William Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle
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William Coutts Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle KCMG PC (April 15, 1832 – August 28, 1894), was a British soldier and politician.
A son to General George Thomas Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle and Susan Coutts Trotter, he was educated at Eton. In 1843, he became an Ensign and Lieutenant in the 43rd (Regiment of) Foot, from 1848 until 1853, he was a Lieutenant in the Scots Guards, becoming Aide-de-Camp to Lord Frederick FitzClarence in India. From 1851 until 1891, he was styled Viscount Bury, then succeeded his father to become 7th Earl of Albemarle.
From 1854 until 1856, Keppele was Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Canada. On 15 November 1855, at Dundurn, in Canada, he married Sophia Mary Macnab, daughter of Allan Napier MacNab, a Prime Minister of Canada, and they became the parents of ten children :
- Lieutenant Colonel Arnold Keppel, 8th Earl of Albemarle (1858–1942).
- Gertrude Mary Keppel (9 November 1859 – 7 April 1860).
- Lady Theodora Keppel (c. 1861 – 30 October 1945), married Colonel Leslie Davidson and had issue (?).
- The Honorable Derek Keppel (1863–1944).
- Lady Hilda Mary Keppel (29 August 1864 – 7 October 1955), unmarried.
- Lieutenant Colonel Honorable George Keppel (14 October 1865 – 22 November 1947), husband of the royal mistress Alice Keppel.
- Lady Leopoldina Olivia Keppel (14 November 1866 – 9 August 1948), a nun.
- Lady Susan Mary Keppel (5 May 1868 – 26 June 1953), married Sir Walter Townley in 1896.
- Lady Mary Stuart Keppel (15 May 1869 – 21 September 1906), married Sir Harold Tagart in 1900.
- Lady Florence Cecilia Keppel (24 February 1871 – 30 June 1963), married William Boyle, 12th Earl of Cork in 1902.
From 1857 until 1859, Keppel served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Norwich; from 1860 until 1865 for Wick Burghs and, from 1868 until 1874 for Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Keppel was appointed Privy Counsellor in 1859. From 1859 until 1866, he was Treasurer of the Queen's Household and, on September 6, 1876, was summoned to the House of Lords in his father's Barony of Ashford. He was Under-Secretary of State for War from 1878 until 1880, as well as in 1885 and 1886. On Easter Sunday, 13 April 1879, he was received into the Church of Rome. In 1881, he became a Volunteer Aide-de-Camp to the Queen.
He wrote a history of the American colonization called Exodus of the Western Nations (1865), A Report on the Condition of the Indians of British North America, and was the principal author of the Cycling volume of the Badminton Library (1887).
Keppel died aged sixty-two, of paralysis, and was buried at Quidenham.
Keppel's son George was the husband of Alice Keppel, the most famous mistress of King Edward VII. He is also the great-great-grandfather of Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall and the modern day television celebrity and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? champion Judith Keppel.
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Edward Warner Sir Samuel Bignold |
Member of Parliament for Norwich with Henry William Schneider 1857–1859 |
Succeeded by Edward Warner Sir William Russell |
| Preceded by Samuel Laing |
Member of Parliament for Wick Burghs 1860–1865 |
Succeeded by Samuel Laing |
| Preceded by Dudley Marjoribanks Alexander Mitchell |
Member of Parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed with John Stapleton 1868–1874 |
Succeeded by Dudley Marjoribanks David Milne Home |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Lord Claud Hamilton |
Treasurer of the Household 1859–1866 |
Succeeded by Lord Otho FitzGerald |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by George Keppel |
Earl of Albemarle 1891–1894 |
Succeeded by Arnold Keppel |
