Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle

Arnold van Keppel
1st Earl of Albemarle.
Detail Issue Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle Sophia van Keppel
Noble family	De Voorst
Baptised	30 January 1670 Zutphen
Died	30 May 1718(1718-05-30) (aged 48)

Arnold Joost van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle, KG, and lord of De Voorst in Guelders (Gelderland) (baptized 30 January 1670, Zutphen – 30 May 1718), was the son of Oswald van Keppel and his wife Anna Geertruid van Lintelo. De Voorst is a large country house near Zutphen, financed by William III, and not unlike the royal palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn.

Arnold Joost van Keppel was born in the Dutch Republic about 1670 and was the heir of a junior branch of an ancient and noble family in Gelderland, and 12th in descent from Walter van Keppel, living in 1179. He achieved fame and wealth as the right-hand man of William III of Orange. He became page of honor to William III in his mid-teens, possibly as early as 1685. It has been claimed that he was William's lover, but no conclusive evidence has been discovered. Keppel accompanied William to England in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

While some have suggested their association began when Keppel was only 16, others argue a later date, possibly at the time of a hunting accident when he is said to have attracted the king's attention by his uncomplaining demeanor upon breaking a leg. Public commentary on the relationship intensified in 1692 when Keppel began to receive grants of land from the king. He became Groom of the Bedchamber and Master of the Robes in 1695. In 1696, he was created the Viscount Bury in Lancashire, and the Baron Ashford of Ashford, Kent. On 10 February 1697, William made Van Keppel the Earl of Albemarle. In 1699, he was awarded the command of the First Life Guards.

In 1700, William gave Albemarle extensive lands in Ireland, but Parliament obliged the king to cancel this grant. William instead granted him £50,000. The same year he was created a Knight of the Garter. He served both with the English and Dutch troops, was major-general in 1697, colonel of several regiments and governor of 's-Hertogenbosch.