Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond

The Duke of Richmond

Born (1672-07-29)29 July 1672
London, England
Died 27 May 1723(1723-05-27) (aged 50)
Sussex, England
Title Duke of Richmond
Tenure 9 August 1675 – 27 May 1723
Other titles 1st Duke of Lennox
1st Duke of Aubigny (France)
1st Earl of March
1st Earl of Darnley
1st Baron Settrington
1st Lord Torbolton
Hereditary Constable of Inverness Castle
Successor Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke
Spouse(s) Anne Belasyse (née Brudenell)
Issue Louisa Lennox
Charles Lennox
Anne Lennox
Parents King Charles II
Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth

Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Duke of Aubigny (29 July 1672 – 27 May 1723) was the illegitimate son of King Charles II of England and his mistress Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth.

Life

Lennox was created Duke of Richmond, Earl of March and Baron Settrington in the Peerage of England on 9 August 1675 and Duke of Lennox, Earl of Darnley and Lord Torbolton in the Peerage of Scotland on 9 September 1675, and was invested as a Knight of the Garter in 1681. He was appointed Lord High Admiral of Scotland, under reservation of the commission granted to James, Duke of Albany and York (later James VII), as Lord High Admiral for life. The appointment was therefore only effective between 1701 and 1705, when Lennox resigned all his Scottish lands and offices.

It appears that he was Master of a Lodge in Chichester in 1696, and so was one of the few known seventeenth-century freemasons.

Family

He was married to Anne Brudenell (d. 9 December 1722), daughter of Francis, Baron Brudenell on 8 January 1692; with whom he had three children:

By his mistress Jacqueline de Mézières:

He is an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Sarah, Duchess of York.

Cricket

Richmond was a patron of cricket, then becoming a leading professional sport, and did much to develop it in Sussex. It is almost certain that he was involved with the earliest known "great match", which took place in the 1697 season and was the first to be reported by the press. The report was in the Foreign Post dated Wednesday, 7 July 1697:[1]

"The middle of last week a great match at cricket was played in Sussex; there were eleven of a side, and they played for fifty guineas apiece".

The stakes on offer confirm the importance of the fixture and the fact that it was eleven-a-side suggests that two strong and well-balanced teams were assembled.[1] No other details were given but the report provides real evidence to support the view that top-class cricket in the form of "great matches" played for high stakes was in vogue at the time.[2] It was possibly an inter-county match: i.e., a Sussex XI versus a Kent XI or a Surrey XI.[2] Richmond sponsored a team in the 1702 season against an Arundel side.[3] His son Charles, the 2nd Duke, inherited his interest in cricket and became the patron of both Sussex county cricket teams and Slindon Cricket Club.

Ancestry

References

  1. 1 2 McCann, p. xli.
  2. 1 2 Leach, John (2007). "From Lads to Lord's – 1697". Stumpsite. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
  3. McCann, p. 1.

Bibliography

Further reading

Political offices
In commission
Title last held by
The Duke of Monmouth
Master of the Horse
1681–1685
Succeeded by
The Lord Dartmouth
Preceded by
King James VII
Lord High Admiral of Scotland
1701–1705
Succeeded by
The Marquess of Montrose
Peerage of England
New creation Duke of Richmond
3rd creation
1675–1723
Succeeded by
Charles Lennox
Peerage of Scotland
New creation Duke of Lennox
2nd creation
1675–1723
Succeeded by
Charles Lennox
French nobility
New creation Duke of Aubigny
1684–1723
Succeeded by
Charles Lennox
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