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 also became a Gentleman of the Bedchamber. 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 British Army. From 1682 until his death he was Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. In 1685, he resigned the Lord Lieutenancy of Devon to fight James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, but was largely unsuccessful as a military leader. After serving in a few more minor positions, Albemarle died in Whitehall, London at the age of thirty-five.