Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos
His Grace The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos KG GCH PC FSA | |
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![]() The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos by John Jackson. | |
Lord Privy Seal | |
In office 3 September 1841 – 2 February 1842 | |
Monarch | Queen Victoria |
Prime Minister | Sir Robert Peel |
Preceded by | The Earl of Clarendon |
Succeeded by | The Duke of Buccleuch |
Personal details | |
Born |
11 February 1797 Stowe House, Buckinghamshire |
Died |
29 July 1861 (aged 64) Great Western Hotel, Paddington, London |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Tory |
Spouse(s) |
Lady Mary Campbell (1795–1862) |
Children |
Lady Anna Eliza Mary Gore-Langton Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos |
Parents |
Richard Temple-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos Lady Anne Brydges |
Alma mater | Oriel College, Oxford |
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Richard Plantagenet Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, KG GCH PC FSA (11 February 1797 – 29 July 1861), styled Viscount Cobham from birth until 1813, Earl Temple between 1813 and 1822 and Marquess of Chandos between 1822 and 1839, was a British Tory politician. He served as Lord Privy Seal between 1841 and 1842.
Two events in his life were remarkable, given the era he lived in and the position he held in society as a duke: firstly, he obtained a divorce at a time when it required an Act of Parliament; secondly, despite the great wealth to which he was born, he declared bankruptcy with debts of over a million pounds in 1847.
Background and education
Born at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos was the son of the Richard Nugent-Temple-Grenville, Earl Temple (later created the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos) and Lady Anne Brydges, the only surviving child of the 3rd Duke of Chandos. In addition to being the Duchess of Buckingham and Chandos, Lady Anne was de jure Lady Kinloss in her own right. In 1799, Richard Temple-Nugent-Grenville changed the already triple-barrelled family name to Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville by royal license to reflect his wife's family.[1]
The second Duke was a paternal grandson of the 1st Marquess of Buckingham and a great-grandson of Prime Minister George Grenville. He was educated at Eton and Oriel College, Oxford.[2]
Political career
Buckingham sat as Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire between 1818 and 1839, when he succeeded his father in the dukedom and entered the House of Lords.[2] Two years later, in September 1841, he was sworn of the Privy Council[3] and appointed Lord Privy Seal[3] by Sir Robert Peel, a post he held only until February 1842. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Hanoverian Order in 1835, elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1840[2] and made a Knight of the Garter in 1842.[4]
Personal life
In 1819, Buckingham married Lady Mary Campbell, daughter of Lieut-Gen The 4th Earl of Breadalbane (later created Marquess of Breadalbane). They had one son, Richard, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, and one daughter, Lady Anna, but were divorced in 1850 after Buckingham had lost his inheritance. Anna went to campaign for women's rights.[5] At that time, divorce required an Act of Parliament.
In 1847, eight years after succeeding his father as Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, Richard was declared bankrupt with debts over a million pounds (£83.9 million as of 2018). This occasioned the sale of his Keynsham estate in Somerset in 1841, Avington Park in 1847 and ultimately the auction sale of the contents of the main family seat at Stowe House in August–September 1848, one of the handful of most prominent English country house contents auctions of the 19th century.[6]
Buckingham died at the Great Western Hotel, Paddington, London, in July 1861, aged 64, and was succeeded in the dukedom by his only son. His former wife died less than a year later in June 1862, aged 66.[2]
References
- ↑ Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 2186. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
- 1 2 3 4 Stephen, Leslie (1890). Dictionary of National Biography. p. 130. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- 1 2 "No. 20014". The London Gazette. 3 September 1841. p. 2221.
- ↑ "No. 20090". The London Gazette. 12 April 1842. p. 1017.
- ↑ Elizabeth Crawford, ‘Langton, Lady Anna Eliza Mary Gore- (1820–1879)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 7 Nov 2017
- ↑ Beckett, J. V. (1994). The Rise and Fall of the Grenvilles: Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos, 1710 to 1921. Manchester University Press. pp. 228–230. ISBN 9780719037573. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
Bibliography
- Spring, David & Spring, Eileen (1956). "The Fall of the Grenvilles, 1844-1848". Huntington Library Quarterly. 19 (2): 165–190. doi:10.2307/3816224. JSTOR 3816224.
External links
- Memoirs of the Court and Cabinets of George the Third, Volume 1 (of 2)
- Memoirs of the Court and Cabinets of George the Third, Volume 2 (of 2)
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos
- Portraits of Richard Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- "Archival material relating to Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos". UK National Archives.
Parliament of Great Britain | ||
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Preceded by William Selby Lowndes Thomas Grenville |
Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire 1818–1839 With: William Selby Lowndes 1818–1820 Robert Smith 1820–1831 John Smith 1831–1835 Sir George Dashwood, Bt 1832–1835 Sir William Young 1835–1839 George Simon Harcourt 1835–1839 |
Succeeded by Sir William Young George Simon Harcourt Caledon Du Pré |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by The Earl of Clarendon |
Lord Privy Seal 1841–1842 |
Succeeded by The Duke of Buccleuch |
Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
Preceded by Richard Temple-Grenville |
Duke of Buckingham and Chandos 1839–1861 |
Succeeded by Richard Temple-Grenville |
Peerage of Scotland | ||
Preceded by Anne Brydges, Lady Kinloss |
Lord Kinloss 1836–1861 |
Succeeded by Richard Temple-Grenville |