Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle

The 2nd Duke of Albemarle.

Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, KG, PC (14 August 1653 – 6 October 1688) was an English statesman and failed soldier.

He was the son of George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle.

Monck entered politics in January 1667 (at the age of thirteen), when he became a Member of Parliament (MP) for Devonshire. He was forced to leave the House of Commons in 1670, however, upon the inheritance of his father's peerage titles; that year, he became a Gentleman of the Bedchamber and inherited his father's great feudal title, Lord of Bowland. Albemarle, who had been created a Knight of the Garter and a Privy Councillor, became Lord Lieutenant of Devon in 1675, and would serve in that capacity for ten years. Meanwhile, he became a titular colonel of several horse regiments of the English Army. In his personal life, Monck married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle on 30 December 1669 at Whitehall, London. On 6 January 1681, the first recorded boxing match took place in Britain when Monck engineered a bout between his butler and his butcher, with the latter winning the prize. From 1682 until his death, he was Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. In 1685, he resigned the Lord Lieutenancy of Devon to fight the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion, but was largely unsuccessful as a military leader. In 1686 Monck was a major investor in treasure-seeking expedition headed by William Phips. Phips located the wreck of the Spanish treasure ship Nuestra Señora de la Concepción in February 1687, returning to London with more than £200,000 worth of treasure, of which Monck received a 25 per cent share. After serving in a few more minor positions, Monck was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica in 1687. However the following year, in 1688, he died in Jamaica at the age of thirty-five. Monck was childless and all his titles became extinct on his death.

References

Parliament of England
Preceded by Sir Hugh Pollard, Bt Sir John Rolle	Member of Parliament for Devonshire with Sir John Rolle 1667–1670	Succeeded by Sir John Rolle Sir Coplestone Bampfylde
Military offices
New title	Colonel of the Queen's Regiment of Horse 1678–1679	Regiment disbanded
Preceded by The Duke of Monmouth	Captain and Colonel of His Majesty's Own Troop of Horse Guards 1679–1685	Succeeded by The Earl of Feversham
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl of Bath	Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of Devon 1675–1685	Succeeded by The Earl of Bath
Preceded by The Earl of Oxford	Lord Lieutenant of Essex jointly with The Earl of Oxford 1675–1687	Succeeded by The Lord Petre
Government offices
Preceded by Hender Molesworth	Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica 1687–1688	Succeeded by Hender Molesworth, acting
Peerage of England
Preceded by George Monck	Duke of Albemarle 1670–1688	Extinct