Duchess of Beaufort is a title held by the wife of the Duke of Beaufort in the Peerage of England. In 1657 Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester married Mary Capell and in 1682 the dukedom was created by Charles II, making Henry the first Duke and Mary the first Duchess of Beaufort.
Duke of Beaufort, a title in the Peerage of England, was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimized son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, a Lancastrian leader in the Wars of the Roses. The name Beaufort refers to a castle in Champagne, France. It is the only current dukedom to take its name from a place outside the British Isles.
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain.
The dukedom was named after Henry Somerset's fifth great-grandfather Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, whose legitimized children held the surname Somerset. The name Beaufort refers to a castle in Champagne, France (now Montmorency-Beaufort) and it is the only current dukedom to take its name from a place outside the British Isles.
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset was an important Lancastrian military commander during the English Wars of the Roses. He is sometimes numbered the 2nd Duke of Somerset, because the title was re-created for his father after his uncle died. He also held the subsidiary titles of 5th Earl of Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Dorset and 2nd Earl of Dorset.
Badminton House is a large country house and Grade I Listed Building in Badminton, Gloucestershire, England, and has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century, when the family moved from Raglan Castle, which had been ruined in the English Civil War. The house gives its name to the sport of badminton.
St Michael and All Angels is a Grade I listed church on the estate of the Duke of Beaufort in the village of Great Badminton, Gloucestershire, England. Attached to the Duke of Beaufort's residence, Badminton House, it is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Gloucester. Although within the grounds of the Badminton Estate, the church is owned, and its upkeep met, by the Badminton's Parochial Church Council, rather than the Ducal estate. There is a smaller church of the same name in the neighbouring hamlet of Little Badminton.
23 November 1835 – 17 November 1853. Emily Frances Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort, born Emily Frances Smith. Second wife of Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort
17 November 1853 – 30 April 1899. Georgiana Charlotte Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort, born Lady Georgiana Charlotte Curzon. Wife of Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort
30 April 1899 – 24 November 1924. Louise Emily Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort, born Louise Emily Harford. Wife of Henry Somerset, 9th Duke of Beaufort
5 February 1984 – 22 April 1995. Caroline Jane Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort, born Lady Caroline Jane Thynne. First wife of David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort
2 June 2000 – 16 August 2017. Miranda Elisabeth Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort, born Miranda Elisabeth Morley. Second wife of David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort
Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort also known by her other married name of Mary Seymour, Lady Beauchamp and her maiden name Mary Capell, was an English noblewoman, gardener and botanist.
Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, KG, PC was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1667, when he succeeded his father as 3rd Marquess of Worcester. He was styled Lord Herbert from 1644 until 3 April 1667. The Dukedom of Beaufort was bestowed upon him by King Charles II in 1682.
Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort, KG PC was an English peer and politician. He was the only son of Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester, and Rebecca Child. He was styled Earl of Glamorgan until 1698, and Marquess of Worcester from 1698 until his grandfather's death on 21 January 1700, when he succeeded him as 2nd Duke of Beaufort.
Dowager Duchesses of Beaufort
Traditionally a widowed peeress puts "Dowager" in her style. If a widowed peeress is also predeceased by the next Duke, any surviving widow of that Duke does not use the style of Dowager until the current dowager has died or remarried (seeCourtesy titles in the United Kingdom: Widows).
7 January 1715 – 15 October 1715 (her second marriage): Mary Somerset, Dowager Duchess of Beaufort, born Mary Osborne. Widow of Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort. Later Mary Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald.
11 October 1803 – 15 June 1828: Elizabeth Somerset, Dowager Duchess of Beaufort, born Elizabeth Boscawen. Widow of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort.
23 November 1835 – 12 Aug 1854: Charlotte Sophia Somerset, Dowager Duchess of Beaufort, born Lady Charlotte Sophia Leveson-Gower. Widow of Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort.
12 Aug 1854 – 2 October 1889: Emily Frances Somerset, Dowager Duchess of Beaufort, born Emily Frances Smith. Widow of Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort.
2 October 1889 – 14 May 1906: Georgiana Charlotte Somerset, Dowager Duchess of Beaufort, born Lady Georgiana Charlotte Curzon. Widow of Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort.
Since 16 August 2017: Miranda Elisabeth Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort, born Miranda Elisabeth Morley. Second wife and widow of David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort
Elizabeth Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort was born in Stoke Gifford in Gloucestershire to John Symes Berkeley and Elizabeth Norborne. Her younger brother was Norborne, Lord Botetourt.
Charles Noel Somerset, later 4th Duke of Beaufort, was a British Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1731 until 1745 when he succeeded to the peerage as Duke of Beaufort.
Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort KG was an English courtier and politician. He was the only son of Charles Noel Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort and his wife, Elizabeth Berkeley. Styled Marquess of Worcester from 1746, at his father's death on 28 October 1756, he succeeded him as 5th Duke of Beaufort, 7th Marquess of Worcester, 11th Earl of Worcester, and 13th Baron Herbert.
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A queen dowager, dowager queen or queen mother is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is clear from the two words from which it is composed: queen indicates someone who served as queen consort, while dowager indicates a woman who holds the title from her deceased husband.
Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, KG was an English nobleman and politician. He was the legitimised bastard son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset by his mistress Joan Hill.
General Lord Charles Henry Somerset PC, born in Badminton, England, was a British soldier, politician and colonial administrator. He was governor of the Cape Colony, South Africa, from 1814 to 1826.
David Robert Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort, known as David Somerset until 1984, was an English peer and major landowner.
Henry Charles Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort, KG, styled Marquess of Worcester until 1803, was a British politician.
Major Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort, KG, styled Earl of Glamorgan until 1803 and Marquess of Worcester between 1803 and 1835, was a British peer, soldier, and politician.
Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort KG, PC, DL, styled Earl of Glamorgan until 1835 and Marquess of Worcester from 1835 to 1853, was a British peer, soldier, and Conservative Party politician. He served as Master of the Horse between 1858 and 1859 and again between 1866 and 1868.
The Duchess of Newcastle or the Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne usually refers to the wife or widow of a Duke of Newcastle. The dukedom became extinct in 1988.
Lady Anne Culling Smith was the sister of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. She was born Lady Anne Wesley, the only daughter of Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington, and the Hon. Anne Hill, daughter of Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon.
Mary Capel, Countess of Essex, born Lady Mary Bentinck, was the daughter of William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, a Dutch and English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of stadtholder William, Prince of Orange and his wife Anne Villiers.
Anne Mee, née Foldsone (1765–1851) was a prolific English miniature painter of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Susanna Leveson-Gower, Marchioness of Stafford (1742–1805), styled Lady Susanna Stewart from 1742 to 1768, Countess Gower until 1786, Marchioness of Stafford until 1803 and Dowager Marchioness of Stafford until her death in 1805, was a British noblewoman, who in 1768 became the wife of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford and a member of the Leveson-Gower family.
Charlotte Sophia Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort, formerly Lady Charlotte Sophia Leveson-Gower, was the wife of Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort.
Harriet Stewart, Countess of Galloway, formerly Lady Harriet Blanche Somerset, was the wife of Randolph Stewart, 9th Earl of Galloway.
Georgiana Somerset, Marchioness of Worcester, formerly Georgiana Frederica Fitzroy, was the first wife of Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort, but died prior to his inheriting the dukedom.
Maria Janetta Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans, formerly Maria Janetta Nelthorpe, was the second wife of William Beauclerk, 8th Duke of St Albans, and the mother of the 9th Duke.
Frances Julia Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, formerly Frances Julia Burrell, was the second wife of Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland, and the mother of the 3rd and 4th Dukes.
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