Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort

Coat of arms of Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort

Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort , KG , PC (* 1629 - January 21, 1700 ) was an English peer .

Life

Henry Somerset was born at Raglan Castle as the eldest son of Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester , and his first wife Elizabeth Dormer. As his father's apparent marriage , he carried the courtesy title of Lord Herbert from 1646 .

In 1660 he joined the English army as a colonel in an infantry regiment. In 1660 he was elected Knight of the Shire for Monmouthshire in the House of Commons . He was also Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire from 1660 to 1689 . In 1661 he became a colonel in a cavalry regiment. In 1663 he completed his studies at Oxford University as a Master of Arts . When his father died on April 3, 1667, he inherited his title of nobility as 3rd Marquess of Worcester , 7th Earl of Worcester and 9th Baron Herbert . He received a seat in the House of Lords and left the House of Commons.

He held the office of Lord President of Wales and was accepted as a Knight Companion in the Order of the Garter in 1672 and on April 22, 1679 in the Privy Council .

As a descendant of John of Gaunt , he was related to the Stuart royal family and supported the Stuart Restoration . For his services, King Charles II made him Duke of Beaufort on December 2, 1682 . After the Glorious Revolution , Somerset refused to give King William III. the oath of allegiance.

On August 17, 1657, he married Mary Capell (1630–1715), daughter of Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham , sister of Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex , and widow of Henry Seymour, Lord Beauchamp (1626 -1654). They had three sons and four daughters together:

Henry Somerset, Lord Herbert († young);
Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester (1660–1698), military and politician, ⚭ 1682 Rebecca Child, daughter of Sir Josiah Child, 1st Baronet ;
Lord Arthur Somerset (* 1663), ⚭ Mary Russell, daughter of Sir William Russell, 1st Baronet;
Lady Mary Somerset (1664-1733), Lady of the Bedchamber, ⚭ 1685 James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde ;
Lady Henrietta Somerset (around 1670-1715), ⚭ (1) 1685 Henry O'Brien, Lord O'Brien , ⚭ (2) 1685 Henry Howard, 6th Earl of Suffolk ;
Lady Anne Somerset (1673–1763), ⚭ 1686 Thomas Coventry, 2nd Earl of Coventry ;
a fourth daughter (* around 1663) probably died young.

Somerset's son Charles died before he could inherit his father's titles; the dignity therefore passed to his son Henry .

Thomas Seccombe: Somerset, Henry . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 53: Smith - Stanger. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1898, pp. 242 - 245 (English).

^ Molly McClain: Beaufort: The Duke and His Duchess, 1657-1715 . Yale University Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0-300-08411-5 ( google.de [accessed March 5, 2020]).

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Duke of Beaufort 1682-1700	Henry Somerset
Edward Somerset	Marquess of Worcester 1667-1700	Henry Somerset

personal data
SURNAME	Somerset, Henry, 1st Duke of Beaufort
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Somerset, Henry, Lord Herbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	English nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH	1629
DATE OF DEATH	January 21, 1700