Francis George Hugh Seymour, 5th Marquess of Hertford (11 February 1812 – 25 January 1884), known as Francis Seymour until 1870, was a

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officer, courtier and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician. He served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household under

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation ...

from 1874 to 1879.

Family and education

Seymour was the eldest son of Admiral Sir George Seymour by his wife Georgiana Mary Berkeley, daughter of Sir George Berkeley; he was the elder brother of Henry Seymour and Lady Laura Seymour. He was the grandson of

Lord Hugh Seymour Vice-Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour (29 April 1759 – 11 September 1801) was a senior British Royal Navy officer of the late 18th century who was the fifth son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, and became known for being both a ...

and a great-grandson of

Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, KG, PC, PC (Ire) (5 July 1718 – 14 June 1794) of Ragley Hall, Arrow, in Warwickshire, was a British courtier and politician who, briefly, was Viceroy of Ireland where he had substantial ...

, and it is through this line he succeeded to the Hertford marquessate when his distant cousin,

Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford Captain Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford KG (22 February 1800 – 25 August 1870) was an English aristocrat and sometime politician who spent his life in France devoted to collecting art. From birth to 1822 he was styled V ...

, died unmarried and without issue in 1870. He inherited the entailed property from the 4th Marquess, including Ragley Hall, whilst the unentailed property went to his cousin's illegitimate son Richard Wallace, including what became the Wallace Collection. He was educated at Harrow.

Career

Seymour joined the

Scots Fusilier Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

as a lieutenant in July 1827, rising to the rank of general in 1876 and retiring in 1881. He was

Groom of the Robes Groom of the Robes is an office in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of England (later Great Britain, ultimately the United Kingdom). In 1953, the Groom of the Robes to Elizabeth II had the task of bringing forward the robes and other items of ...

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

between 1833 and 1870. In 1874 Seymour, now Lord Hertford, was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

and appointed Lord Chamberlain of the Household under

, a post he held until 1879. Just before his retirement he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) a ...

Family

Lord Hertford married, on 9 May 1839, Lady Emily Murray (1816-1902), daughter of

David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield, KT (7 March 1777 – 18 February 1840) was a British army officer and peer. Mansfield served as Lord Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire from 1803 until his death. Family David William Murray was born in ...

and Frederica Markham. They had ten children: *Frederica Georgina Seymour (c. 1841–1848), died young. *Lady Horatia Elizabeth Seymour (1842–1922), married Sir Henry David Erskine, a direct descendant of the Earls of Mar and had issue. * Hugh de Grey Seymour, 6th Marquess of Hertford (1843–1912) *Lady Florence Catherine Seymour (1845–1921), married Rev. James Blunt. *Lord Albert Charles Seymour (1847–1891), married Sarah Napier and had issue. *Lady Georgina Emily Lucy Seymour (1848–1944), married Henry Stirling-Home-Drummond, maternal grandson of Charles Douglas, 6th Marquess of Queensberry. *Lord Ernest James Seymour (1850–1930), married Lady Georgiana Fortescue, daughter of

Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue DL (4 April 1818 – 10 October 1905), known as Viscount Ebrington from 1841 to 1861, was a British peer and occasional Liberal Party politician. Life He was born in London on 4 April 1818. He was the eld ...

and had issue. *Lady Constance Adelaide Seymour (1852–1915), married

Frederick St John Newdigate Barne Frederick St John Newdigate Barne (5 September 1842 – 25 January 1898) was a British army officer and a Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1876 to 1885. Barne was the eldest son of Frederick Barne of Sotterley HalI, ...

and had issue, including

Michael Barne Michael Barne (15 October 1877 – 31 May 1961) was an officer of the 1901-04 Discovery Expedition and was the last survivor of the expedition. Early life Barne was born at Sotterley Park, Suffolk, the son of Frederick Barne and his wife, La ...

. *Lady Mary Margaret Seymour (1855–1948), married Sir George Dashwood, 6th Baronet and had issue. *Reverend Lord Victor Alexander Seymour (1859–1935), married Elizabeth Cator and had issue. His brother-in-law was Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a nephew of Queen Victoria and a famous sculptor. Lord Hertford died on 25 January 1884, aged 71, from injuries following a fall from a horse at Ragley Hall. He was succeeded in the marquessate by his eldest son, Hugh. The Dowager Marchioness of Hertford died at

Westcott, Surrey Westcott is a semi-rural English village and former civil parish west of the centre of Dorking on the A25 between the North Downs and Greensand Ridge, making it one of the 'Vale of Holmesdale' villages (greatly in Westcott an AONB) and is ...

, on 24 June 1902, aged 86.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hertford, Francis Seymour, 5th Marquess of 1812 births 1884 deaths Francis Seymour People educated at Harrow School British Army generals Scots Guards officers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom British landowners 5 19th-century British businesspeople