Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville
| The Right Honourable The Earl Granville GCB PC | |
|---|---|
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| Ambassador to Russia | |
|
In office 1804–1805 | |
| Preceded by | Sir John Borlase Warren, Bt |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Cathcart |
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In office 1807–1812 | |
| Preceded by | The Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Cathcart |
| Ambassador to France | |
|
In office 1824–1828 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Stuart |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Stuart de Rothesay |
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In office 1830–1835 | |
| Preceded by | The Lord Stuart de Rothesay |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Cowley |
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In office 1835–1841 | |
| Preceded by | The Lord Cowley |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Cowley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 October 1773 |
| Died | 8 January 1846 (aged 72) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse(s) |
Lady Harriet Cavendish (1785–1862) |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville GCB PC (12 October 1773 – 8 January 1846), known as Lord Granville Leveson-Gower from 1786 to 1815, as Viscount Granville from 1815 to 1833, and as Earl Granville from 1833 onwards, was a British Whig statesman and diplomat from the Leveson-Gower family.
Background and education
Granville was the only son and youngest child of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford from his marriage to Lady Susannah Stewart, daughter of Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway. His elder, paternal half-brother was George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland.
Granville was educated at Dr. Kyle's school at Hammersmith, and then privately by the Revd. John Chappel Woodhouse. He matriculated from Christ Church, Oxford, in April 1789 but never took a degree. Nevertheless, ten years later, in 1799, the honorary degree of DCL was conferred upon him.[1]
Career
Granville began his career as a member of the House of Commons, representing Lichfield from 1795 to 1799, and Staffordshire for the next sixteen years. Granville served as British ambassador to Russia (10 August 1804 – 28 November 1805 and 1806–1807) and France (1824–1828, 1830[2]–1835, 1835–1841).
In 1815, he was raised to the peerage as Viscount Granville of Stone Park in the County of Stafford.[3] In 1833, during his second stint as ambassador to France, he was created Earl Granville and also Baron Leveson of Stone Park in the County of Stafford.[4][5]
Personal life
A recent historian says that Granville "was a drab figure, the original stuffed-shirt – starch outside, sawdust within."[6]
Lord Granville married Lady Harriet Cavendish (1785–1862), daughter of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire and Lady Georgiana Spencer, in 1809. They had two sons and two daughters. Their eldest son, Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, became a distinguished politician. Their second son the Hon. Frederick Leveson-Gower was also a politician. Their daughter Lady Georgiana married Alexander Fullerton. She was a biographer, novelist and great philanthropist. Lord Granville died in January 1846, aged 72. The Countess Granville died in November 1862, aged 77.[7]
Lord Granville, prior to marrying Lady Harriet Cavendish, was the lover of Lady Harriet's maternal aunt, Henrietta Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough, née Lady Henrietta Frances Spencer, with whom he fathered two illegitimate children: Harriette Stewart and George Stewart. For seventeen years she "loved to idolatry" this younger man.,[8] but then, she understood that he must marry in order to further his career and assure his posterity, and so she actively collaborated in the arrangements for his wedding to Harriet (known in the family as "Harry-O"), who was understandably reluctant to marry her aunt's lover.[9]
References
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- ↑ Chamberlain, 2008
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 18755. p. 2579. 10 December 1830.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 17040. p. 1425. 15 July 1815. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 19044. p. 835. 3 May 1833. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
- ↑ Chamberlain, 2008
- ↑ David Wetzel, A Duel of Giants: Bismarck, Napoleon III, and the Origins of the Franco-Prussian War (2001) p. 217
- ↑ Chamberlain, 2008
- ↑ Lord David Cecil Lord Melbourne Pan Books edition 1965 p. 39
- ↑ Paul Douglass Lady Caroline Lamb New York: Palgrave-MacMillan 2004 p. 87-88
Further reading
- Chamberlain, Muriel E. "Gower, Granville George Leveson-, second Earl Granville (1815–1891)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/16543. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Hamilton, John Andrew (1893). "Leveson-Gower, Granville (1773–1846)". In Lee, Sidney. Dictionary of National Biography. 33. London: Smith, Elder & Co. - Baron Edmond Fitzmaurice; Edmond George Petty-Fitzmaurice Fitzmaurice (1st Baron) (1905). The life of Granville George Leveson Gower, second earl Granville, K.G., 1815–1891. Longmans, Green.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl Granville
- Peerage, Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs . Retrieved on 17 November 2008.