Lord Charles Somerset

Not to be confused with Lord Henry Somerset.

General The Right Honourable
Lord Charles Somerset
PC
Governor of the Cape Colony
In office
1814–1826
Monarchs
Preceded byJohn Cradock
Succeeded byRichard Bourke (acting)
Personal details
Born12 December 1767 (1767-12-12)
Died18 February 1831 (1831-02-19) (aged 63)
NationalityBritish
Spouses
  • Lady Elizabeth Courtenay
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1788; died 1815)​
  • Lady Mary Poulett
    ​
    (m. 1821)​
Children9, including Henry and Poulett
Parents

Lord Charles Henry Somerset PC (12 December 1767 – 18 February 1831), born in Badminton, England, was a British soldier, politician and colonial administrator.[1] He was governor of the Cape Colony, South Africa, from 1814 to 1826.

Early life[edit]

Somerset was the second son of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort, and Elizabeth, daughter of Admiral the Hon. Edward Boscawen. He was the brother of Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort, General Lord Robert Somerset, Lord Arthur Somerset and Field Marshal FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan.[1]

Career[edit]

Somerset sat as member of parliament for Scarborough between 1796 and 1802 and for Monmouth Boroughs between 1802 and 1813. He served as Comptroller of the Household between 1797 and 1804 and as Joint Paymaster of the Forces between 1804 and 1806 and 1807 and 1813 and was sworn of the Privy Council on 26 April 1797. In 1814 he was appointed Governor of the Cape Colony, a post he held until 1826.[2] The towns of Somerset West and Somerset East in South Africa are named after him.[3]

Personal life[edit]

Somerset married firstly Lady Elizabeth Courtenay[4] (1766–1815), on 7 June 1788, following their elopement. She was the daughter of the 8th Earl of Devon.[1] They had six children:[1]

  1. Elizabeth Somerset (1790–1872), who married Gen. Hon. Sir Henry Wyndham in 1812.[1]
  2. Mary Georgiana Somerset (1793–1856), who married Lt-Col. Stirling Freeman Glover in 1833.[1]
  3. Sir Henry Somerset (1794–1862), a Lieutenant-General.[1]
  4. Charlotte Augusta Somerset (1799–1864), who married Herbert Cornewoll in 1822.[1]
  5. Charles Henry Somerset (1800–1835), a Lieutenant-Colonel.[1]
  6. Villiers Somerset (1803–1855), a Reverend who married Frances Dorothy Ley in 1844 and had issue.[1]

After the death of Lady Elizabeth, he married secondly Lady Mary Poulett, daughter of John Poulett, 4th Earl Poulett, on 9 August 1821.[1] They had three children:[1]

  1. Poulett George Henry Somerset (1822–1875), a Colonel who married Barbara Augusta Norah Mytton, daughter of John Mytton, in 1847. After her death in 1870, he married Emily Moore.[5]
  2. Mary Sophia Somerset (1823–1869)[1]
  3. Augusta Anne Somerset (1824–1881), who married Sir Henry Barron, 1st Baronet in 1863.[1]

Somerset died in February 1831, aged 63. His second wife died in June 1860, aged 72.

Ancestry[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Charles Mosley, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, page 221 – 223.
  2. ^ Anonymous (16 March 2011). "Lord Charles Henry Somerset, governor of the Cape Colony, is born in Badminton, England". South African History Online. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  3. ^ Millar, Anthony Kendal (1965). PLANTAGENET IN SOUTH AFRICA. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780196370774.
  4. ^ "Elizabeth Courtenay, Lady Charles Somerset, d. 1815". National Galleries Scotland.
  5. ^ Charles Mosley, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, pp. 221–223.

External links[edit]

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Scarborough
1796–1801
With: Edmund Phipps 		Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Parliament of Great Britain
 Member of Parliament for Scarborough
1801–1802
With: Edmund Phipps 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Monmouth Boroughs
1802–1813 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Comptroller of the Household
1797–1804 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Paymaster of the Forces
1804–1806
With: George Rose 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Paymaster of the Forces
1807–1813
With: Charles Long 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Governor of the Cape Colony
1814–1826 		Succeeded by
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