George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle

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George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle KG PC ( April 5, 1724 - October 13, 1772 ) was a British officer and politician.

George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle

Life

He came from the originally Dutch van Keppel family and was the eldest son of Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle and his wife Anne Lennox. As his father's apparent marriage , he had carried the courtesy title Viscount Bury from birth . After his death in 1754 he also carried his title and became the third Earl of Albemarle.

Keppel was educated at Westminster School between 1732 and 1740 . Like his father, he pursued a military career. He had been on friendly terms with William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland since high school . This relationship with the son of George II and family connections made his career easier. He joined the Coldstream Guards as Ensign in 1738 , where his father had also served. In 1745 he was promoted to aide-de-camp Cumberlands and the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel . He fought in 1745 in the Battle of Fontenoy in the War of the Austrian Succession and in 1746 in the suppression of the Jacobite revolt in the Battle of Culloden . Following the latter, the news of the victory brought George II to London. At the Duke of Cumberland he held the court office of Lord of the Bedchamber from 1746 .

Thanks largely to the influence of his uncle Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond , he was elected to the British House of Commons for the Borough of Chichester in 1746 . However, he subsequently showed little interest in parliamentary work. On the death of his father in 1754 he inherited his title of nobility as 3rd Earl of Albemarle , 3rd Viscount Bury and 3rd Baron Ashford , which he received a seat in the House of Lords and left the House of Commons. He was followed in 1755 by his brother Augustus Keppel as MP for Chichester .

In 1749 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and became commander of the 20th Regiment of Foot . In 1755 he moved to the 3rd (The King's Own) Regiment of Dragoons as Colonel and Commander . In 1756 Keppel became Major-General and in 1759 Lieutenant-General . In 1761 he was inducted into the Privy Council and appointed governor of Jersey . He kept the post until his death.

He has been criticized for his closeness to the court and not based on performance career such as James Wolfe or Horace Walpole . During the Seven Years' War he initially turned down several commands. Instead, he took over command of the land forces in the attack on Havana in 1762 . His brother Augustus Keppel was deputy commander of the fleet. Another brother took part in the project, Major General William Keppel. George successfully landed his troops in Cuba on June 7, 1762. In August of that year the city surrendered. Thousands of British soldiers died from epidemics during the siege. In Great Britain the victory sparked great enthusiasm.

Albermale became governor of the island. His actions after the defeat of the Spaniards did little to calm the situation. He had the bishop deported because he did not want to cooperate with the occupiers. Merchants complained about unjust taxes. For Albermale himself, the victory was lucrative. He received £ 122,000 in prize money and similar income. As a thank you for the victory, Georg III appointed him . 1765 to the Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter .

Upon his return, he bought the Quidenham Hall property in Quidenham, Norfolk , which he then used as a family residence, and he was more involved than before in the political conflict. As a follower of Cumberland he supported the first government of Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham in 1765. After Cumberland's death in the same year, Keppel was the administrator of the estate. Politically, he went over to Rockingham's internal party opponents in 1766. He was at times considered one of their leaders. His health had suffered badly in Cuba and after his return his political activity was repeatedly interrupted by relapses.

It was not until 1770 that he married Anne Miller († 1824), a daughter of Sir John Miller, 4th Baronet. With this he had a son and heir William Charles Keppel . He also had children with a mistress. He was promoted to general in May 1772 before he died of intestinal inflammation in October 1772 and was buried at Quidenham.

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predecessor Office successor
Willem van Keppel Earl of Albemarle
1754-1772 		William Keppel
personal data
SURNAME Keppel, George, 3rd Earl of Albemarle
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British officer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH April 5, 1724
DATE OF DEATH October 13, 1772