Charles Hanbury Williams

Charles Hanbury Williams

Sir Charles Hanbury Williams (born December 8, 1708 in London , † November 2, 1759 , ibid) was a British diplomat , writer and satirist .

Life

Origin and inheritance

Charles Hanbury was born in 1708 as the fourth of six surviving sons of wealthy landowner John Hanbury (1664? –1734) and his second wife Bridget († 1741), the daughter of Edward Ayscough of South Kelsey and Stallingborough in Lincolnshire. His father had inherited several mines and ironworks in Pontypool , Welsh , from an old family estate and was known there as Major Hanbury .

Charles Hanbury had attended boarding school in Chelsea since 1716, and from 1720 to 1724 he studied at Eton College . He then went on his Grand Tour together with his tutor Captain Sewell , from which he returned in 1726. By 1731 he had become a popular figure among the intellectuals of London and became a role model for the young men in the aristocratic district of St James’s .

In 1729, the year he came of age, Charles Hanbury took the name Williams. An old friend of the father's, Charles Williams (1634-1720) had once killed his cousin in a duel and fled to Smyrna , where he had amassed a fortune. Out of friendship and gratitude that John Hanbury had made it possible for him to return home, he had appointed him as administrator and decreed that he should distribute the inheritance to people (excluding Hanbury himself) who would take the name Williams. John Hanbury had bought Coldbrook Park and other properties in Monmouthshire and invested some of the money in mortgages and guarantees. In 1732 he gave Coldbrook to his son Charles for his marriage. After the father's death, the rest of the property also passed to him.

marriage and family

On July 1, 1732, Williams married in St James's Church, Piccadilly Lady Frances Coningsby (1709–1781), the youngest daughter and heir to the politician Thomas Coningsby, 1st Earl Coningsby . The two had known each other for a long time, as their families shared the same circle of friends. On March 4, 1735, the marriage resulted in a daughter, Frances ("Fanny"), and on July 8, 1738, the second daughter Charlotte was born. The marriage was not a lucky star from the start. Williams was often away from home and had affairs. After he became a member of the Society of Dilettanti in 1736 , the marriage deteriorated further and in September 1742 it was finally broken.

From July to November Williams was treated in Bath for an extremely severe syphilis infection , but had not told his wife about the reason for his stay there. This also had to be treated. When she learned that her husband had infected her and also left her in the dark about the cause of the symptoms she was experiencing, she refused to return to the common house, moved in with her aunt, Lady Kildare, and wanted to have the marriage agreements annulled. Initially set against a separation, Williams finally agreed, left his wife to raise the daughters for whom he would pay child support in the future, and returned the dowry to her. The split made for a lot of talk in town.

Williams maintained a cordial relationship with his daughters and maintained a lively correspondence with them. With the older one, Fanny, he shared his love of music and opera. In 1749 he arranged for Fanny to marry the son of Lady Essex. The wedding did not take place until 1754 after he had returned from his Grand Tour.

Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland (1705–1774), trusted friend of Williams'

Political career

After his father's death, Williams ran to succeed Monmouthshire in Parliament and was elected in 1735. In contrast to this he supported Robert Walpole and was soon one of his inner circle. In 1737 he met Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland (1705–1774), who became his trusted friend and advisor. Together with Thomas Winnington (1696-1746) they joined the "Good Whigs " ( old corps ), who were loyal to Walpole, but later also to Henry Pelham .

In 1737 Williams became paymaster of the navy, in 1741 he was re-elected to Parliament for Monmouthshire, this time without political opponents. His marriage had also made him influential in Herefordshire , where his father-in-law had sat for the Whigs in Parliament. In the same year he became Custos rotulorum there and soon afterwards Lord Lieutenant . 1744 he was appointed High Steward of Leominster elected for life.

His further career was not very successful. He was unable to develop a profile in Parliament and there followed his obligations rather than his own opinions, nor could he come to terms with the new Prime Minister Pelham. He became increasingly disaffected and made only four speeches in total. His relationship with Pelham worsened when he supported Henry Fox's secret marriage to the daughter of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond , Caroline Lennox, 1st Baroness Holland - Richmond was a supporter and ally of Pelham. Fortunately for him, Richmond did not prevent Williams' acceptance as Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath (KB), which took place on October 20, 1745 and brought him to the knighthood .

In 1745, Williams' candidate for Herefordshire was not set up by Pelham and Williams resigned as Lord Lieutenant of Herfordshire, also speaking of a withdrawal from politics. He was also put under pressure by an investigation into the embezzlement of Navy funds by two of his subordinates, although he was not assigned any guilt. The sudden death of Winnington in 1746 also affected him deeply and he was also interpreted a line of poetry as a vilification of the Irish, which earned him the displeasure of Edward Hussey-Montagu, 1st Earl Beaulieu and his followers.

His subsequent entry into the diplomatic service was interpreted as cowardice - wrongly. He had applied for the post of Secretary to Lord Lieutenant of Ireland William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington , a job which would inevitably have brought him to Ireland . Williams' request, however, was not accepted. At the instigation of his friend Fox, he was finally ambassador to Saxony. He resigned from his post as purser of the Navy and left England in 1747.

In his absence he exchanged the seat in parliament with his brother Capel, who was also to organize the next election campaign for him in Leominster. Williams lost the election in 1747 and did not get a seat in parliament again until 1754.

Literary work

Although Williams only made four speeches in parliament, he advanced the cause of his political party significantly by writing satires against Walpole's opponents. Among them it was especially George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton , George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe and John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll whom he accused of hypocrisy and whom he accused of, the very things that they denounced in the government , such as bribery, favors and nepotism, to operate yourself. After Walpole's resignation in February 1742, he began a systematic campaign against the "New Whigs" under the guidance of Robert Fox. In particular , he attacked William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath in no fewer than 19 poems. During this time, up to the establishment of Pelham in December 1743, his work reached its climax and he became famous. That year was also inducted into White's Club . After Pelham's appointment, his interest in satirical poetry ebbed and after 1744 there were hardly any works in this direction. Only during the Jacobite uprising in 1745 did he still write a few poems against the Tories .

In addition to his satirical poems, Williams wrote eulogies, songs, love poems and imitations of ancient poets. Many of his verses were viewed as obscene by contemporaries, but some were actually not intended for publication. His role model was the early Alexander Pope , but the quality of his poetry did not come close to him. After 1749 he then wrote very seldom individual poems.

diplomat

In his work as a diplomat at various European courts, Williams endeavored to consolidate relations between Great Britain and Saxony , Poland and Russia . On the other hand, he saw France and Prussia as disruptive factors for peace and tried to prevent or weaken their intrigues and influence at the respective court. He worked hard, providing Chesterfield , Newcastle, and Holderness with information, analysis, and thoughtful suggestions in lengthy letters. The answers from home, however, were often few and far between.

In Saxony and Prussia

In May 1747 he arrived in Dresden, where he was from August III. was received in a friendly manner, but did not feel comfortable despite its popularity. As early as 1748 he asked for a transfer, which was granted to him - again at the instigation of Fox - but not to Turin , as initially planned , but to Prussia.

After a long stay in England and a trip to The Hague and Hanover, he went to Berlin in 1750 together with Henry Digby , Fox's nephew, as his secretary . There he was not welcomed warmly and his relationship with Friedrich II remained characterized by mutual distrust. After only three weeks he went to a Sejm in Warsaw , where he did not arrive until the important items on the agenda had already been decided. However, he received a promise from the Polish king, August III., That he would not renew the treaty with France and a picture of him in a diamond-studded snuffbox. Back in Berlin he was cut by all the other dignitaries, as the Prussian king had given instructions to do so and spread rumors about him. He had also complained about Williams in London. In January 1751, Williams was recalled without being reproached and transferred back to Dresden. At least he had met Voltaire in Berlin and made the acquaintance of the young Poniatowski .

Back in Dresden he worked out a subsidy treaty between Great Britain, the Netherlands and the King of Poland. This was passed by the British Parliament in January 1752 with a large majority. In August Williams made a trip to the Sejm in Grodno , but it was quite unsuccessful. Back in Dresden he was commissioned by Newcastle to travel to Vienna and speak to Maria Theresa there. He was to find clearer words than the envoy Robert Murray Keith had previously done, and it became so clear that the Queen was angry and he did not achieve his goal.

After a long stay in England between 1753 and 1754, he returned to Dresden in August and immediately afterwards traveled again to Warsaw. There he found out that the king who received him coolly was under the influence of the French. Williams worked against the French and was also in the latent struggle for a possible succession on the side of the Czartoryski family , while the French supported the Potockis. This pleased the Russians and in March 1755 Williams received news from London that he had been appointed British ambassador to Russia. He took his friend Poniatowski there as a secretary.

In Russia

In Russia, Williams was supposed to negotiate a subsidy treaty through which an army to protect Hanover against a possible invasion of the Prussians was to be maintained. When the treaty finally came about on February 12, 1756 after numerous delays, Williams learned that the Westminster Convention had been signed on January 16 . With this knowledge, Tsarina Elisabeth would probably never have considered the treaty.

After the Prussian army marched into Saxony on August 29, 1756 , Williams unsuccessfully tried to persuade the Tsarina to settle the conflict. The latter, on the other hand, resumed the diplomatic relations with France that had broken off in 1747 and signed Russia's accession to the Treaty of Versailles of 1756 , the alliance between France and Austria , on December 31, 1756 . Williams found himself in a difficult position, as he was inevitably on the side of the allied Prussia, but was not allowed to show this too clearly. For the first time he gained the recognition of Frederick II, after he had secretly leaked precise information about the mobilization of the Russian troops.

The tsarina was now cool with him, it was different with Grand Duke Peter and his wife Katharina Alexejewna , who were on the British-Prussian side. Williams was immediately likeable to Katharina, Poniatowski became her lover. A secret, almost daily correspondence in letters now ensued between Williams and Katharina. This only ended when Poniatowski left Russia in January 1757. The correspondence consists of 157 letters in which Williams provides the future Tsarina with information, advice and analysis about the situation in Russia. They were first published in Moscow in 1909 and an English translation was published in 1928.

Williams had long suffered from chronic illness and depression and his condition worsened while in Russia. He therefore asked several times for his replacement, but this was only approved in July 1757, as Frederick II had previously insisted on his stay. In October he embarked on his long and arduous journey home, instructed his successor Robert Keith in Hamburg and returned to England in February 1758.

Last years

While in the diplomatic service, Williams had repeatedly shown signs of irrational behavior, which were undoubtedly a long-term consequence of his severe syphilis. On his return trip his condition had worsened and he had hallucinations and violent outbursts in London. With the help of Robert Fox, the family had him locked up and given to William Battie for treatment . His condition improved so that in the spring of 1758 he could spend the summer in Monmouthshire, where his daughters visited him. Back in London, his condition worsened again. This time he was finally declared insane and his property was placed in the care of his brother Capel. He died on November 2, 1759. The wedding of his younger daughter Charlotte on July 17 and the death of his daughter Frances in childbed on July 19, he had not noticed. He was buried in an elaborate ceremony in the north nave of Westminster Abbey .

literature

• Mary Margaret Stewart: Williams, Sir Charles Hanbury in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Vol. 59, Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2004, ISBN 0-19-861409-8 , pp. 140-144

predecessor	Office	successor
Thomas Villiers -	British envoy to Saxony-Poland 1747–1749 1751–1755	- David Murray
Henry Bilson-Legge	British envoy to Prussia 1749–1751	- Andrew Mitchell (from 1755)
Melchior Guy Dickens	British envoy to Russia 1755–1759	Robert Murray Keith