Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave
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Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave GCB
, PC (14 February 1755–7 April 1831), styled The Honourable Henry Phipps until 1792 and known as The Lord Mulgrave from 1792 to 1812, was a British soldier and politician. He notably served as Foreign Secretary
under William Pitt the Younger
from 1805 to 1806.
, by his wife the Hon. Lepell, daughter of John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, and was educated at Eton
and the Middle Temple
.
, he was near at hand when British forces captured the French port of Toulon
, and he briefly took command of the British land forces there, before withdrawing upon the arrival of more senior officers. In 1799 he was sent out on another special military mission, this time to the headquarters of the Austrian commander, Archduke Charles, to attempt to persuade him to retain his troops in Switzerland
rather than removing them to the Middle Rhine, but he was unsuccessful.
. He supported the government of Pitt
, to whom he eventually became close. In 1790, he was elected for Scarborough
in Yorkshire
. He succeeded his brother Constantine Phipps, 2nd Baron Mulgrave
as Baron Mulgrave
in the Peerage of Ireland
in 1792, but did not succeed to his brother's British title. In 1794 he was granted a British peerage as Baron Mulgrave
, entering the House of Lords
. Mulgrave supported Pitt when he resigned in 1801, and in return for his loyalty was rewarded with the office of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
(1804–1805) in Pitt's second government. Following an accident suffered by Lord Harrowby
, Mulgrave took his place as Foreign Secretary, in which position he helped Pitt to form the Third Coalition
against Napoleon.
With the death of Pitt and the formation of the Ministry of All the Talents
in 1806, Mulgrave, along with the other Pittites, went into opposition, but when the Pittites returned to power in 1807, Mulgrave served in various major offices, first as First Lord of the Admiralty (1807–1810), then as Master-General of the Ordnance
(1810–1819), and finally as Minister without Portfolio (1819–1820). As First Lord he was heavily involved in planning both the successful expedition against Copenhagen
in 1807, and the disastrous one to Walcheren
in 1809. After moving to the ordnance board, Mulgrave became less active politically. He was created Viscount Normanby and Earl of Mulgrave
in 1812.
and his wife Lady Catherine Darnley (an illegitimate daughter of King James II
by his mistress Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester). Lady Catherine Darnley had later married John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby
, and hence Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave was the step-great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby.
Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave married Martha Sophia, daughter of Christopher Thomson Maling, in 1795. He died in April 1831, aged 76, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Constantine
, who was later created Marquess of Normanby
. His second son was the Hon. Sir Charles Beaumont Phipps
. The Countess of Mulgrave died in March 1849.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, PC (14 February 1755–7 April 1831), styled The Honourable Henry Phipps until 1792 and known as The Lord Mulgrave from 1792 to 1812, was a British soldier and politician. He notably served as Foreign Secretary
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
under William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
from 1805 to 1806.
Background and education
Lord Mulgrave was a younger son of Constantine Phipps, 1st Baron MulgraveConstantine Phipps, 1st Baron Mulgrave
Constantine Phipps, 1st Baron Mulgrave was an Irish peer. Phipps was baptised on 22 August 1722. On 26 February 1743, he married Hon. Lepell Hervey, the daughter of John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey and Mary Lepell...
, by his wife the Hon. Lepell, daughter of John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, and was educated at Eton
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 the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
.
Military career
Lord Mulgrave entered the army in 1775, and eventually rose to the rank of General. He saw service in the Caribbean during the American Revolutionary War. In 1793, due to the fact that he was on a mission to the King of Sardinia in TurinTurin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, he was near at hand when British forces captured the French port of Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, and he briefly took command of the British land forces there, before withdrawing upon the arrival of more senior officers. In 1799 he was sent out on another special military mission, this time to the headquarters of the Austrian commander, Archduke Charles, to attempt to persuade him to retain his troops in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
rather than removing them to the Middle Rhine, but he was unsuccessful.
Political career
In 1784 Lord Mulgrave was elected to the House of Commons for TotnesTotnes (UK Parliament constituency)
Totnes is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament , using the first-past-the-post voting system....
. He supported the government of Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, to whom he eventually became close. In 1790, he was elected for Scarborough
Scarborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Scarborough was the name of a constituency in Yorkshire, electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons, at two periods. From 1295 until 1918 it was a parliamentary borough consisting only of the town of Scarborough, electing two MPs until 1885 and one from 1885 until 1918...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. He succeeded his brother Constantine Phipps, 2nd Baron Mulgrave
Constantine Phipps, 2nd Baron Mulgrave
Constantine John Phipps, 2nd Baron Mulgrave, PC was an English explorer and officer in the Royal Navy. He served during the Seven Years War and the American War of Independence, seeing action in a number of battles and engagements...
as Baron Mulgrave
Baron Mulgrave
Baron Mulgrave is a title that has been created three times for members of the Phipps family, once in the Peerage of Ireland and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain....
in the Peerage of Ireland
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
in 1792, but did not succeed to his brother's British title. In 1794 he was granted a British peerage as Baron Mulgrave
Baron Mulgrave
Baron Mulgrave is a title that has been created three times for members of the Phipps family, once in the Peerage of Ireland and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain....
, entering the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. Mulgrave supported Pitt when he resigned in 1801, and in return for his loyalty was rewarded with the office of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
(1804–1805) in Pitt's second government. Following an accident suffered by Lord Harrowby
Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby
Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby, PC, FSA was a prominent British politician of the Pittite faction and the Tory party.-Background and education:...
, Mulgrave took his place as Foreign Secretary, in which position he helped Pitt to form the Third Coalition
Third Coalition
The War of the Third Coalition was a conflict which spanned from 1803 to 1806. It saw the defeat of an alliance of Austria, Portugal, Russia, and others by France and its client states under Napoleon I...
against Napoleon.
With the death of Pitt and the formation of the Ministry of All the Talents
Ministry of All the Talents
The Ministry of All the Talents was a national unity government formed by William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 11 February 1806 after the death of William Pitt the Younger...
in 1806, Mulgrave, along with the other Pittites, went into opposition, but when the Pittites returned to power in 1807, Mulgrave served in various major offices, first as First Lord of the Admiralty (1807–1810), then as Master-General of the Ordnance
Master-General of the Ordnance
The Master-General of the Ordnance was a very senior British military position before 1855, when the Board of Ordnance was abolished.-Responsibilities:...
(1810–1819), and finally as Minister without Portfolio (1819–1820). As First Lord he was heavily involved in planning both the successful expedition against Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
in 1807, and the disastrous one to Walcheren
Walcheren
thumb|right|250px|Campveer Tower in Veere, built in 1500Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Oosterschelde in the north and the Westerschelde in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus...
in 1809. After moving to the ordnance board, Mulgrave became less active politically. He was created Viscount Normanby and Earl of Mulgrave
Earl of Mulgrave
The title Earl of Mulgrave has been created twice. The first time as a title in the Peerage of England and the second time as a Peerage of the United Kingdom....
in 1812.
Family
The 1st Earl of Mulgrave's grandfather William Phipps had married Lady Catherine Annesley, who was the daughter and heiress of James Annesley, 3rd Earl of AngleseyJames Annesley, 3rd Earl of Anglesey
James Annesley, 3rd Earl of Anglesey , succeeded to his Earldom on his father's death in 1690. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford in 1690. His mother was Lady Elizabeth Manners, daughter of John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland...
and his wife Lady Catherine Darnley (an illegitimate daughter of King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
by his mistress Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester). Lady Catherine Darnley had later married John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby
John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby
John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, KG, PC , was a poet and notable Tory politician of the late Stuart period, who served as Lord Privy Seal and Lord President of the Council.-Career:...
, and hence Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave was the step-great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby.
Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave married Martha Sophia, daughter of Christopher Thomson Maling, in 1795. He died in April 1831, aged 76, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Constantine
Constantine Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby
Constantine Henry Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby KG GCB GCH, PC , styled Viscount Normanby between 1812 and 1831 and known as The Earl of Mulgrave between 1831 and 1838, was a British Whig politician and author...
, who was later created Marquess of Normanby
Marquess of Normanby
Marquess of Normanby is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.The first creation came in 1694 in the Peerage of England in favour of John Sheffield, 3rd Earl of Mulgrave KG...
. His second son was the Hon. Sir Charles Beaumont Phipps
Charles Beaumont Phipps
Sir Charles Beaumont Phipps , was a British soldier and courtier.He was the second son of Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave, and was born at the family estate of Mulgrave Castle in 1801. Educated at Harrow, Phipps joined the army by purchasing a commission as an ensign and lieutenant in the Scots...
. The Countess of Mulgrave died in March 1849.