William Edwardes, 4th Baron Kensington
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William Edwardes, 4th Baron Kensington PC (11 May 1835-7 October 1896), also 1st Baron Kensington in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, was a British Liberal politician.
Kensington was the son of Captain William Edwardes, 3rd Baron Kensington, and Laura Jane Ellison. He was elected to the House of Commons for Haverfordwest in 1868, a seat he held until 1885. In 1872 he succeeded his father as fourth Baron Kensington but as this was an Irish peerage it did not entitle him to a seat in the House of Lords and he was able to remain a member of the House of commons. When the Liberals came to power in 1880 under William Gladstone, Kensington was admitted to the Privy Council and appointed Comptroller of the Household (government whip in the House of Commons), a post he held until the government fell in 1885.
In 1886 he was created Baron Kensington, of Kensington in the County of Middlesex, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him a seat in the House of Lords. The same year the Liberals returned to power under Gladstone, and Kensington served briefly as a Lord-in-Waiting (government whip in the House of Lords) from March until the fall of the government in July. The Liberals were out of office for the next six years, but returned to power in 1892, when Gladstone appointed him Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard (Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords). He retained this office also when Lord Rosebery became Prime Minister in 1894. The Liberal government fell the following year, and Kensington never returned to office. Apart from his political career he also held the honorary post of Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire.
Lord Kensington married Grace Elizabeth Johnstone-Douglas, daughter of Robert Johnstone-Douglas, in 1867. He died in October 1896, aged 61, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son William. Lady Kensington died in 1910.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Henry Scourfield |
Member of Parliament for Haverfordwest 1868–1885 |
Succeeded by Constituency abolished |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Earl of Yarmouth |
Comptroller of the Household 1880–1885 |
Succeeded by Lord Arthur William Hill |
| Preceded by The Earl of Limerick |
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard 1892–1895 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Limerick |
| Honorary Titles | ||
| Preceded by - |
Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire - |
Succeeded by - |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by William Edwardes |
Baron Kensington | Succeeded by William Edwardes |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Baron Kensington | Succeeded by William Edwardes |
[edit] References
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page
- www.thepeerage.com
