Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey

Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey

Paget near Waterloo

Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey KG GCB GCH PC ( May 17, 1768 - April 28, 1854 ) was a British soldier and politician.

Life

Paget was born Henry Bayly because his father, Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge , did not take the surname Paget until 1770. As apparent marriage of his father, he carried the courtesy title of Lord Paget from 1784 to 1812 . He had five younger brothers. After he initially Westminster School had visited, he studied at Christ Church College of Oxford University .

In 1790 Paget was elected to the House of Commons for the Tories . At the beginning of the coalition wars , he set up an infantry regiment, whose commander he was. He fought in Flanders in 1793 and 1794, but then switched to cavalry and became a general. After the Duke of York landed at Den Helder in late August 1799, he led the cavalry under General Abercromby and proved himself on October 6th at the Battle of Castricum . As commander of the British cavalry, he fought on the Iberian Peninsula from 1808 , where he gained great fame by covering the retreat of General Moore to La Coruna , the victory at Benavente and the capture of General Lefèvre-Desnouettes . In the further course of the Peninsular War he was no longer used because he was initially unable to serve under this due to an affair with the wife of Henry Wellesley , the brother of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington .

After the death of his father in 1812 Paget inherited the title of 2nd Earl of Uxbridge . In the battle of Waterloo he commanded the entire British and Dutch cavalry. Shortly before the end of the battle, one of the last French cannonballs smashed his right knee, so that the leg had to be amputated at the thigh. His services were rewarded with the elevation of Marquess of Anglesey and thanks from Parliament. Three years later he was accepted into the Order of the Garter.

Paget acted as Lord High Steward at the coronation of King George IV . Under Prime Minister Canning he was Chief of Artillery in the Cabinet rank and in 1828 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland . He campaigned for Catholic emancipation in the government, while he ensured peace and order in the country.

Therefore recalled by Wellington , he took over from 1831 to 1833 in Earl Grey's cabinet again the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, where he restored the public calm shaken by the agitation of O'Connell by energetic but moderate measures. In 1842 he was appointed Colonel of Honor of the Royal Horse Guards in place of Lord Hills and in 1846 Field Marshal . He died on April 28, 1854.

family

Paget married Lady Caroline Villiers in 1795, daughter of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey . The couple had eight children, including his heir to the title Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey . However, the marriage ended in divorce in 1810. That same year, Paget married his long-time lover, Lady Charlotte Wellesley, the youngest daughter of Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan . This marriage had ten children, six of whom survived childhood. The Paget family lived alternately between Beaudesert Hall , Staffordshire , and Plas Newydd , Anglesey .

literature

• George Paget : One-Leg. The Life and Letters of Henry William Paget, First Marquess of Anglesey, KG, 1768-1854 . Leo Cooper, London 1996 (reprint; first edition 1961), ISBN 0850525187 .

Web links

Commons : Henry William Paget  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Field Marshal Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey on thepeerage.com
• Mr Henry Paget at Hansard (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Marquess of Anglesey 1815-1854	Henry Paget
Henry Paget	Earl of Uxbridge 1812-1854	Henry Paget
Thomas Erskine	Lord High Steward 1821	Alexander Douglas-Hamilton
Richard Colley-Wellesley	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1828–1829	Hugh Percy
Hugh Percy	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1830-1833	Richard Colley-Wellesley