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Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort

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The Duke of Beaufort
Master of the Horse
In office
February 1936 – 1978
MonarchsEdward VIII
George VI
Elizabeth II
Preceded byBernard Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard
Succeeded byDavid Fane, 15th Earl of Westmorland
Personal details
Born(1900-04-04)4 April 1900
Died(1984-02-05)5 February 1984
NationalityBritish
SpouseLady Victoria Constance Mary Cambridge

Henry Hugh Arthur FitzRoy Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort KG, GCVO, KStJ, PC (4 April 1900 – 5 February 1984), styled Marquess of Worcester until 1924, was an English peer, Gloucestershire landowner, leading figure in the equestrian world, and society figure. A relative and very close friend of the Royal Family, he held the office of Master of the Horse for forty-two years (1936-1978), longer than anybody else. He also founded the Badminton Horse Trials. "The greatest fox-hunter of the twentieth century",[1] his long tenure as Master of the Beaufort Hunt led to his being universally nicknamed Master.

Background and education

Somerset was the youngest child and only son of Henry Somerset, 9th Duke of Beaufort (1847-1924) and his wife, Louise Emily Harford (1864-1945), a Gloucestershire native who had been married previously to a Dutch count. He was educated at Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from which he was commissioned into the Royal Horse Guards.

Military service

Beaufort left the Army after a few years with the rank of lieutenant. He was Honorary Colonel of the 21st (Royal Gloucestershire Hussars) Armoured Car Company, Territorial Army between 1969 and 1971 and Honorary Colonel of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry between 1971 and 1984, and the Warwickshire Yeomanry between 1971 and 1972.

Public appointments

The Duke in 1923

After the International Horse Show of 1933 was abandoned, a new committee headed by the young Beaufort succeeded in re-establishing the event at Olympia in 1934.[2]

Beaufort was Master of the Horse (1936–1978) to three British Sovereigns, King Edward VIII, King George VI, and Elizabeth II. As such he took part in royal functions, such as the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.[3]

He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in 1930, a Privy Counsellor in 1936, a Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1937 and was awarded the decoration of the Royal Victorian Chain in 1953.

He was Steward of Tewkesbury between 1948 and 1984, Hereditary Keeper of Raglan Castle (an office created by his ancestor William ap Thomas, the Blue Knight of Gwent), Lord Lieutenant of Bristol from 1931 to 1974 and Lord High Steward of Bristol, Tewkesbury and Gloucestershire. He also held the office of Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire between 1931 and 1984 and was Chancellor of the University of Bristol from 1965 to 1970.

Other offices held included President of the MCC, Bristol Rovers F.C., the British Olympic Association, and Battersea Dogs Home.

Ancestry

Family of Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort
16. Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort
8. Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort
17. Lady Charlotte Leveson-Gower
4. Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort
18. Charles Smith
9. Emily Smith
19. Lady Anne Wellesley
2. Henry Somerset, 9th Duke of Beaufort
20. Penn Curzon
10. Richard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe
21. Sophia Howe, 2nd Baroness Howe
5. Lady Georgiana Curzon
22. Robert Brudenell, 6th Earl of Cardigan
11. Lady Harriet Brudenell
23. Penelope Cooke
1. Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort
24. John Harford
12. William Harford
25. Mary Gray
6. William Harford
26. John King
13. Emily King
3. Louise Harford
14. William Tower
7. Ellen Tower

Family and private life

The 10th Duke at Badminton House, by Allan Warren
Memorial in Gloucester Cathedral

Beaufort married the Lady Victoria Constance Mary Cambridge (1897–1987), daughter of Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge on 14 June 1923. She had been born with the title Princess Mary of Teck but her family had changed their names to show their solidarity with the nation during World War I. Her paternal aunt was Queen Mary, wife of King George V, so Kings Edward VIII and George VI were her first cousins. The Beauforts were among the closest friends of the Royal Family; Queen Mary lived at Badminton during World War II, and the royals came to stay several times a year, particularly for the Horse Trials which usually included the Queen's birthday.

A biographer describes him as "as tough as nails. His routine involved getting up at seven o'clock and riding round the estate before breakfast to see what was going on. He knew the 120 men who worked on his estate far better than any factory boss knows his staff. No decision concerning the estate was taken without the Duke's active authority. He answered all his own letters...until he retired to the rear of the pack in 1966, the sight of the Duke of Beaufort at the head of the hunt was one of the greatest spectacles to be seen in England".[4] His car bore the private numberplate MFH1.

Among the Duke's myriad personal friends were David Niven,[5] and during World War II he hosted Eleanor Roosevelt and Haile Selassie at Badminton. James Lees-Milne, the conservationist, rented a house next door and records their poor relationship in his celebrated diaries—he thought the Duke was "feudal". He was "a legendary womaniser" who conducted affairs with, among others, Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk and Sally, Duchess of Westminster, a cousin of his wife's.[6] He wrote his memoirs in 1981 which discuss his family history, the story of Badminton House, his royal duties, and the development of fox-hunting. At one point he bluntly declares that "obviously, the hunting of the fox has been my chief concern".[7]

They had no issue. Beaufort died in 1984, aged 83 at his seat, Badminton House, and was buried at St Michael and All Angels Church, Badminton. Unusually, the Queen, who does not usually attend them so as to avoid distracting attention, went to his funeral, as did most other royals. On Boxing Day 1984, animal-rights activists vandalised his grave; they had originally planned to disinter his remains and send his head to Princess Anne.[8] The dukedom passed to his distant cousin, David, to whom however he was close as David and his family lived on and helped run the estate for many years [9]

On his death, the baronies of Botetourt and Herbert fell into abeyance between the several descendants of his elder sister, Lady Blanche Linnie Douglas (d. 1968)—between the two daughters of his elder niece Lady Rosemary Rubens (who predeceased him in 1963) who inherited a fourth share each in two baronies, and his surviving niece Lady Cathleen Hudson (who d. 1994) who inherited the junior half share in the baronies. The abeyance of the Herbert barony was eventually terminated in 2002 in favour of his great-nephew David John Seyfried.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Masters, Brian, The Dukes: the Origins, Ennoblement and History of Twenty-Six Families, Pimlico, London, 2001, Pgs 9-32
  2. ^ 'International Horse Show Revival at Olympia' in The Times, issue 46787 dated June 22, 1934, p. 6, col. G
  3. ^ Royal Collection: Seating plan for the Ball Supper Room http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/microsites/royalwedding1947/object.asp?grouping=&exhibs=NONE&object=9000366&row=82&detail=magnify
  4. ^ Masters, Brian, The Dukes: the Origins, Ennoblement and History of Twenty-Six Families, Pimlico, London, 2001, Pg188
  5. ^ Beaufort, Henry, Duke of, Memoirs, Country Life, London, 1981, Pg154
  6. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/6099869/James-Lees-Milne-How-I-hate-meeting-royalty.html.
  7. ^ Beaufort, Henry, Duke of, Memoirs, Country Life, London, 1981, Pg103
  8. ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19841227&id=3LZAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vaUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2770,4847913&hl=en
  9. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-caroline-beaufort-1617726.html.
Political offices
Preceded by Master of the Horse
1936–1978 		Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of the University of Bristol
1965–1970 		Succeeded by
Court offices
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire
1931–1984 		Succeeded by
Martin Gibbs
Honorary titles
Preceded by Senior Privy Counsellor
1981–1984 		Succeeded by
Peerage of England
Preceded by Duke of Beaufort
1924–1984 		Succeeded by
Baron Botetourt
1924–1984 		In abeyance
Baron Herbert
1924–1984 		In abeyance
Title next held by
David Seyfried-Herbert, 2002
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