Monarch Victoria Political party Conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli Name Francis 5th | Preceded by The Viscount Sydney Parents George Seymour Nationality British Education Harrow School | |
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Succeeded by The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe Full Name Francis George Hugh Seymour Born 11 February 1812 ( 1812-02-11 ) Died January 25, 1884, Ragley Hall, Arrow with Weethley, United Kingdom Children Hugh Seymour, 6th Marquess of Hertford Grandchildren George Seymour, 7th Marquess of Hertford, Lord Henry Charles Seymour Grandparents Lord Hugh Seymour, Lady Anna Horatia Waldegrave | ||
Francis George Hugh Seymour, 5th Marquess of Hertford (11 February 1812 – 25 January 1884), known as Francis Seymour until 1870, was a British army officer, courtier and Conservative politician. He served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household under Benjamin Disraeli from 1874 to 1879.
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Family and education
Seymour was the eldest son of Admiral Sir George Seymour by his wife Georgiana Mary Berkeley, daughter of Sir George Berkeley; he was the elder brother of Henry Seymour and Lady Laura Seymour. He was the grandson of Lord Hugh Seymour and a great-grandson of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, and it is through this line he succeeded to the Hertford marquessate when his distant cousin, Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford, died unmarried and without issue in 1870. He inherited the entailed property from the 4th Marquess, including Ragley Hall, whilst the unentailed property went to his cousin's illegitimate son Richard Wallace, including what became the Wallace Collection.
He was educated at Harrow.
Career
Seymour joined the Scots Fusilier Guards as a lieutenant in July 1827, rising to the rank of general in 1876 and retiring in 1881.
He was Groom of the Robes to William IV and Victoria between 1833 and 1870. In 1874 Seymour, now Lord Hertford, was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Lord Chamberlain of the Household under Benjamin Disraeli, a post he held until 1879. Just before his retirement he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.
Family
Lord Hertford married,on 9 May 1839, Lady Emily Murray (1816-1902), daughter of David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield and Frederica Markham. They had ten children:
Lord Hertford died on 25 January 1884, aged 71, from injuries following a fall from a horse at Ragley Hall. He was succeeded in the marquessate by his eldest son, Hugh. The Dowager Marchioness of Hertford died at Westcott, Surrey, on 24 June 1902, aged 86.