The Duke of Beaufort | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 23 March 1707 |
| Died | 26 February 1745 (aged 37) |
| Noble family | Beaufort |
| Spouse(s) | Frances Scudamore |
| Issue | Margaret Burr (illegitimate) |
| Father | Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort |
| Mother | Rachel Noel |
Henry Somerset-Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort (23 March 1707 – 26 February 1745), born Henry Somerset, was an English nobleman and peer who supported Jacobitism.
He was the elder son of Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort and his second wife, Rachel Noel. As his father's eldest son and heir to his father's title he was known as (styled) Marquess of Worcester, a courtesy title. On his father's death on 24 April 1714, he succeeded him and became 3rd Duke of Beaufort.
At the age of 19 Beaufort commissioned the construction of what would later become known as the Badminton Chest or Badminton Cabinet, an ornate set of drawers made in Florence. The chest was sold in 2004 to Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein for £19 million, making it the most expensive piece of furniture in the world. [1] It is on display in the Palais Liechtenstein in Vienna, Austria.
The Duke was one of several founding governors of Britain's first institution for abandoned children, the Foundling Hospital, and his name is listed in its royal charter received from George II in October 1739.
In 1743, he was one of several leading English Tories who communicated with the French government through Francis Sempill in order to illicit French support for an invasion to restore the Stuart line.
After his death, the 3rd Duke of Beaufort was buried at St Michael and All Angels Church, Badminton. His memorial was sculpted by John Michael Rysbrack in 1754. [2]
Because he had no legitimate children, his titles and estates were inherited by his younger brother, Charles Noel Somerset.
On 28 June 1729 Beaufort married Frances Scudamore (14 August 1711 – 16 February 1750 [3] ), the only daughter and heir of James Scudamore, 3rd Viscount Scudamore, and took his wife's name by an Act of Parliament later the same year. [4]
In 1742 Beaufort filed for divorce over Frances's adulterous relationship with William Talbot, who later became Earl Talbot. Frances countersued, saying the Duke was impotent; in March 1743, he demonstrated before court-appointed examiners that he was physically able to have an erection. The divorce was granted, and he sued Talbot for damages. [5] [6] Frances later remarried, to Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore.
Beaufort had one illegitimate daughter, Margaret Burr, who married the painter Thomas Gainsborough and had issue.
Duke of Somerset, from the county of Somerset, is a title that has been created five times in the peerage of England. It is particularly associated with two families: the Beauforts, who held the title from the creation of 1448, and the Seymours, from the creation of 1547, in whose name the title is still held. The present dukedom is unique, in that the first holder of the title created it for himself in his capacity of Lord Protector of the Kingdom of England, using a power granted in the will of his nephew King Edward VI.
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, legitimised 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.
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.
Charles Noel Somerset, 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 was an English courtier and politician. He was the only son of Charles Noel Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort and Elizabeth Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort. 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.
William Talbot, Earl Talbot, PC, known as the Lord Talbot from 1737 to 1761, was a British politician. Talbot was a notable figure among opposition Whig politicians during the reign of King George II before later coming to Court during the reign of his grandson, taking the office of Lord Steward of the Household.
David Robert Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort GCC, known as David Somerset until 1984, was an English peer and major landowner.
Henry John FitzRoy Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort, styled Marquess of Worcester between 1984 and 2017, also known as Harry Beaufort or Bunter Beaufort, previously as Bunter Worcester, is an English peer and landowner, with estates in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire based on Badminton House.
Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons for 49 years from 1733 to 1782.
Holme Lacy is a village in the English county of Herefordshire. The population of the civil parish was 466 at the 2011 Census.
Andrea Soldi (1703–1771) was an Italian portraitist active in Britain.
James Scudamore, 3rd Viscount Scudamore, was an English landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1716.
John Linnell (1729–96) was an 18th-century cabinet-maker and designer.
The Badminton Cabinet is a monumental piece of 18th-century furniture that twice set the record for most expensive piece of furniture ever sold.
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.
Frances Scudamore, Duchess of Beaufort (1711–1750) was a noblewoman and heiress. The only child of James Scudamore, 3rd Viscount Scudamore, she was his sole heir upon his death in 1716. Her mother, Frances née Digby, had introduced the family to Alexander Pope. Frances married, on 28 June 1729, Henry Somerset, 3rd Duke of Beaufort, who the following year took the surname Scudamore by Act of Parliament. The marriage was not a happy one, leading the Duchess to have an affair with William Talbot, 2nd Baron Talbot. In 1742, the Duke filed for divorce due to this affair; the Duchess countersued, claiming that the Duke was impotent. When the Duke disproved her claim before court-appointed examiners, the divorce was granted in March 1743, followed by the Duke suing Lord Talbot for damages.
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.
Frances Scudamore (1750–1820) was the second wife of Charles Howard, who became the 11th Duke of Norfolk in 1786. She spent her married life confined to Holme Lacy in a mentally deranged condition.
The Scudamorefamily is an English noble family. The family settled in Herefordshire at two seats, Holme Lacy and Kentchurch Court, before lines moved to Devon, Somerset and Derbyshire. The family first gained prominence in the 15th and 16th centuries, before becoming ennobled as Viscount Scudamore and Baron Dromore in the 17th century, and were granted two baronetcies in 1620 and 1644. The family married into several noble dynasties including the Cecil, Beaufort, and Howard families, and became ancestors to the Earls of Chesterfield.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
