Richard Grenville (politician, 1678)

Richard Grenville (March 23, 1678 , † 1727 ) was a British Whig politician of the 18th century who represented the constituencies of Wendover and Buckingham in Buckinghamshire as MP from 1715 until his death . He was the father, father-in-law and grandfather of several British Prime Ministers . His descendants in the direct male line held the titles of Earl Temple , Marquess of Buckingham and the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos at various times .

Life

Grenville was the eldest son of Richard Grenville, from Wotton Underwood in Buckinghamshire, temporary High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, and Eleanor Temple, daughter of Sir Peter Temple (1613-1660), was born. In 1710 he married Hester Temple , who later became Countess Temple and heir to the family seat of the aristocratic Temple family, Stowe House . Hester was the eldest sister of General and later Field Marshal Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham . The couple had the following children:

• Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple (1711–1779), politician
• Rt. Hon. George Grenville (1712–1770), Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1763 to 1765
• Rt. Hon. James Grenville (1715–1783), Privy Counselor
• Hon. Henry Grenville (1717–1784), diplomat and politician
• Captain Thomas Henry Grenville (1719–1747), naval officer
• Hester Grenville, Baroness Chatham (1720–1803) ⚭ 1754 William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (Prime Minister from 1766 to 1768)

Among the other descendants are the grandsons William Pitt the Younger (Prime Minister from 1783 to 1800 and from 1804 to 1806) and William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (Prime Minister from 1806 to 1807).

After Grenville's early death in 1727, the children were in fact adopted by the childless brother-in-law, 1st Viscount Cobham. Grenville's widow Hester was made Countess Temple after the death of her brother in 1749, she died in 1752. George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 3rd Earl Temple , was awarded the title of Marquess of Buckingham in 1784 . Finally, the family obtained the title of Duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1822 , which was first bestowed on Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos . With the death of Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1889, the Marquessat and the Dukedom expired. The titles Earl Temple of Stowe and Viscount Cobham , however, remained.

Web links

• Entry on thepeerage.com
• Romney R. Sedgwick: Grenville, Richard (1678-1727), of Wotton, Bucks. on historyofparliamentonline.org