Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore

Colyear was thee son of David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore and his wife Catherine Sedley, daughter of Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet, MP, of Aylesford, Kent, and former mistress of James II.[1] His mother was the owner of Portmore House, Weybridge, which became the seat of the Earls of Portmore.[2] [3] In 1719, he was page to the Princess of Wales.[1]

Milsington was returned as Member of Parliament for Wycombe on the Wharton interest at a by-election on 1 February 1726 but on account of the partiality of the returning officer, the election was declared void on 22 February. At the subsequent rerun of the by-election on 3 March he was again returned as MP through the partiality of the returning officer, but was unseated on petition on 17 March. At the 1727 British general election he was returned as MP Andover in a contest. He voted with the Administration on the civil list arrears in 1729.[1]

On 2 January 1730 Milsington succeeded to the peerage on the death of his father and vacated his seat in the House of Commons. In February 1732, he was sent as envoy to Don Carlos, when he took possession of Parma and Piacenza. He was knighted on 2 June 1732 and married on 7 October 1732 Juliana Hele, daughter of Roger Hele of Halwell, Devon, and widow of Peregrine Osborne, 3rd Duke of Leeds. From 1734 to 1737 he was a Scottish representative peer in the House of Lords.[1]

Portmore was a leading racehorse owner and owned among others, Crab and Squirt. He became well-known in high society for the splendour of his dress and equipages. He was a founding Governor of the Foundling Hospital, a charity created in 1739, dedicated to the salvation of abandoned children.

Portmore died on 5 July 1785. By his wife, he had the following children:

1. Caroline Colyear (c.1733-1812), who married Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Scarsdale, and had children[4]
2. Juliana Colyear (1735-1821), who married Henry Dawkins in 1759, and had children
3. David Colyear, Viscount Milsington (1736-1756), who died unmarried
4. William Charles Colyear, 3rd Earl of Portmore (1745–1823)

He also had an illegitimate daughter by Elizabeth Collier, also called Elizabeth, born about 1747, who married first Colonel Edward Pole (1718–1780), the soldier, and secondly Erasmus Darwin, the physician.