General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Charles Grey (15 March 1804 – 31 March 1870) was a British army officer, member of the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 65 ...

and political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec ...

. In later life, he served as private secretary to Prince Albert and later

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

. He was born in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

, England, in 1804, the second son of

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845), known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was a British Whig politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834. He was a member of the no ...

, by his wife, the Hon.

Mary Ponsonby Mary Elizabeth Grey, Countess Grey (née Ponsonby; 4 March 1776 – 26 November 1861) was a British aristocrat and political hostess. She is notable for being the wife of the prime minister in the 1830s through her marriage to Charles Grey, 2nd ...

, daughter of

William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby William Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby (of Imokilly), PC (Ire) (15 September 17445 November 1806) was a leading Irish Whig politician, being a member of the Irish House of Commons, and, after 1800, of the United Kingdom parliament. Po ...

. He was the younger brother of Henry, the 3rd Earl Grey. After a good private education he joined the British Army as a

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second hig ...

in 1820 and commanded the 73rd Regiment of Foot from 1833 to 1842. Grey represented Wycombe in the British House of Commons from 1832 to 1837, defeating

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

to win the seat, which he held until 1837. In 1838 he went to Canada with his brother-in-law,

John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, (12 April 1792 – 28 July 1840), also known as "Radical Jack" and commonly referred to in Canadian history texts simply as Lord Durham, was a British Whig statesman, colonial administrator, Governor G ...

, where he was named a member of the Executive Council and

Special Council of Lower Canada The Special Council of Lower Canada was an appointed body which administered Lower Canada until the Union Act of 1840 created the Province of Canada. Following the Lower Canada Rebellion, on March 27, 1838, the Constitutional Act of 1791 was su ...

in June of that year, serving until 2 November. He returned to England with Lambton later that month and later obtained the influential position of secretary to Prince Albert from 1849 to 1861 and secretary to the Queen from 1861 until his death in 1870. He was given the colonelcy of the

3rd (East Kent) Regiment of Foot The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

in 1860, and transferred to the

71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot The 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, raised in 1777. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry in 1881. History ...

in 1863, a position he held until his death. He was promoted full general in 1865. In 1836, he had married Caroline Eliza, daughter of Sir Thomas Harvie Farquhar, 2nd baronet. Their children included: * Sybil Mary Grey (born 1848), married

William Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St Albans William Amelius Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St Albans, PC DL (15 April 1840 – 10 May 1898), styled Earl of Burford until 1849, was a British Liberal parliamentarian of the Victorian era. The Duke served in William Gladstone's ...

* Charles Grey (died young in 1855) *

Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey, (28 November 185129 August 1917) was a British peer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada 1904–1911, the ninth since Canadian Confederation. He was a radical Liberal aristocrat and a ...

, served as Governor-General of Canada. * Victoria Alexandrina Elizabeth Grey (1853 - 1922), married

Lewis Payn Dawnay Lewis Payn Dawnay (1 April 1846 – 30 July 1910) was an English Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1892. Dawnay was the second son of William Dawnay, 7th Viscount Downe and his wife Mary Isabel Bagot, d ...

, son of

William Dawnay, 7th Viscount Downe William Henry Dawnay, 7th Viscount Downe (15 May 1812 – 26 January 1857) was a British politician. Background Downe was the son of the Reverend William Henry Dawnay, 6th Viscount Downe, Rector of Sessay and Thormanby in North Yorkshire. Polit ...

* Louisa Jane Grey (1855–1949), married William McDonnell, 6th Earl of Antrim, and served as ''pro tempore''

Mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. Formerly responsible for the queen consort's/regnant's clothes and jewellery (as the name implies), the post had the responsibility for arranging the rota ...

* Mary Caroline Grey (1858–1940), married

Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, (; 9 July 18451 March 1914), known as Viscount Melgund by courtesy from 1859 to 1891, was a British peer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the eighth since Canadi ...

In popular culture

A heavily re-imagined version of Grey appears as a character in popular manga and anime franchise ''

Black Butler is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yana Toboso. It has been serialized in Square Enix's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Monthly GFantasy'' since September 2006. The series follows Ciel Phantomhive, the twelve-year-ol ...

'', with a key role in ''Black Butler: Book of Murder'', as he was a popular character through the series .

References

*
bookcase from Charles C Gray 1848

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Charles 1804 births 1870 deaths 73rd Regiment of Foot officers British Army generals Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 Younger sons of earls Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Members of the Special Council of Lower Canada Private Secretaries to the Sovereign