Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset
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Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (13 August 1662–December 2, 1748), sometimes referred to as the "Proud Duke". The son of Charles Seymour, 2nd Baron Seymour of Trowbridge, and Elizabeth Bennett, he succeeded his brother Francis Seymour, 5th Duke of Somerset, to the dukedom when the latter was shot in 1678. He also inherited the title of Baron Seymour of Trowbridge.
Charles was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge; and in 1682 he married a great heiress, Elizabeth Percy, daughter of Joceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland, who brought him immense estates, including Alnwick Castle, Petworth, Syon House and Northumberland House in London.
In 1683, Somerset received an appointment in the king’s household, and two years later a colonelcy of dragoons; but at the revolution he bore arms for the Prince of Orange. Having befriended Princess Anne in 1692, he became a favourite of hers after her accession to the throne, receiving the post of Master of the Horse in 1702. Finding himself neglected by Marlborough, he made friends with the Tories, and succeeded in retaining the queen’s confidence, while his wife replaced the Duchess of Marlborough as Mistress of the Robes in 1711.
In the memorable crisis when Anne was at the point of death, Somerset acted with Argyll, Shrewsbury and other Whig nobles who, by insisting on their right to be present in the Privy Council, secured the Hanoverian succession to the Crown.
He retained the office of Master of the Horse under George I till 1716, when he was dismissed and retired into private life; he died at Petworth on 2 December 1748. The duke’s first wife having died in 1722, he married secondly, in 1726, Charlotte, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Nottingham. He was a remarkably handsome man, and inordinately fond of taking a conspicuous part in court ceremonial; his vanity, which earned him the sobriquet of "the proud duke," was a byword among his contemporaries and was the subject of numerous anecdotes; Macaulay’s description of him as "a man in whom the pride of birth and rank amounted almost to a disease," is well known.
The Duke was a founding governor of the Foundling Hospital in London, 1739 – the country's first and only children's home for foundlings (abandoned children).
[edit] Issue
Charles and Lady Elizabeth had four children:
- Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset (11 November 1684 – 7 February 1749)
- Lady Elizabeth Seymour (1685–2 April 1734)
- Lady Catherine Seymour (1693–9 April 1731)
- Lady Anne Seymour (1709–27 November 1722)
On February 4, 1725, he married, Lady Charlotte Finch (1711–1773), daughter of Daniel Finch, 7th Earl of Winchilsea and had two children:
- Lady Charlotte Seymour (21 September 1730–15 February 1805), married Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Aylesford and had issue.
- Lady Frances Seymour (1735–25 January 1761), married John Manners, Marquess of Granby
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: The Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery |
Lord President of the Council 1702 |
Succeeded by: The Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery |
| Preceded by: In Commission |
Master of the Horse 1702–1712 |
Succeeded by: In Commission |
| Preceded by: In Commission |
Master of the Horse 1712–1715 |
Succeeded by: In Commission |
| Honorary Titles | ||
| Preceded by: The Earl of Sheffield |
Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire 1682–1687 |
Succeeded by: The Earl of Sheffield |
| Custos Rotulorum of the East Riding of Yorkshire 1682–1687 |
||
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by: Francis Seymour |
Duke of Somerset 1678–1748 |
Succeeded by: Algernon Seymour |
