William Henry Edgcumbe, 4th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, GCVO, PC, DL (5 November 1833 – 25 September 1917), styled Viscount Valletort between 1839 and 1861, was a British courtier,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician, and Volunteer officer.

Background

Edgcumbe was the son of Ernest Edgcumbe, 3rd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, and Caroline Augusta, daughter of Rear-Admiral Charles Feilding.'Earl of Mount Edgcumbe', ''Burke's''.

Career in Parliament and at Court

Edgcumbe was returned to Parliament for

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 ...

in 1859, a seat he held until 1861 when he entered 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 ...

on the death of his father.'Earl of Mount Edgcumbe', ''Debrett's''. In 1879 he sworn of the Privy Council and appointed

Lord Chamberlain of the Household Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

by the Earl of Beaconsfield, a post he held until the government fell in 1880. He later served under

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...

Lord Steward of the Household The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is one of the three Great Officers of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Household of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch. He is, by tradition, the first great officer of ...

between 1885 and 1886 and again between 1886 and 1892. Edgcumbe was also an Aide-de-Camp to

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 ...

from 1887 to 1897 and a Member of the Council to the Prince of Wales from 1901 to 1917 as well as Keeper of the Seal of the Duchy of Cornwall from 1907 to 1917. Between 1877 and 1917 he served as Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall. He was also a Provincial Grand Master, an office held by the head of a Provincial Grand Lodge. In early 1901 Lord Mount Edgcumbe was appointed by King Edward to lead a special diplomatic mission to announce the King's accession to the governments of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

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 ...

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Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

, and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. During his visit to the Belgian court in March 1901, King Leopold presented him with the Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold.

Military career

As Viscount Valletort he was commissioned as a Second lieutenant in the Cornwall

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

(the Duke of Cornwall's Rangers) on 24 April 1852; at the time the regiment was commanded by his father. He was subsequently promoted to

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on 3 June 1854 and

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on 2 June 1855.''Hart's'', 1860.''Army List'', various dates. On 29 February 1860, during the enthusiasm for the

Volunteer Movement The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrate ...

, he raised the 16th (Stonehouse) Devonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps and served as its captain-commandant. Along with other units raised around

, the corps became part of the 2nd Administrative Battalion, Devonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps and Valletort was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel in command of the battalion on 8 August 1860. The battalion subsequently became the 2nd (Prince of Wales's) Volunteer Battalion, Devonshire Regiment (Valletort had been equerry to the

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 ...

); he maintained his links with the battalion until his death in 1917. On 9 February 1889, the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe was appointed

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 ...

in command of the Plymouth Brigade, consisting of the five Volunteer Battalions of the

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, ...

and the two of the

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a Light infantry, light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd ( ...

, which was charged with defending 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 ...

's base at Plymouth in time of war. On 29 May 1889, Lord Mount Edgcumbe gave up command of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, becoming its Honorary Colonel, though he continued to command the Plymouth Brigade until 1893. He was awarded the Volunteer Decoration, and remained Hon Colonel of his battalion when it became the 5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

in 1908, and was president of the Cornwall Territorial Association.

Family

Lord Mount Edgcumbe married firstly, Lady Katherine Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, on 26 October 1858. They had four children: *Lady Victoria Frederica Caroline Edgcumbe (1859–1920), married Lord Algernon Percy, son of

Algernon Percy, 6th Duke of Northumberland Algernon George Percy, 6th Duke of Northumberland, (20 May 1810 – 2 January 1899), styled Lord Lovaine between 1830 and 1865 and Earl Percy between 1865 and 1867, was a British Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and pol ...

and had issue. *Lady Alberta Louise Florence Edgcumbe (1861– 25 March 1941), married Henry Lopes, 1st Baron Roborough and had issue. *Lady Edith Hilaria Edgcumbe (1862– 3 April 1931), married John St Aubyn, 2nd Baron St Levan and had issue. * Piers Alexander Hamilton Edgcumbe, 5th Earl of Edgcumbe (2 July 1865 – 18 April 1944). After Lady Katherine's death in September 1874, Lord Mount Edgcumbe married secondly, his first cousin, Caroline Cecilia, daughter of George Edgcumbe and widow of Atholl Liddell, 3rd Earl of Ravensworth, on 21 April 1906. She died in February 1909. Lord Mount Edgcumbe died in September 1917, aged 83.

Notes

References

* ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953. * H.G. Hart, ''The New Annual Army List, and Militia List'' (various dates from 1840). * Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Edgcumbe, William Edgcumbe, 4th Earl of 4 Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order 1833 births 1917 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deputy lieutenants of Devon Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England Lord-lieutenants of Cornwall Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plymouth Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People from Maker, Cornwall UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs who inherited peerages