Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle
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Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle KG KB PC ADC (5 June 1702 – 22 December 1754) was a British diplomat and an American colonist.
Willem was born on 5 June 1702 at Whitehall Palace, London, the son of the 1st Earl of Albemarle and was baptised on 16 June 1702 in St Martin-in-the-Fields with Queen Anne as one of his godparents.
On 21 February 1722, he married Lady Anne Lennox, a daughter of the 1st Duke of Richmond (and a granddaughter of King Charles II through an illegitimate line), at Caversham, Oxfordshire and they had six children:
- George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albermarle (1724–1772)
- Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel (1725–1786)
- Lt.-Gen. Hon. William Keppel (1727–1782)
- Rt. Rev. Hon. Frederick Keppel (1728–1777)
- Lady Caroline Keppel (1734–?)
- Lady Elizabeth Keppel (1739–1768)
Willem fought in the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, was Colonel of the 29th Regiment of Foot 1731–1733 and Coldstream Guards from 1744 and 1754, fighting in the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745 and the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
From 1722–1751 he was a Lord of the Bedchamber to George I, and Groom of the Stole 1751–1754. In 1725 he was made a Knight of the Bath but resigned that honour in 1750 to become a Knight of the Garter. At its creation in 1739, he was a founding Governor of the Foundling Hospital in London. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1751. Willem died on 22 December 1754, aged 52 in Paris, France and was buried on 21 February 1755 in Grosvenor Chapel on South Audley Street, London.
Albemarle County, Virginia is named for him.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Earl of Orkney |
Crown Governor of Virginia 1737–1754 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Loudoun |
| Diplomatic Posts | ||
| Preceded by None due to the War of the Austrian Succession |
British Ambassador to France 1748–1754 |
Succeeded by None due to the Seven Years' War |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by Arnold Joost van Keppel |
Earl of Albemarle 1718–1754 |
Succeeded by George Keppel |
| Colonial Governors of Virginia |  |
|---|---|
| Wingfield • Ratcliffe • Scrivener • Smith • Percy • Gates • De La Warr • Percy • Dale • Gates • Dale • Yeardley • Argall • Yeardley • Wyatt • Yeardley • West • Pott • Harvey • West • Harvey • Wyatt • Berkeley • Bennett • Digges • Mathews • Berkeley • Colepeper • Howard of Effingham • Andros • Nicholson • Nott • Jenings • Hunter • Orkney (absentee) • Spotswood • "King" Carter • Gooch • Albemarle (absentee) • Gooch • Lee • Dinwiddie • Loudoun • Fauquier • Amherst (absentee) • Fauquier • Botetourt • Nelson • Dunmore |
