William Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle
Encyclopedia
William Coutts Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle KCMG
, PC
(15 April 1832 – 28 August 1894), styled Viscount Bury between 1851 and 1891, was a British soldier and politician. He served in the British Army
before entering parliament in 1857. Initially a Liberal
, he served as Treasurer of the Household
between 1859 and 1866 in the Liberal administrations headed by Lord Palmerston
and Lord Russell
. He later switched to the Conservatives
and held office as Under-Secretary of State for War
under Lord Beaconsfield between 1878 and 1880 and under Lord Salisbury
between 1885 and 1886.
, England
, the only son of General George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle
, by his wife Susan Coutts Trotter, daughter of Sir Coutts Trotter, 1st Baronet. He was educated at Eton
. He became known by the courtesy title
Viscount Bury when his father succeeded in the earldom of Albemarle in 1851.
and lieutenant
in the 43rd (Regiment of) Foot in 1843, a lieutenant in the Scots Guards
in 1848 and an aide-de-camp
to Lord Frederick FitzClarence
in India
in 1853. From 1854 until 1856, he was Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Canada
.
, Lord Bury was elected Member of Parliament
(MP) for Norwich
in 1857, and later represented Wick Burghs
from 1860 to 1865 and Berwick-upon-Tweed
from 1868 to 1874. In 1859 he was sworn of the Privy Council
and appointed Treasurer of the Household
under Lord Palmerston
, a post he held until 1866, the last year under the premiership of Lord Russell
. In 1870 he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
. On 6 September 1876 he was summoned to the House of Lords
through a writ of acceleration
in his father's barony of Ashford.
Two years later Lord Bury was appointed Under-Secretary of State for War
in Lord Beaconsfield's Conservative administration, which he remained until the government fell in 1880. In 1881, he became a Volunteer Aide-de-Camp to the Queen
. He was once again Under-Secretary of State for War from 1885 to 1886 under Lord Salisbury
. He wrote a history of the American colonization called Exodus of the Western Nations (1865), A Report on the Condition of the Indians of British North America, and was the principal author of the Cycling volume of the Badminton Library
(1887). In 1891 he succeeded his father in the earldom.
, a Joint Premier of the Province of Canada
, at Dundurn
, Canada
, on 15 November 1855.
They had ten children :
Lord Albemarle was received into the Church of Rome
, on Easter Sunday, 13 April 1879. He died in August 1894, aged 62, of paralysis
, and was buried at Quidenham
in Norfolk. His eldest son Arnold succeeded in the earldom. Lord Albemarle's third son George was the husband of Alice Keppel
, the most famous mistress of King Edward VII
. He is also the great-great-grandfather of Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall
and the modern-day television celebrity and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
champion Judith Keppel
. The Countess of Albemarle died in April 1917, aged 84.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(15 April 1832 – 28 August 1894), styled Viscount Bury between 1851 and 1891, was a British soldier and politician. He served in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
before entering parliament in 1857. Initially a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
, he served as Treasurer of the Household
Treasurer of the Household
The position of Treasurer of the Household is theoretically held by a household official of the British monarch, under control of the Lord Steward's Department, but is, in fact, a political office held by one of the government's Deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons...
between 1859 and 1866 in the Liberal administrations headed by Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
and Lord 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....
. He later switched to the Conservatives
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...
and held office as Under-Secretary of State for War
Under-Secretary of State for War
The position of Under-Secretary of State for War was a British government position, first applied to Evan Nepean . In 1801 the offices for War and the Colonies were merged and the post became that of Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies...
under Lord Beaconsfield between 1878 and 1880 and under Lord Salisbury
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC , styled Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and Viscount Cranborne from June 1865 until April 1868, was a British Conservative statesman and thrice Prime Minister, serving for a total of over 13 years...
between 1885 and 1886.
Background and education
Keppel was born in LondonLondon
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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the only son of General George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle
George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle
General George Thomas Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle DL, FGS, FSA , styled The Honourable from birth until 1851, was a British soldier, Liberal politician and writer.-Background and education:...
, by his wife Susan Coutts Trotter, daughter of Sir Coutts Trotter, 1st Baronet. He was educated at Eton
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"....
. He became known by the courtesy title
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
Viscount Bury when his father succeeded in the earldom of Albemarle in 1851.
Military career
Keppel became an ensignEnsign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
and lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the 43rd (Regiment of) Foot in 1843, a lieutenant in the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
in 1848 and an aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to Lord Frederick FitzClarence
Lord Frederick FitzClarence
Lt.-Gen. Lord Frederick FitzClarence, GCH was an illegitimate son of King William IV and his mistress, Dorothea Jordan...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1853. From 1854 until 1856, he was Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Political career
Initially a LiberalLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
, Lord Bury was elected Member of Parliament
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,...
(MP) for Norwich
Norwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Norwich was a borough constituency which was represented in the House of Commons of England from 1298 to 1707, in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 until it was abolished for the 1950 general election...
in 1857, and later represented Wick Burghs
Wick Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)
Wick Burghs, sometimes known as Northern Burghs, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1918...
from 1860 to 1865 and Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (UK Parliament constituency)
Berwick-upon-Tweed is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
from 1868 to 1874. In 1859 he was sworn of the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
and appointed Treasurer of the Household
Treasurer of the Household
The position of Treasurer of the Household is theoretically held by a household official of the British monarch, under control of the Lord Steward's Department, but is, in fact, a political office held by one of the government's Deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons...
under Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
, a post he held until 1866, the last year under the premiership of Lord 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....
. In 1870 he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
. On 6 September 1876 he was summoned to 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....
through a writ of acceleration
Writ of acceleration
A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, was a type of writ of summons to the British House of Lords that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with multiple peerage titles to attend the British House of Lords or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father's...
in his father's barony of Ashford.
Two years later Lord Bury was appointed Under-Secretary of State for War
Under-Secretary of State for War
The position of Under-Secretary of State for War was a British government position, first applied to Evan Nepean . In 1801 the offices for War and the Colonies were merged and the post became that of Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies...
in Lord Beaconsfield's Conservative administration, which he remained until the government fell in 1880. In 1881, he became a Volunteer Aide-de-Camp to the Queen
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
. He was once again Under-Secretary of State for War from 1885 to 1886 under Lord Salisbury
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC , styled Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and Viscount Cranborne from June 1865 until April 1868, was a British Conservative statesman and thrice Prime Minister, serving for a total of over 13 years...
. He wrote a history of the American colonization called Exodus of the Western Nations (1865), A Report on the Condition of the Indians of British North America, and was the principal author of the Cycling volume of the Badminton Library
Badminton Library
The Badminton Library, called in full The Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes, was a sporting and publishing project conceived and founded by Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort . Between 1885 and 1902 it developed into a series of sporting books which aimed to cover comprehensively all major...
(1887). In 1891 he succeeded his father in the earldom.
Family
Lord Albemarle married Sophia Mary MacNab, daughter of Sir Allan Napier MacNabAllan MacNab
Sir Allan Napier MacNab, 1st Baronet was a Canadian political leader and Premier of the Province of Canada before Canadian Confederation .-Biography:...
, a Joint Premier of the Province of Canada
Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada
Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada were the leaders of the Province of Canada, from the 1841 unification of Upper Canada and Lower Canada until Confederation in 1867....
, at Dundurn
Dundurn Castle
Dundurn Castle is a historic neoclassical mansion on York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The house took three years and $175,000.00 to build, and was completed in 1835....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, on 15 November 1855.
They had ten children :
- Arnold Keppel, 8th Earl of AlbemarleArnold Keppel, 8th Earl of AlbemarleArnold Allan Cecil Keppel, 8th Earl of Albemarle CB, GCVO, TD, VD, JP , known as Viscount Bury from 1891 to 1894, was a British soldier, courtier and Conservative politician.-Biography:...
(1858–1942). - Hon. Gertrude Mary Keppel (9 November 1859 – 7 April 1860).
- Lady Theodora Keppel (c. 1861 – 30 October 1945), married Colonel Leslie Davidson and had issue.
- Hon. Sir Derek William George KeppelDerek KeppelLieutenant-Colonel Sir Derek William George Keppel GCVO KCB CMG CIE VD was a member of the British Royal Household....
(1863–1944). - Lady Hilda Mary Keppel (29 August 1864 – 7 October 1955), unmarried.
- Lieutenant-Colonel Hon. George Keppel (1865–1947), husband of the royal mistress Alice KeppelAlice KeppelAlice Frederica Keppel, née Edmonstone was a British socialite and the most famous mistress of Edward VII, the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Her formal style after marriage was The Hon. Mrs George Keppel. Her daughter, Violet Trefusis, was the lover of poet Vita Sackville-West...
. - Lady Leopoldina Olivia Keppel (14 November 1866 – 9 August 1948), a nun.
- Lady Susan Mary Keppel (5 May 1868 – 26 June 1953), married Sir Walter Townley in 1896.
- Lady Mary Stuart Keppel (15 May 1869 – 21 September 1906), married Sir Harold Tagart in 1900.
- Lady Florence Cecilia Keppel (24 February 1871 – 30 June 1963), married William Boyle, 12th Earl of CorkWilliam Boyle, 12th Earl of CorkAdmiral of the Fleet William Henry Dudley Boyle, 12th Earl of Cork, 12th Earl of Orrery GCB GCVO RN was a career Royal Navy officer who had achieved the rank of full Admiral before succeeding a cousin in 1934 to the family titles, chief of which is Earl of Cork...
in 1902.
Lord Albemarle was received into the Church of Rome
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, on Easter Sunday, 13 April 1879. He died in August 1894, aged 62, of paralysis
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
, and was buried at Quidenham
Quidenham
Quidenham is a small rural village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 576 in 183 households as of the 2001 census...
in Norfolk. His eldest son Arnold succeeded in the earldom. Lord Albemarle's third son George was the husband of Alice Keppel
Alice Keppel
Alice Frederica Keppel, née Edmonstone was a British socialite and the most famous mistress of Edward VII, the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Her formal style after marriage was The Hon. Mrs George Keppel. Her daughter, Violet Trefusis, was the lover of poet Vita Sackville-West...
, the most famous mistress of King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
. He is also the great-great-grandfather of Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall
Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, and is the current holder of the titles of Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay and Countess of Chester...
and the modern-day television celebrity and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (UK game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a British television quiz show which offers a maximum cash prize of one million pounds for correctly answering successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty...
champion Judith Keppel
Judith Keppel
Judith Cynthia Aline Keppel was the first one million-pound winner on the television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the United Kingdom.-Personal life:...
. The Countess of Albemarle died in April 1917, aged 84.