Henry Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey
Encyclopedia
Henry Cyril Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey (16 June 1875 – 14 March 1905), styled Lord Paget until 1880 and Earl of Uxbridge between 1880 and 1898, and also known as "Toppy", was a British
Peer
who was notable during his short life for squandering his inheritance
on a lavish social life and accumulating massive debts. Regarded as the "black sheep" of the family, he was nicknamed "the dancing marquess" for his habit of performing "sinuous, sexy, snake-like dances".
The Complete Peerage says that he "seems only to have existed for the purpose of giving a melancholy and unneeded illustration of the truth that a man with the finest prospects, may, by the wildest folly and extravagance, as Sir Thomas Browne
says, 'foully miscarry in the advantage of humanity, play away an uniterable life, and have lived in vain.'"
, a rumour that gained currency when, after the death of his mother in 1877, when he was two years old, Paget was raised by Coquelin's sister in Paris until he was eight. His stepmother, from 1880, was an American, Mary Livingston King, the widow of the Hon Henry Wodehouse.
He attended Eton College
, later receiving private tuition, and enlisted as a Lieutenant in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers; on 20 January 1898 he married his cousin Lilian Florence Maud Chetwynd (1876—1962). Upon the death of his father on 13 October 1898, he inherited his title and the family estates with about 30,000 acres (120 km²) in Staffordshire
, Dorset
, Anglesey
and Derbyshire
, providing an annual income of £110,000.
, Anglesey, into a 150-seat theatre, named the Gaiety Theatre. Here he took the lead role, opulently costumed, in productions ranging from pantomime
and comedy to performances of Oscar Wilde
's An Ideal Husband
and Shakespeare's
Henry V
. For three years he took his company on tour around Britain and Europe. His wife disapproved of his lifestyle and obtained a decree nisi
of divorce
on 7 November 1900; it was later annulled due to nonconsummation, according to Lady Anglesey's grandson by her second marriage, the historian Christopher Simon Sykes.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-490013/Eat-heart-Elton-heres-eccentric-English-aristocrat-ever.html The breakdown of his marriage effectively gave Paget more freedom to enjoy his self-indulgent lifestyle. By this stage he had already begun to mortgage
his estates to raise money.
Julian Gault took the opportunity of his employer's absence at the theatre to steal jewellery to the value of £50,000. At the time, Paget was living in the Walsingham House Hotel in London
. Gault, who was later arrested at Dover
, testified in court that he had been instructed to steal the jewels by a French woman of his acquaintance called Mathilde (who had taken the jewels to France and was never found). Although Gault's testimony was believed to be true, he pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey
on 22 October and was sentenced to five years imprisonment
.
. The performance historian Viv Gardner, however, believes that he was "a classic narcissist: the only person he could love and make love to was himself, because, for whatever reason, he was 'unlovable'".
. His lavish wardrobe, particularly his dressing gowns from Charvet, and jewels were sold to pay creditors, the jewels alone realising £80,000.
In 1905, Paget died in Monte Carlo
following a long illness, with his ex-wife by his side, and his remains were returned to St Edwen's Church, Llanedwen
, for burial. The Times
reported that despite all that was known of him, he remained much liked by the people of Bangor
who regretted to hear of his death. Lilian, Marchioness of Anglesey, married, in 1909, John Francis Grey Gilliat, a banker, by whom she had three children.
The title passed to his cousin Charles Henry Alexander Paget
, who destroyed all the papers of the 5th Marquess and converted the Gaiety Theatre back into a chapel. It was at least in part owing to the debts left by the 5th Marquess that the family's principal English estate at Beaudesert
, Staffordshire, had to be broken up and sold in the 1930s.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Peer
Peerage
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...
who was notable during his short life for squandering his inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
on a lavish social life and accumulating massive debts. Regarded as the "black sheep" of the family, he was nicknamed "the dancing marquess" for his habit of performing "sinuous, sexy, snake-like dances".
The Complete Peerage says that he "seems only to have existed for the purpose of giving a melancholy and unneeded illustration of the truth that a man with the finest prospects, may, by the wildest folly and extravagance, as Sir Thomas Browne
Thomas Browne
Sir Thomas Browne was an English author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including medicine, religion, science and the esoteric....
says, 'foully miscarry in the advantage of humanity, play away an uniterable life, and have lived in vain.'"
Family background
Paget was the eldest son of the 4th Marquess by his father's second wife, Blanche Mary Boyd. Rumours persisted, however, that his biological father was the French actor Benoît-Constant CoquelinBenoît-Constant Coquelin
Benoît-Constant Coquelin , known as Coquelin aîné, was a French actor, "one of the greatest theatrical figures of the age."-Biography:Coquelin was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais...
, a rumour that gained currency when, after the death of his mother in 1877, when he was two years old, Paget was raised by Coquelin's sister in Paris until he was eight. His stepmother, from 1880, was an American, Mary Livingston King, the widow of the Hon Henry Wodehouse.
He attended Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, later receiving private tuition, and enlisted as a Lieutenant in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers; on 20 January 1898 he married his cousin Lilian Florence Maud Chetwynd (1876—1962). Upon the death of his father on 13 October 1898, he inherited his title and the family estates with about 30,000 acres (120 km²) in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
and Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, providing an annual income of £110,000.
Lifestyle
Paget swiftly acquired a reputation for a lavish and spendthrift manner of living. He used his money to buy jewellery and furs, and to throw extravagant parties and flamboyant theatrical performances. He converted the chapel at the family's country seat of Plas NewyddPlas Newydd
Plas Newydd, located in Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Anglesey, Wales, is the country seat of the Marquess of Anglesey. The family's former principal seat at Beaudesert, Staffordshire, was sold and demolished in the 1930s....
, Anglesey, into a 150-seat theatre, named the Gaiety Theatre. Here he took the lead role, opulently costumed, in productions ranging from pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
and comedy to performances of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's An Ideal Husband
An Ideal Husband
An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour...
and Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
Henry V
Henry V (play)
Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
. For three years he took his company on tour around Britain and Europe. His wife disapproved of his lifestyle and obtained a decree nisi
Decree nisi
A decree nisi is a court order that does not have any force until such time that a particular condition is met, such as a subsequent petition to the court or the passage of a specified period of time....
of divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
on 7 November 1900; it was later annulled due to nonconsummation, according to Lady Anglesey's grandson by her second marriage, the historian Christopher Simon Sykes.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-490013/Eat-heart-Elton-heres-eccentric-English-aristocrat-ever.html The breakdown of his marriage effectively gave Paget more freedom to enjoy his self-indulgent lifestyle. By this stage he had already begun to mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
his estates to raise money.
Theft
On 10 September 1901, Paget's French valetValet
Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...
Julian Gault took the opportunity of his employer's absence at the theatre to steal jewellery to the value of £50,000. At the time, Paget was living in the Walsingham House Hotel in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Gault, who was later arrested at Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, testified in court that he had been instructed to steal the jewels by a French woman of his acquaintance called Mathilde (who had taken the jewels to France and was never found). Although Gault's testimony was believed to be true, he pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
on 22 October and was sentenced to five years imprisonment
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
.
Sexuality
Paget's outrageous and flamboyant lifestyle, combined with the breakdown of his marriage, have led many (including the homosexual reformer H. Montgomery Hyde) to assume that he was gayHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. The performance historian Viv Gardner, however, believes that he was "a classic narcissist: the only person he could love and make love to was himself, because, for whatever reason, he was 'unlovable'".
Financial trouble and death
By 1904, despite his inheritance and income, Paget had accumulated debts of £544,000 and on 11 June was declared bankruptBankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. His lavish wardrobe, particularly his dressing gowns from Charvet, and jewels were sold to pay creditors, the jewels alone realising £80,000.
In 1905, Paget died in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
following a long illness, with his ex-wife by his side, and his remains were returned to St Edwen's Church, Llanedwen
St Edwen's Church, Llanedwen
St Edwen's Church, Llanedwen is a 19th-century parish church near the Menai Strait, in Anglesey, north Wales. The first church was founded here by St Edwen in 640, but the present structure dates from 1856 and was designed by Henry Kennedy, the architect of the Diocese of Bangor...
, for burial. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported that despite all that was known of him, he remained much liked by the people of Bangor
Bangor, Wales
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
who regretted to hear of his death. Lilian, Marchioness of Anglesey, married, in 1909, John Francis Grey Gilliat, a banker, by whom she had three children.
The title passed to his cousin Charles Henry Alexander Paget
Charles Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey
Charles Henry Alexander Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey GCVO was a British peer.Paget was born in 1885, the son of Lord Alexander Paget, was educated at Eton and the Royal Military College Sandhurst and in 1905 he succeeded as Marquess of Anglesey on the demise of his childless cousin, the 5th...
, who destroyed all the papers of the 5th Marquess and converted the Gaiety Theatre back into a chapel. It was at least in part owing to the debts left by the 5th Marquess that the family's principal English estate at Beaudesert
Beaudesert (house)
Beaudesert was an estate and stately home on the southern edge of Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. It was one of the family seats of the Paget family, the Marquesses of Anglesey...
, Staffordshire, had to be broken up and sold in the 1930s.