Monarch Victoria Name Hugh 6th Nationality British | Succeeded by The Lord Kensington Preceded by Lord Henry Somerset | |
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Prime Minister The Earl of Beaconsfield Died 23 March 1912
Ragley Hall, Warwickshire | ||
Captain Hugh de Grey Seymour, 6th Marquess of Hertford CB, TD, PC, JP (22 October 1843 – 23 March 1912), styled Earl of Yarmouth from 1870 to 1884, was a British soldier, courtier and Conservative politician. He notably served as Comptroller of the Household between 1879 and 1880.
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Background
A member of the Seymour family headed by the Duke of Somerset, Seymour was born in Dublin, Ireland, the eldest son of Francis Seymour, 5th Marquess of Hertford, by his wife Lady Emily Murray, daughter of David Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield. He was the grandson of Sir George Seymour and great-grandson of Lord Hugh Seymour and the nephew of George Seymour and Lady Laura Seymour. He became known by the courtesy title Earl of Yarmouth when his father succeeded to the marquessate of Hertford in 1870.
Military career
Seymour served in the Grenadier Guards, achieving the rank of captain. He was also an Honorary Colonel in the Warwickshire Yeomanry and was awarded the Territorial Decoration. He was appointed an aide-de-camp to King Edward VII in the 1902 Coronation Honours list on 26 June 1902, with the regular rank of colonel. He served as such until the King´s death in 1910, and was re-appointed ADC to King George V from 1910 until his own death in 1912.
Political career
Seymour was returned to parliament as one of two representatives for Antrim in 1869. At the 1874 general election he was returned for South Warwickshire, a seat he held until 1880. In 1879 he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Comptroller of the Household under Lord Beaconsfield, a post he retained until the government fell the following year. In 1884 he succeeded his father in the marquessate and entered the House of Lords.
In 1905 Lord Hertford was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Warwickshire, which he remained until his death. He was also a Justice of the Peace for County Antrim. In 1906 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).
Family
Lord Hertford married the Honourable Mary Hood, daughter of Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport, on 16 April 1868. They had eight children:
The Marchioness of Hertford died in April 1909, aged 62, while on a voyage to Palestine. Lord Hertford died at Ragley Hall, Warwickshire, in March 1912, aged 68. He was succeeded in the marquessate by his eldest son, George.