Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset
| Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset | |
|---|---|
Portrait c.1690–1692 by John Closterman (1660–1711), Collection of National Trust, Petworth House
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| Lord President of the Council | |
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In office 29 January – 13 July 1702 |
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| Monarch |
William III Anne |
| Preceded by | Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
13 August 1662 Wiltshire, United Kingdom |
| Died | 2 December 1748 (aged 86) Petworth, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Parents |
Charles Seymour, 2nd Baron Seymour of Trowbridge (father) Elizabeth Alington (mother) |
Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (13 August 1662 – 2 December 1748), known by the epithet "The Proud Duke", was a British peer. He rebuilt Petworth House in Sussex, the ancient Percy seat inherited from his wife, in the palatial form which survives today. He was a remarkably handsome man, and inordinately fond of taking a conspicuous part in court ceremonial; his vanity, which earned him the sobriquet of "the proud duke," was a byword among his contemporaries and was the subject of numerous anecdotes; Macaulay described him as "a man in whom the pride of birth and rank amounted almost to a disease".
Charles was the second son of Charles Seymour, 2nd Baron Seymour of Trowbridge (died 1665), of Marlborough Castle in Wiltshire, by his wife Elizabeth Alington (1635–1692). The 2nd baron was (in a junior line) a great-great-grandson of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (executed 1552), brother of Queen Jane Seymour, uncle of King Edward VI and Lord Protector of England.
Charles was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where his portrait by Nathaniel Dance-Holland survives in the College's collection.
In 1675, Charles's elder brother Francis Seymour, 5th Duke of Somerset, aged 16, inherited the Dukedom of Somerset from their father's childless first cousin, John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset (1629-1675). However, the 5th Duke did not inherit the unentailed Seymour estates, including the family seat of Wulfhall and other Wiltshire estates, and much of the lands of the feudal barony of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset, which were bequeathed to the 4th duke's niece, Elizabeth Seymour, wife of Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury (1656-1741). In 1660, following the Restoration of the Monarchy, the 4th duke's own father, a Royalist commander in the Civil War, had been restored to the dukedom created for and forfeited by his own great-grandfather, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (executed 1552).
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