Harry Powlett, 4th Duke of Cleveland
Encyclopedia
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
(19 April 1803 – 21 August 1891), born Harry George Vane and known as Lord Harry George Vane from 1827 to 1864, was an English Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
statesman. He was the third son of William Vane, 3rd Earl of Darlington
William Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland
William Henry Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland, KG was a British peer.He was born in 1766, the son of the 2nd Earl of Darlington, and was baptised at the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace...
, who would later be created Duke of Cleveland
Duke of Cleveland
Duke of Cleveland is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The dukedoms were named after Cleveland in northern England....
. After graduating from Oriel College, Oxford Lord Harry entered the foreign service and held posts in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
before entering the House of Commons in 1841 as a member
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for South Durham
South Durham (UK Parliament constituency)
South Durham, formally the Southern Division of Durham and often referred to as Durham Southern, was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
. He would represent Durham until 1859, when he switched to Hastings
Hastings (UK Parliament constituency)
Hastings was a parliamentary constituency in Sussex. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 1885 general election, when its representation was reduced to one member....
, which he represented until his accession to the dukedom on the death of his brother on 6 September 1864. Later the same year, on 18 November, he adopted by Royal Licence the surname of Powlett in lieu of that of Vane, in accordance with the will of his maternal grandmother (wife and Duchess to the 6th Duke of Bolton
Harry Powlett, 6th Duke of Bolton
Admiral Harry Powlett, 6th Duke of Bolton PC was a British nobleman and naval officer.He was the second son of Harry Powlett, 4th Duke of Bolton and Catherine Parry. Educated at Winchester , he joined the Royal Navy, becoming a lieutenant aboard Shrewsbury on 4 March 1740...
).
He was made a Knight of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
in 1865. During the crisis which led to the collapse of Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
's government
Second Russell ministry
-The Cabinet:Changes*February, 1866: The Lord de Grey succeeds Sir Charles Wood as Secretary for India. Lord Hartington succeeds Grey as Secretary for War.-References:...
in 1866 over the question of parliamentary reform, he was considered a possible compromise Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
in a Whig-Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
anti-reform coalition government, but such plans came to nothing.
He married in 1854 the Hon. Lady Catherine Primrose (née Stanhope), daughter of Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope, widow of Lord Dalmeny
Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny
Archibald Ronald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny was an English-born Scottish cricketer.Primrose was born in London and was styled Lord Dalmeny as the heir apparent of his father Lord Rosebery, but he predeceased him in 1931. Like his father, he represented Middlesex...
and mother of the future Prime Minister the 5th Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG, PC was a British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who...
.
Death
On the Duke's death in 1891 the line of succession to his peeragePeerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
s became unclear. The case was decided in 1891 when the Committee of Privileges of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
held Henry de Vere Vane
Henry de Vere Vane, 9th Baron Barnard
Henry de Vere Vane, 9th Baron Barnard FSA, JP, Hon. DCL Durham was a British peer and masonic grand master.-Education:...
to be the Baron Barnard
Baron Barnard
Baron Barnard, of Barnard Castle in the Bishopric of Durham, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1698 for Sir Christopher Vane, who had previously served as a Member of Parliament for County Durham and Boroughbridge. Vane was the son of Sir Henry Vane the Younger and grandson of...
and inheritor of the estates of Raby Castle
Raby Castle
Raby Castle is situated near Staindrop in County Durham and is one of the largest inhabited castles in England. The Grade I listed building has opulent eighteenth and nineteenth century interiors inside a largely unchanged, late medieval shell. It is the home and seat of John Vane, 11th Baron...
and Barnard Castle
Barnard Castle (castle)
Barnard Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated in the town of the same name in County Durham. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1950...
, having been bought in 1626 by the Vane family, although the Committee declared the title of Duke of Cleveland
Duke of Cleveland
Duke of Cleveland is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The dukedoms were named after Cleveland in northern England....
extinct.