Lord Alfred Paget

Lord Alfred Paget CB
Caricature by Ape published in Vanity Fair in 1875.
Member of Parliament for Lichfield
In office 1837–1865 Serving with Sir George Anson, Lord Levson, Edward Lloyd-Mostyn, Viscount Anson, Lord Waterpark, Viscount Sandon, Augustus Anson
Preceded by	Sir Edward Scott, Bt Sir George Anson
Succeeded by	Richard Dyott Augustus Anson
Personal details
Born	(1816-06-26)26 June 1816
Died	24 August 1888(1888-08-24) (aged 72) Inverness, Scotland
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Cecilia Wyndham ​ ​ (after 1847)​
Children	14
Parent(s)	Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey Hon. Charlotte Cadogan
Residence	Melford Hall

Lord Alfred Henry Paget CB (26 June 1816 – 24 August 1888^[1]) was a British soldier, courtier and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1837 and 1865.

Early life

Paget was the sixth son of William Paget, the 1st Marquess of Anglesey and the former Hon. Charlotte Cadogan. Among his siblings were Lady Emily Paget (wife of John Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney), Lord Clarence Paget, Lady Mary Paget (wife of John Montagu, 7th Earl of Sandwich), Lord George Paget, and Lady Adelaide Paget (wife of Frederick William Cadogan).^[2]

From his father's first marriage to Lady Caroline Villiers (a daughter of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey and later, Duchess of Argyll), he had several older half-siblings, including Lady Caroline Paget (wife of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond), Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey, Lady Jane Paget (wife of Francis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham), Lady Georgina Paget (wife of Edward Crofton, 2nd Baron Crofton), Lady Augusta Paget (wife of Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Templemore), Lord William Paget, Lady Agnes Paget (wife of George Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford).^[2] From his mother's first marriage to Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley, he had four half-siblings, including Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley, William Henry George Wellesley, Hon. Charlotte Wellesley (wife of Robert Grosvenor, 1st Baron Ebury), and Gerald Valerian Wellesley.^[3]

Career

He became a lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards. In 1837 he was elected Member of Parliament for Lichfield and held the seat until 1865,^[1] when he was defeated by the Conservative Richard Dyott.^[4]

Paget was Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal to the Queen from July 1846 to March 1852, from December 1852 to March 1858, and from June 1859. The office ceased to be a political one from 1866.^[5]

He was the Commodore of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, 1846–1873, and Vice-Commodore, 1845-1846 and 1874–1888.^[6][7]

On 1 August 1874, he resigned the Chief Equerryship only.^[8] He became a Lieutenant-Colonel (unattached) in 1854.^[9]

Paget was a director of the North Staffordshire Railway Company between January 1854 and February 1875.^[9]

Personal life

In 1847, Paget was married to Cecilia Wyndham (1829–1914), second daughter and co-heiress of George Thomas Wyndham, of Cromer Hall, Norfolk. Their children were:^[9]

• Victoria Alexandrina Paget (1848–1859)^[9]
• Evelyn Cecilia Paget (1849–1904)^[9]
• Sir Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget (1851–1928), who married American heiress Mary Fiske “Minnie” Stevens In 1878.^[9]
• Alfred Wyndham Paget (1852–1918)^[9]
• George Thomas Cavendish Paget (1853–1939), raised Paget's Horse for service in the Boer War.^[9]
• Gerald Cecil Stewart Paget (1854–1913), grandfather of Percy Bernard, 5th Earl of Bandon.^[9]
• Violet Mary Paget (1856–1908)^[9]
• Sydney Augustus Paget (1857–1916)^[9]
• Amy Olivia Paget (1858–1948)^[9]
• Alberta Victoria Paget (1859–1945)^[9]
• Almeric Hugh Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough (1861–1949),^[10] who married Pauline Payne Whitney in 1895.^[11] After her death in 1916, he married Edith Starr Miller in 1921.^[12][13]
• Alice Maud Paget (1862–1925)^[9]
• Alexandra Harriet Paget (1863–1944), who married Edward Colebrooke, 1st Baron Colebrooke.^[9]
• Guinevere Eva Paget (1869–1894)^[9]

He lived at 42 Grosvenor Place, London, and at Melford Hall, Sudbury, Suffolk. He died in 1888 unexpectedly, on his yacht off Inverness.^[14]

In popular culture

In the television series Victoria, Lord Alfred is played by Jordan Waller. In the second series, he was depicted having a same-sex romantic relationship with Sir Robert Peel's secretary, Edward Drummond. There is no historical evidence that this took place. In the same series, Lord Alfred marries Lady Wilhelmina Coke (the niece of the Duchess of Buccleuch); but in real life, Lord Alfred married Cecilia Wyndham.^[15]

References

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 2)
2. "Anglesey, Marquess of (UK, 1815)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
3. "Argyll, Duke of (S, 1701)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
4. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 185–186. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
5. Chris Cook and Brendan Keith, British Historical Facts 1830-1900, Macmillan 1975, p. 27
6. "Flag Officers since 1775 - Royal Thames Yacht Club - Knightsbridge, London".
7. "LORD ALFRED PAGET IN NEWPORT". The New York Times. 17 August 1882. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
8. "No. 24121". The London Gazette. 11 August 1874. p. 3965.
9. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes. Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999. p. Vol. 1, page 76.
10. "QUEENBOROUGH, 88, A BARON, ONCE M. P.; Former Cowpuncher Who Came to U. S. With £5 in Youth and Made a Fortune Dies". The New York Times. 23 September 1949. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
11. "MISS WHITNEY'S ENGAGEMENT; The Daughter of the ex-Secretary of the Navy to Marry Almeric II. Paget, Son of Lord Alfred Paget". The New York Times. 25 July 1895. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
12. "LORD QUEENBOROUGH WEDS MISS MILLER; British Peer Quietly Marries Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Starr Miller IN FIFTH AVENUE HOME Thirty Relatives at Second Marriage of Son-in-Law of Late W.C. Whitney--Sail Soon for England. Bride's Father Gives Her Away. Lord Queenborough's Second Marriage. Widely Known Sportsman. Gallagher--Sleicher". The New York Times. 20 July 1921. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
13. "SEPARATION ASKED BY LADY PAGET HERE; American Wife Accuses Baron Queenborough of Abandoning Her and Three Children. PROPERTY SOUGHT IN BANKS Referee Named for State Quest With View to Alimony -- Cruelty Laid to Wealthy Englishman". The New York Times. 9 January 1932. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
14. "The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality". 1 September 1888. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
15. Cecilia Wyndham. Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/genealogy/records/cecilia-wyndham-24-12v9j2r?geo_a=r&geo_s=uk&geo_t=uk&geo_v=2.0.0&o_iid=41012&o_lid=41012&o_sch=Web+Property

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Lord Alfred Paget

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir Edward Scott, Bt Sir George Anson	Member of Parliament for Lichfield 1837–1865 With: Sir George Anson to 1841 Lord Levson 1841–1846 Edward Lloyd-Mostyn 1846–1847 Viscount Anson 1847–1854 Lord Waterpark 1854–1856 Viscount Sandon 1856–1859 Augustus Anson from 1859	Succeeded by Richard Dyott Augustus Anson
Court offices
Preceded by Lord Charles Wellesley	Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal 1846–1852	Succeeded by The Lord Colville of Culross
Preceded by The Lord Colville of Culross	Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal 1852–1858	Succeeded by The Lord Colville of Culross
Preceded by The Lord Colville of Culross	Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal 1859–1874	Succeeded by John Carstairs McNeill