Charles Palmer was an English Whig and Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1808 and 1837.

Palmer was born at Weston near Bath, the eldest son of John Palmer

John Palmer (postal innovator)

John Palmer of Bath was a theatre owner and instigator of the British system of mail coaches that was the beginning of the great British post office reforms with the introduction of an efficient mail coach delivery service in Great Britain during the late 18th century...

, a projector of mail coaches. He was educated at Eton College

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 and Oriel College, Oxford. He entered the army as cornet in the 10th Dragoons in May 1796.

In 1808 Palmer was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Bath

Bath (UK Parliament constituency)

Bath is a constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, previously of the House of Commons of England. It is an ancient constituency which has been constantly represented in Parliament since boroughs were first summoned to send members in the 13th century...

.

Palmer served with his regiment during the Peninsular war and acted as lieutenant-colonel from May 1810 to November 1814. The Prince Regent

Prince Regent

A prince regent is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., due to the Sovereign's incapacity or absence ....

 appointed him as an aide-de-camp on 8 February 1811, and he held the appointment until he was promoted major-general on 27 May 1825.

Palmer held the seat at Bath until 1826. At the 1829 election, there was a double return and on the following by-election Palmer lost. However he was re-elected for Bath in 1830 and held the seat until 1837.

Palmer was a large vine-grower in the Gironde

Gironde

For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...

, and on the death of hs father became the proprietor of the Bath Theatre Royal.

Palmer died at the age of 73.

Palmer married Mary Elizabeth Atkins, eldest daughter of John Thomas Atkins of Hunterscombe House, Buckinghamshire.

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