Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
courtier and diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
.
Life
He was the second son of Edward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of BoughtonEdward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton
Edward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton was an English peer and politician.-Life:He was born at Weekley on 11 July 1616, the son of Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton. He was educated at Oundle School and entered Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, on 2 March 1631...
(1616–1684) and Anne Winwood, daughter of the Secretary of State
Secretary of State (England)
In the Kingdom of England, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary....
Ralph Winwood
Ralph Winwood
Sir Ralph Winwood was an English diplomat and politician.-Life:He was born at Aynhoe in Northamptonshire and educated at St John's College, Oxford....
. The peerage of his father was one of several granted in the seventeenth century to different members of the Montagu family.
Sir Edward Montagu, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in the time of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, was grandfather of the 1st Earl of Manchester
Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester
Sir Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester was an English judge, politician and peer.-Life:He was the grandson of Sir Edward Montagu, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1539 to 1545, who was named by King Henry VIII one of the executors of his will, and governor to his son, Edward VI.Born...
, and of the 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton
Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton
Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton was an English politician. He was one of the key founders of what is known today as Guy Fawkes Night through his sponsorship, in Parliament, of the Observance of 5th November Act 1605. His support for King Charles I led to his arrest in August 1642...
(1562–1644), who was imprisoned in the Tower by the Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
on account of his loyalty to Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. The eldest son of the latter, Edward, who succeeded him as the 2nd Baron, took the side of the Parliament in the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, and was one of the lords who conducted the king from Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...
to Holmby House after his surrender by the Scots in January 1647.
He had two sons, of whom Ralph was the younger. The eldest son, Edward, was Master of the Horse
Master of the Horse
The Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :...
to Queen Catherine, wife of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, a post from which he is said to have been dismissed by the king for 'showing attention to the queen of too ardent a nature'. Catherine immediately appointed the younger brother, Ralph, to the vacant situation, and the latter soon acquired a reputation for gallantry at the court of Charles II. He took an active part in the negotiations in which Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
purchased the neutrality
Neutral country
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
of England in the war between France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Having quarrelled with Danby
Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds
Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, KG , English statesman , served in a variety of offices under Kings Charles II and William III of England.-Early life, 1632–1674:The son of Sir Edward Osborne, Bart., of Kiveton, Yorkshire, Thomas Osborne...
and the Duchess of Cleveland
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland was an English courtesan and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England, by whom she had five children, all of which were acknowledged and subsequently ennobled...
, who denounced him to the king, Montagu was elected member of Parliament for Northampton
Northampton (UK Parliament constituency)
Northampton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Northampton which existed until 1974.It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until its representation was reduced to one member for the 1918 general election...
in 1678, with the intention of bringing about the fall of Danby; but, having produced letters seriously compromising the minister, the dissolution of Parliament placed him in such danger of arrest that he attempted to fly to France. Foiled in this design, he continued to intrigue against the government, supporting the movement for excluding the Duke of York
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...
from the succession and for recognizing the Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC , was an English nobleman. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II and his mistress, Lucy Walter...
as heir to the crown. His elder brother having predeceased his father, Ralph became Baron Montagu of Boughton on the death of the latter in 1684.
Notwithstanding his former intrigues he gained the favour of 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...
on his accession to the throne; but this did not deter him from welcoming William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, who created him Viscount Monthermer and Earl of Montagu in 1689. Montagu was no less avaricious than unscrupulous. In 1673 he had married the wealthy widow of the 11th Earl of Northumberland
Joceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland
Josceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland, 5th Baron Percy was an English peer.Percy was the eldest son of Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland and his second wife, Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk...
, Elizabeth Wriothesley
Elizabeth Percy, countess of Northumberland
Elizabeth Percy, Countess of Northumberland was a British courtier.She was one of the Windsor Beauties, painted by Sir Peter Lely.-Family:...
, daughter of the 4th Earl of Southampton
Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton
Sir Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, KG , styled Lord Wriothesley before 1624, was a 17th century English statesman, a staunch supporter of Charles II who would rise to the position of Lord High Treasurer after the English Restoration...
, who brought him a large fortune; and after her death in 1690 he married the still more wealthy Elizabeth Monck
Elizabeth Monck, Duchess of Albemarle
Elizabeth Monck, Duchess of Albermarle , was born Lady Elizabeth Cavendish and known for most of her life as the Mad Duchess of Albemarle....
, daughter of the 2nd Duke of Newcastle
Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle
Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, KG, PC , styled Viscount Mansfield until 1676, was the only son of the William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and his first wife, Elizabeth Basset. His maternal grandparents were William Basset and Judith Austen, daughter of Thomas...
, and widow of the 2nd Duke of Albemarle
Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle
Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, KG, PC was an English statesman and failed soldier.He was the son of George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle....
.
Montagu's position was further strengthened in 1705 by the marriage of his son and heir to Mary, daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
and Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women in British history as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.Sarah's friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, and leading public figures...
. In the same year he was created Duke of Montagu and Marquess of Monthermer. His London residence, Montagu House
Montagu House
Montagu House or Montague House may refer to:in England*Montagu House, Bloomsbury, the first home of the British Museum, also known as Montague House*Montagu House, Portman Square, built for Elizabeth Montagu on Portman Square...
, Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
, was bought by the government in 1753 to hold the national collection of antiquities
Antiquities
Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures...
, and on its site was built the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
See Abel Boyer
Abel Boyer
Abel Boyer was a French-English lexicographer, journalist and miscellaneous writer.-Biography:Abel Boyer was probably born on 24 June 1667 at Castres, in Upper Languedoc. His father, Pierre Boyer, one of the two consuls or chief magistrates of Castres, had been suspended and fined for his...
, History of the Reign of Queen Anne, vol. viii. (11 vols., London, 1703–1713); Sir JB Burke, Genealogical History of Dormant (etc.) Peerages (London, 1883).
Children
Montagu and his first wife Elizabeth Wriothesley were parents to two children:- John Montagu, 2nd Duke of MontaguJohn Montagu, 2nd Duke of MontaguJohn Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu, KG, KB, PC , styled Viscount Monthermer until 1705 and Marquess of Monthermer between 1705 and 1709, was a British peer...
(c. 1690 – 5 July 1749). - Anne Montagu, married Alexander Popham
Montagu and his second wife Elizabeth Monck, Duchess of Albemarle
Elizabeth Monck, Duchess of Albemarle
Elizabeth Monck, Duchess of Albermarle , was born Lady Elizabeth Cavendish and known for most of her life as the Mad Duchess of Albemarle....
had no known children. However, through his marriage to the widow of the 2nd Duke of Albemarle
Duke of Albemarle
The Dukedom of Albemarle has been created twice in the Peerage of England, each time ending in extinction. Additionally, the title was created a third time by James II in exile and a fourth time by his son the Old Pretender, in the Jacobite Peerage. The name is the Latinised form of the ancient...
, the 1st Duke of Montagu acquired the Lordship of Bowland
Lordship of Bowland
The Lordship of Bowland, an ancient English title connected with the Forest of Bowland in the northwest of England, was once thought lost and was only recently rediscovered. It disappeared from sight in 1885 when the estates of the Towneleys, one of Lancashire’s great aristocratic families, were...
, one of northern England's most powerful feudal lordships which on his death passed to John, the son of his first marriage.