was a British politician and public servant. He was an Irish people, Irish and English people, English peerage, peer and member of the House of Lords (styled Hon. William Ponsonb ...

and Lady Caroline Cavendish (eldest daughter of

William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, (26 September 1698 – 5 December 1755) was a British nobleman and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1729 when he inherited the Dukedom. Life Cavendish was the son of Wi ...

Career

He entered the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1782 and was made a Lieutenant in 1788.

Peerage

His father succeeded his grandfather as the 2nd Baron Vere of Hanworth on 1 October 1781. In 1787, his father succeeded his childless cousin,

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

as the 5th

Duke of St Albans Duke of St Albans is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1684 for Charles Beauclerk, 1st Earl of Burford, then 14 years old. King Charles II had accepted that Burford was his illegitimate son by Nell Gwyn, an actress, and awa ...

. The 4th Duke had inherited the dukedom from his childless second cousin, George Beauclerk, 3rd Duke of St Albans (the only son of the 2nd Duke). When his father died on 9 February 1802, his elder brother

Aubrey Aubrey () is a traditionally male English language, English name. It was quite common in the Middle Ages, but had lost favour for a time before experiencing a resurgence of popularity in the 19th century. In the United States, following the 1973 ...

succeeded to the Dukedom, holding the title until his death on 12 August 1815 when he was succeeded by his five-month old son,

. Upon his death the following year on 19 February 1816, William became the 8th Duke of St Albans holding the title until his death in 1825.

Personal life

On 20 July 1791, He married, firstly, Charlotte Thelwell (–1797), the daughter and heiress of Rev. Robert Carter Thelwall of Redbourne Hall, Lincolnshire. and Charlotte Nelthorpe (a daughter of Sir Henry Nelthorpe, 5th Baronet). Before her death on 19 October 1797, they were the parents of one child: * William Robert Beauclerk (1794–1794), who died in infancy. He married, secondly, Maria Janetta Nelthorpe (–1822), on 4 March 1799. Maria was the only daughter and heiress of John Nelthorpe of

Little Grimsby Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

Hall (the former

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilit ...

) and Mary Cracroft (second daughter, by his first wife, of Robert Cracroft of

Hackthorn Hackthorn is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, to the north of Lincoln. It is combined with Cold Hanworth to form the parish council of Hackthorn and Cold Hanworth. The population of the civil par ...

Hall). Before her death in 1822, they were the parents of thirteen children: * Lady Maria Amelia Beauclerk (1800–1873), who died unmarried. *

William Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St Albans William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St Albans (24 March 1801 – 27 May 1849) was an English aristocrat and cricketer. Early life William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk was born on 24 March 1801. He was the son of William Beauclerk, 8th Duk ...

(1801–1849), who married Harriet Mellon and, after her death, Elizabeth Catherine Gubbins. * Lady Charlotte Beauclerk (1802–1842), who died unmarried. * Lady Caroline Janetta Beauclerk (1804–1862), who married Arthur Capell, 6th Earl of Essex. * Lord John Nelthorpe Beauclerk (1805–1810), who died in childhood. * Lady Louisa Georgiana Beauclerk (1806–1843), who married Thomas Hughan, son of Thomas Hughan, MP. They were parents of

Janetta Manners, Duchess of Rutland Janetta Manners, Duchess of Rutland (; 8 September 1836 – 11 July 1899) was an English aristocrat and writer. Early life Janetta was born on 8 September 1836. She was the eldest daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Hughan, of Airds, Galloway, and ...

. * Capt. Lord Frederick Charles Peter Beauclerk (1808–1865), who married Jemima Johnstone. * Lady Georgiana Beauclerk (1809–1880), who married Sir Montague Cholmeley, 2nd Bt. * Lady Mary Noel Beauclerk (1810–1850), who married Thomas Corbett, MP for

North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lincolnshire, England. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 167,446. T ...

. * Lord Henry Beauclerk (1812–1856), who died unmarried. * Lord Charles Beauclerk (1813–1861), who married Laura Stopford and had issue. His son Aubrey Topham Beauclerk was the father of Charles Beauclerk, who in 1964 became 13th Duke of St Albans. * Capt. Lord Amelius Wentworth Beauclerk (1815–1879), who married Frances Harrison and had issue, including William Abdy Beauclerk. * Lord George Augustus Beauclerk (1818–1880), who died unmarried. The Duchess died on 17 January 1822. The Duke of St Albans died on 17 July 1825 and was succeeded by his son, from his second wife,

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 ...

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Albans, William Beauclerk, 8th Duke of 1766 births 1825 deaths 108 W