Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon

The Right Honourable The Earl of Clarendon PC
Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of Augustus III
In office 1738–1742
Monarch	George II
Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of Maria Theresa
In office 1742–1743
Monarch	George II
Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of Frederick II of Prussia
In office 1746–1748
Monarch	George II
Member of Parliament for Tamworth
In office 1747–1756
Prime Minister	Henry Pelham The Duke of Newcastle
Preceded by	Lord John Sackville
Succeeded by	William de Grey
Postmaster General
In office 1763–1765
Prime Minister	George Grenville
Preceded by	The Earl of Egmont
Succeeded by	The Earl of Bessborough
In office 1786 – his death
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	The Earl of Tankerville
Succeeded by	The Lord Walsingham
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 1771–1782
Prime Minister	The Lord North
Preceded by	The Lord Strange
Succeeded by	The Lord Ashburton
In office 1783–1786
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	The Earl of Derby
Succeeded by	The Lord Hawkesbury
Personal details
Born	1709
Died	11 December 1786 (aged 76/77) Watford, England
Nationality	English
Political party	Whig
Spouse	Lady Charlotte Capell
Relations	William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey (father) Judith Herne (mother)
Children	Thomas Villiers, 2nd Earl of Clarendon John Villiers, 3rd Earl of Clarendon George Villiers Lady Charlotte Barbara Villiers
Alma mater	Queens' College, Cambridge
Occupation	Politician and diplomat

Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon PC (1709 – 11 December 1786) was a British politician and diplomat from the Villiers family.

Clarendon was the second son of William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey and his wife Judith Herne, daughter of Frederick Herne.

Political career

Villiers received his education at Eton College and then Queens' College, Cambridge. Following his graduation, he became a diplomat.

Villiers became the British envoy to both the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Electorate of Saxony from 1740 to 1747. At the time both realms were in personal union under Augustus III of Poland. He was also sent to Vienna, capital of the Archduchy of Austria, as an envoy to the court of Maria Theresa of Austria from 1742 to 1743. He was last sent to Berlin, capital of the Kingdom of Prussia, as an envoy to the court of Frederick II of Prussia from 1746 to 1748.

Villiers was also involved in domestic politics as a member of the British Whig Party which at the time dominated the Parliament of Great Britain. He was elected to Parliament in the British general election, 1747. He sat as a Member of Parliament for Tamworth from 1747 to 1756. He retired from all diplomatic offices at this time.

He was a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, one of seven members of the Board of Admiralty exercising command over the Royal Navy from 26 February 1748 to 17 November 1756. He served under First Lords of the Admiralty John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich and George Anson, 1st Baron Anson throughout his term.

On 3 June 1756, the barony of Hyde held by his wife's ancestors the Earls of Clarendon was revived. Villiers was raised to the peerage as Baron Hyde of Hindon in the County of Wiltshire.

Hyde served as Postmaster General from 1763 to 1765. On 9 September 1763, he was admitted to the Privy Council. He also served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1771 to 1782 and again from 1783 to 1786.

On 14 June 1776 the earldom of Clarendon, which had become extinct with the death of Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon in 1753, was revived and Hyde was made Earl of Clarendon. In 1782 he was also made a Baron of the Kingdom of Prussia, an honour which he received Royal licence to use in Kingdom of Great Britain.

Clarendon returned to the office of Postmaster-General in commission with Henry Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret in September 1786. This was to be his final political assignment.

Lord Clarendon died in December 1786, aged 77. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son Thomas.

Family

On 30 March 1752 he married Charlotte Capell, daughter of William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex and his wife Jane Hyde, daughter of Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon (of the 1661 creation) and Jane Leveson-Gower. They had four children:

• Thomas Villiers, 2nd Earl of Clarendon (25 December 1753 – 7 March 1824).
• John Villiers, 3rd Earl of Clarendon (14 November 1757 – 22 December 1838).
• George Villiers (23 November 1759 – 21 March 1827). Father of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon.
• Lady Charlotte Barbara Villiers (27 March 1761 – 9 April 1810).

Styles of address

• 1709-1747: The Honourable Thomas Villiers
• 1747-1756: The Honourable Thomas Villiers MP
• 1756-1763: The Right Honourable The First Baron Hyde
• 1763-1776: The Right Honourable The First Baron Hyde PC
• 1776-1786: The Right Honourable The First Earl of Clarendon PC

References

• Burke's Peerage

External links

• His profile in the Peerage.com
• "Villiers, Thomas (1709-1786)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.