Henry de Nassau d'Auverquerque, 1st Earl of Grantham explained

Henry de Nassau
Baron Alford
Lord d'Auverquerque
Viscount Boston
1st Earl of Grantham
More:no
Spouse:Lady Henrietta Butler (1675–1724)
Spouse-Type:Spouse
Issue:Henry, Viscount Boston
Thomas, Viscount Boston
Lady Frances de Nassau d'Auverquerque
Emilia Mary
Lady Henrietta de Nassau d'Auverquerque
Noble Family:Orange-Nassau
Father:Hendrik van Nassau
Mother:Francoise van Aerssen
Birth Date:1673
Birth Place:The Hague, Netherlands
Christening Date:30 May 1673
Christening Place:The Hague, Netherlands
Burial Date:12 December 1754
Burial Place:St James's Church, Piccadilly, London
Occupation:Lord Chamberlain

Henry de Nassau d'Auverquerque, 1st Earl of Grantham (born Hendrik van Nassau, 16735 December 1754), was a British Army officer, courtier and peer who was a member of the House of Orange-Nassau and second cousin once removed to William III of England. He inherited the lordship of Ouwerkerk (known in English as Overkirk and in French as Auverquerque) in Holland,[1] and was a count of the Holy Roman Empire.

Life

He was born in The Hague to the Dutch general Henry de Nassau d'Auverquerque (called "Lord Overkirk" by the English) and his wife Frances van Aerssen, and baptised there 30 May 1673. On 12 January 1697, he married his first cousin Lady Henrietta Butler, daughter of Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory and sister of James Butler, Duke of Ormonde. In 1698, during his father's lifetime, he was created Baron Alford, Viscount Boston and Earl of Grantham by William III.

Despite Grantham's marriage to the sister of one of the most notorious participants in the 1715 Jacobite rising, George I appointed him Lord Chamberlain to the household of Caroline, Princess of Wales in 1717, and Grantham retained his position when the Prince of Wales succeeded as King George II in 1727 and the Princess became Queen Caroline. He remained her Lord Chamberlain until her death in 1737.

Grantham was commissioned an ensign in the 2nd Regiment of Foot Guards on 17 November 1727. He was promoted to lieutenant on 2 October 1731, and on 5 July 1735, was promoted captain-lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards.[2]

Grantham later involved himself in a project to create an orphanage for abandoned children in London, the first of its kind in the nation. The charity became known as the Foundling Hospital and received its royal charter on 17 October 1739. Lord Grantham was one of its founding Governors.

Grantham owned a house in Albemarle Street, Westminster that is now part of the premises of the Royal Institution, and a country house in Chiswick, called Grove Park.

Lord Grantham died on 5 December 1754 and was buried a week later at St James's Church, Piccadilly, Westminster.[3]

Family

Henry de Nassau d'Auverquerque married on 12 January 1697 his cousin Lady Henrietta Butler (died 11 October 1724),[4] youngest daughter of Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory by his wife Emilia van Nassau (a sister of Lord Overkirk), and sister of James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde and Charles Butler, Earl of Arran, and had five children:

Arms

Arms of the Earls of Grantham [6]

Notes and References

  1. ten Dam, René, "Geschiedenis van de grafkelder van de familie Nassau in Ouderkerk aan de IJssel", accessed May 19, 2010
  2. Book: Mackinnon, Daniel . Daniel Mackinnon

    . Daniel Mackinnon . Origin and Services of the Coldstream Guards . II . Richard Bentley . London . 1833 . 478–479 .

  3. The Register Book for Burials. In the Parish of St James in Westminster in the County of Middlesex. 1754-1812. 12 December 1754.
  4. The Register of Burials in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1723-1754. 20 October 1724.
  5. Hugh Belsey, 'Cowper, George Nassau Clavering, third Earl Cowper (1738–1789)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 26 April 2010
  6. Web site: European Heraldry, United Kingdom > Families > Families L to N > House of Nassau . 2016 . European Heraldry . 2016-10-16 . 27 October 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161027060603/http://www.europeanheraldry.org/united-kingdom/families/families-l-n/house-nassau/ . dead .