Sir Augustus Berkeley Paget GCB (16 April 1823 – 11 July 1896) was a British

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. In 1876, Paget was appointed a member of

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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's privy council.

Biography

Augustus Berkeley Paget was born on 16 April 1823, member of the

Paget family Paget may refer to: People Paget is a surname of Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin. It is also used as a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Lord Alfred Paget (1816–1888), British soldier, courtier and politician * A ...

, the son of the diplomat, the Rt. Hon.

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Arthur Paget and his wife, Lady Augusta Fane (1786-1861), divorced in 1809 from John Parker, 2nd Baron Borigndon. He was the nephew of General Sir

Edward Paget General Sir Edward Paget (3 November 1775 – 13 May 1849) was a British Army officer. Career Born the fourth son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, Edward Paget became a cornet in the 1st Regiment of Life Guards in 1792. He was Member ...

and grandson of Henry Bayly Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge. He was educated at Charterhouse, and in 1840 he entered the service of the crown as clerk in the secretary's department of the general

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

. He was soon transferred to the Audit Office, and again on 21 August 1841 to the more competitive

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

. Paget then decided to enter the diplomatic service, and on 2 December 1843, obtained an appointment as temporary attaché at

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, where he remained till 1846. On 6 February 1846, he was appointed ''precis'' writer to the foreign secretary, Lord Aberdeen, but on 26 June became second paid attaché to the British embassy at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Here he witnessed the French demonstration of 15 May 1848, and the establishment of the second empire; on 18 December 1851 he became first paid attaché. On 12 February 1852, he was promoted to be secretary of legation at

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

at a time when diplomatic relations with Greece were more or less in abeyance, so that his position was peculiar and required much tact. On 8 December 1852, he went on to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and acted as

consul-general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

till 19 February 1853, returned to England on leave of absence on 27 May 1853, and was transferred to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

as secretary of legation on 14 January 1854. Here he acted as ''chargé d'affaires'' from 7 May to 21 October 1855, and again from 3 July to 24 August 1856. He was transferred to Lisbon on 18 February 1857, and acted as ''chargé d'affaires'' from 9 July 1857 to 14 January 1858. On 1 April 1858, he was sent to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and acted as ''chargé d'affaires'' from 17 June to 20 November 1858. On 13 December 1858, he was appointed envoy extraordinary and

minister plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

to the King of Saxony. On 6 June 1859, he was gazetted to the post of minister at the court of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, but on 6 July this appointment was cancelled in favour of that to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. As minister at Copenhagen, Paget saw the accession of

Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 15 November 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently List of dukes of Schleswig, Duke of Schleswig, List of dukes of Holstein, Holstein and Saxe-Laue ...

at the close of 1863, and had to play a leading part in regard to the Schleswig-Holstein difficulty in 1864; nor was his position much less difficult when in 1866 Prussia meditated war against Austria. On 9 June 1866, he was sent to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

as envoy extraordinary. Appointed on 6 July 1867 to Italy as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Victor Emmanuel, he represented Great Britain in Italy during one of the most critical periods of Italian history; he saw the entry of the Italian troops into Rome and the beginning of a new era of national life. It is admitted that in this trying period his tact was conspicuous. He remained in Italy for a long time, becoming ambassador extraordinary on 24 March 1876. On 12 September 1883 he relinquished this post and, after a short period of leave, became ambassador at Vienna on 1 January 1884. From that post he retired on 1 July 1893.

Family

Paget married in 1860 Countess Walburga Ehrengarde Helena von Hohenthal, member of the noble German House of Hohethaal. The couple had three children, two boys and one girl: #Victor Frederick William Augustus Paget (1861–1927), a Lieutenant Colonel #Alberta Victoria Sarah Caroline Paget (1863–1944), married

Robert Windsor-Clive, 1st Earl of Plymouth Robert George Windsor-Clive, 1st Earl of Plymouth (27 August 1857 – 6 March 1923), known as the 14th Baron Windsor between 1869 and 1905, was a British nobleman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. He was the founding Presi ...

, GBE, CB, PC (1857–1923) # Ralph Paget (1864–1940, later became ''Sir Ralph Paget'', KCMG, CVO, PC) Sir Augustus died on 11 July 1896 and was buried in the cemetery of

Tardebigge Tardebigge () is a village in Worcestershire, England. The village is most famous for the Tardebigge Locks, a flight of 30 canal locks that raise the Worcester and Birmingham Canal over over the Lickey Ridge. It lies in the county of Worceste ...

, Worcestershire, next to the family plot of the Earls of Plymouth. His wife later achieved fame in her own right by publishing memoirs of her life in their various embassies.

References

Attribution

External links

Antique prints
accessed 27 October 2006

accessed 27 October 2006

accessed 27 October 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Paget, Augustus Berkeley 1823 births 1896 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Denmark Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Germany Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Portugal Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Italy Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Charterhouse School

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Austria-Hungary