Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort
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Henry Somerset (1629 – January 21, 1699/1700) was the first Duke of Beaufort. He was previously the 3rd Marquess of Worcester, having inherited that title on the death of his father Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester on April 3, 1667. The new English dukedom was bestowed upon him by King Charles II on December 2, 1682, in recognition of his "having been eminently serviceable for the king since his most happy restoration, in consideration thereof and of his most noble descent from King Edward III by John de Beaufort, eldest son of John of Gaunt by Katherine Swynford"[1].
Beaufort was invested as Knight, Order of the Garter (K.G.) in 1672; on April 22nd, 1679 he became Privy Councillor (P.C.); and he held the office of Lord President of Wales (s.a. Wales).
Beaufort later refused to swear allegiance to King William III.
On August 17, 1657, he married Mary Capel, who was the daughter of Arthur Capel, 1st Baron Capel of Hadham, sister of Arthur Capel, 1st Earl of Essex, and widow of Henry Seymour, Lord Beauchamp. They had three sons and four daughters. The sons were:
- Henry Somerset, Lord Herbert, who died as an infant;
- Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester (December, 1660 - July 13, 1698), who had a military and political career;
- Lord Arthur Somerset.
Three of the daughters were:
- Lady Mary Somerset, Lady of the Bedchamber, who was married to James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde as his second wife, and became mother of one son and two daughters;
- Lady Henrietta Somerset, who was married twice, to Henry Horatio O'Brien, Lord O'Brien, with whom she had one son, the 7th Earl of Thomond, and three daughters, and to Henry Howard, 6th Earl of Suffolk as his second wife;
- Lady Anne Somerset, who was married to Thomas Coventry, 2nd Earl of Coventry, and became mother of one son.
The fourth daughter - bearing an unknown name - might have died young.
Beaufort's son Charles died before he could inherit the dukedom, so on the duke's death it passed to Charles's son Henry.