The Bentinck family is a prominent family belonging to both Dutch and British nobility. Its members have served in the armed forces and as ambassadors and politicians, including Governor General of India and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The family is related to the British Royal Family via Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's maternal Cavendish-Bentinck line.
The name Bentinck is a patronymic variation of the Old Germanic name Bento. The family is originally from the East of the Netherlands, and is regarded as Uradel noble, or noble from earliest times. The oldest known ancestor is Johan Bentinck, who is mentioned in documents between 1343 and 1386 and owned land near Heerde.
An important British branch was founded by Hans Willem Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland who accompanied William Henry, Prince of Orange to England during the Glorious Revolution. The head of this line was initially given the title of Earl of Portland, later Duke of Portland.
In 1732 the title Graf (Count) Bentinck, of the Holy Roman Empire, was created for William Bentinck, son of the 1st Earl of Portland. A Royal Licence of 1886 was created which allowed the use of this title in England. The Royal Warrant of 27 April 1932 abolished the use of Foreign Titles in the United Kingdom, but extended the special allowance in 13 cases, including the Bentinck countly title "during the lives of the present holders, their heirs, and their heir's heir, provided such heir's heir is now in existence." That exception has now expired. Another branch with the title Count existed in the Netherlands, but died out in the male line.
The Dutch and British branches of the family continue to exist and belong to both the Dutch nobility and British nobility.
The Dutch estate of the Bentinck family since the 16th century, Schoonheten House, is situated between the villages Heeten and Raalte in Overijssel. The area contains 5 square kilometres of forests and cultivated land. Nowadays, the family mainly earns its living by forestry, agriculture and renting holiday houses. The British branch of the family owns Bothal Castle (Bothal Estates) in Northumberland and Welbeck Abbey (Welbeck Estates), the ancestral seat of the Dukes of Portland in Nottinghamshire.
William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland (1649–1709), a Dutch and English nobleman, and a friend of King William III
Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland (1682–1726), son of the 1st Earl of Portland, and a British politician and colonial statesman
William Bentinck, 1st Count Bentinck (1704–1774), son of the 1st Earl of Portland
William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland (1709–1762), a British peer
John Bentinck (1737–1775), Royal Navy captain, inventor and member of Parliament
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (1738–1809), British politician and Prime Minister twice (1783 & 1807-9).
Carel, Baron Bentinck (1751–1825), a famous Lieutenant General in the Dutch army
Berend Hendrik, Baron Bentinck tot Buckhorst (1753–1830), a Dutch soldier and statesman
Willem Gustaaf Frederik Bentinck, 2nd Count Bentinck (1762–1835), a Dutch politician, and son of the 1st Count Bentinck
Charles Ferdinand, Count Bentinck (1764–1811), a Dutch politician and colonial statesman
William Bentinck (1764–1813), vice-admiral in the British Navy
Adolf Carel, Baron Bentinck van Nijenhuis (1764–1837), a Dutch politician
William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland (1768–1854), a British politician
Lord William Bentinck (1774–1839), a British Governor General of India
Arnold Adolf, Baron Bentinck van Nijenhuis (1798–1868), a Dutch politician, son of Adolf Carel, Baron Bentinck van Nijenhuis
William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland (1800–1879), a British aristocratic eccentric who preferred to live in seclusion
Lord George Bentinck (1802–1848), son of the 4th Duke of Portland and a British Conservative politician
Charles William Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (1817–1865), great grandfather Queen Elizabeth II
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland (1857–1943), a British Conservative politician
Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck (1862–1938), grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II
Reverend Charles Donald Bentinck (1866–1940) presided over Dornoch Cathedral, Dornoch, Scotland, from 1906–1936 and was instrumental in the extensive renovations occurring in the 1920s. He authored the book Dornoch Cathedral and Parish published in 1926.
Lady Ottoline Morrell, née Cavendish-Bentinck (1873–1938), British society hostess
Bernhard Bentinck (1877–1931), English cricketer
Reverend Sir Charles Bentinck (1879–1955), British diplomat who, after retirement, became an Anglican priest
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland (1893–1977), a British Conservative politician
Henry Bentinck, 11th Earl of Portland, 7th Count Bentinck (1919–1997), a British non-conformist intellectual, concerned about the environment
Udo Willem, Baron Bentinck (born 1940), a well-known Dutch Judge
Tim Bentinck, 12th Earl of Portland, 8th Count Bentinck (born 1953), plays David Archer in The Archers on BBC Radio 4 and is a British voice artist and actor
Bentinck Island near Victoria, British Columbia at 48°18′54.08″N 123°32′30.32″W may have been named after Lord George Bentinck.
North and South Bentinck Arms, inlets off Burke Channel, were named after William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland by Captain Vancouver in 1793. North Bentinck Arm is significant in the history of Canada because it was here in 1793 that Sir Alexander Mackenzie completed the first recorded transcontinental crossing of North America by a European north of Mexico.
HMS Bentinck, Royal Navy ships named after Captain John Bentinck.
After Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to the Netherlands at the end of World War I, he was housed at Amerongen Castle, belonging to Count Bentinck.
HMS Portland (F79) is a type 23 frigate (Duke class) named after the Dukes of Portland. It is the eighth ship to hold the title, but the first to be named after the Portland family, rather than Portland Harbour.
Bentinck Street, near Cavendish Square in the West End of London, bears the family name.
