Lieutenant-General Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle KG, KCB, 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.[1]
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 (now Berkshire) and they had six children:
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 (KCB) 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.
He 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. Nancy Mitford remarks that given his love of all things French, it was perhaps a blessing that he died before the Seven Years War broke out.[2] The French in turn admired his love of life- " Albemarle aimait son plaisir "- and his wit- when a rapacious mistress admired the beauty of the stars he replied that unfortunately he was unable to buy them for her.[3]
Albemarle County, Virginia in the United States is named for him.
| Government 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 |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by Henry Disney |
Colonel of the The Earl of Albemarle's Regiment of Foot 1731–1733 |
Succeeded by George Reade |
| Preceded by The Earl of Cholmondeley |
Captain and Colonel of the 3rd Troop of Horse Guards 1733–1744 |
Succeeded by The Lord Tyrawley |
| Preceded by The Duke of Marlborough |
Colonel of the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards 1744–1754 |
|
| Court offices | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Pembroke |
Groom of the Stole 1751–1754 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Rochford |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by Arnold Joost van Keppel |
Earl of Albemarle 1718–1754 |
Succeeded by George Keppel |
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