The Right Honourable The Earl of Kenmare KP, PC |
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"The Lord Chamberlain" Kenmare as caricatured by Spy (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, February 1881 |
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Lord Chamberlain of the Household | |
In office 3 May 1880 – 9 June 1885 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Prime Minister | William Gladstone |
Preceded by | The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe |
Succeeded by | The Earl of Lathom |
In office 10 February 1886 – 20 July 1886 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Prime Minister | William Gladstone |
Preceded by | The Earl of Lathom |
Succeeded by | The Earl of Lathom |
Personal details | |
Born | 16 May 1825 |
Died | 9 February 1905 |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Liberal |
Spouse(s) | Gertrude Thynne (d. 1913) |
Valentine Augustus Browne, 4th Earl of Kenmare KP, PC (16 May 1825 – 9 February 1905), styled Viscount Castlerosse from 1853 to 1871, was a British courtier and Liberal politician. He held office in every Whig or Liberal administration between 1856 and 1886, notably as Lord Chamberlain of the Household under William Gladstone between 1880 and 1885 and in 1886.
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Browne was the son of Thomas Browne, 3rd Earl of Kenmare, by his wife Catherine O'Callaghan, daughter of Edmund O'Callaghan, of Kilgory, County Clare. He became known by the courtesy title Viscount Castlerosse when his father succeeded in the earldom of Kenmare in 1853.[1]
Lord Castlerosse was appointed High Sheriff of Kerry for 1851.[1] The following year he was returned to parliament as one of two representatives for Kerry.[1][2] In 1856 he was appointed Comptroller of the Household under Lord Palmerston,[3] a post he held until the government fell in 1858.[4] He was sworn of the Privy Council in February 1857.[5] When Palmerston resumed office in 1859, Castlerosse became Vice-Chamberlain of the Household,[6] which he remained until 1866,[7] the last year under the premiership of Lord Russell. He once again became Vice-Chamberlain of the Household in 1868 in William Gladstone's first administration.[8]
In December 1871 he succeeded his father in the earldom and took his seat in the House of Lords.[1] He consequently resigned as Vice-Chamberlain (a post normally held by a commoner) and in February 1872 he was appointed a Lord-in-Waiting, i. e. a government whip in the House of Lords.[9] In June of that year he was made a Knight of the Order of St Patrick.[10] The Liberal government fell in 1874.[11] Gladstone returned as prime minister in 1880, when Lord Kenmare was appointed Lord Chamberlain of the Household.[12] He held this office until 1885[13] and again briefly in Gladstone's third administration between February[14] and July 1886.[15] Apart from his political career he was also Lord-Lieutenant of Kerry between 1866 and 1905.[16]
Lord Kenmare married Gertrude Thynne, daughter of Reverend Lord Charles Thynne, Canon of Canterbury, and granddaughter of Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath, on 28 April 1858. They had three children:
Lord Kenmare died in February 1905, aged 79, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest and only surviving son, Valentine. The Countess of Kenmare died in February 1913.[1]
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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Preceded by Morgan O'Connell Henry Arthur Herbert |
Member of Parliament for Kerry 1852–1871 With: Henry Arthur Herbert 1852–1866 Henry Arthur Herbert 1866–1871 |
Succeeded by Henry Arthur Herbert Rowland Ponsonby Blennerhassett |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Viscount Drumlanrig |
Comptroller of the Household 1856–1858 |
Succeeded by Hon. George Weld-Forester |
Preceded by Viscount Newport |
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household 1859–1866 |
Succeeded by Lord Claud Hamilton |
Preceded by Lord Claud Hamilton |
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household 1868–1872 |
Succeeded by Lord Richard Grosvenor |
Preceded by The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe |
Lord Chamberlain 1880–1885 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Lathom |
Preceded by The Earl of Lathom |
Lord Chamberlain February–July 1886 |
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Honorary titles | ||
Preceded by Henry Arthur Herbert |
Lord Lieutenant of Kerry 1866–1905 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Kenmare |
Peerage of Ireland | ||
Preceded by Thomas Browne |
Earl of Kenmare 1871–1905 |
Succeeded by Valentine Browne |