Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough
Encyclopedia
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, PC
Privy Council of England
The Privy Council of England, also known as His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, was a body of advisers to the sovereign of the Kingdom of England...
(1658 – 25 October 1735) was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
nobleman and military leader. He was the son of John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt
John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt
John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt was an English royalist.He was born in Lowick, the second son of John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough and Elizabeth Howard John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt (18 June 1626 – 5 June 1675) was an English royalist.He was born in Lowick, the second son of John...
, and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter and sole heiress of Thomas Carey, the second son of Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth
Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth
Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth was an English nobleman and courtier. He was the youngest son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon and Anne Morgan, daughter of Sir Thomas Morgan and Anne Whitney.As a young man he accompanied several diplomatic missions abroad and took part in military expeditions...
. Mordaunt's father, John Mordaunt
John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt
John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt was an English royalist.He was born in Lowick, the second son of John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough and Elizabeth Howard John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt (18 June 1626 – 5 June 1675) was an English royalist.He was born in Lowick, the second son of John...
, was created Viscount Mordaunt of Avalon
Avalon
Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was...
and Baron Mordaunt of Reigate, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, in 1659.
Political career
Charles attended Tonbridge SchoolTonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
, then later matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, on the 11th of April 1674. When about sixteen years of age he joined Sir John Narborough
John Narborough
Rear-Admiral Sir John Narborough or Narbrough was an English naval commander of the 17th century. He served with distinction during the Anglo-Dutch Wars and against the Barbary Coast pirates.-Early life:...
's fleet in the Mediterranean, and won his first distinction in arms in the destruction of the dey's fleet under the very guns of Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
. His father died on 5 June 1675, and Charles Mordaunt succeeded to the peerage as Viscount Mordaunt.
On his return from the second expedition to Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
, he plunged into active political life as a zealous Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
and an unswerving opponent of the heir to the throne James, Duke of York
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
. When James succeeded to the throne, Mordaunt's continued hostility forced him to repair to Holland
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1686, when he proposed to William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
to invade England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The disposition of the cold and cautious William had little in common with the fierce and turbulent Mordaunt. His plan was rejected, though the prudent prince of Orange deemed it judicious to retain his services. When William sailed to Torbay
Torbay
Torbay is an east-facing bay and natural harbour, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Part of the ceremonial county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1998...
his friend accompanied him, and when the Dutch prince was safely established on the throne of England, honours without stint were showered upon Lord Mordaunt.
First lord of the treasury
He was sworn of the privy council on 14 February 1689, on the 8 April of the same year appointed first lord of the treasuryFirst Lord of the Treasury
The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is now always also the Prime Minister...
, and a day later advanced in the peerage by creation as earl of Monmouth. (His maternal grandparents were Thomas Carey and his wife Margaret Smith. Thomas was the second son of Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth
Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth
Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth was an English nobleman and courtier. He was the youngest son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon and Anne Morgan, daughter of Sir Thomas Morgan and Anne Whitney.As a young man he accompanied several diplomatic missions abroad and took part in military expeditions...
and his wife Elizabeth Trevanion. The Monmouth creation thus returned the earldom to the descendant of an earlier holder (Created 1626, this peerage became extinct in 1661 on the death of the 2nd Earl; it may have been also created to obliterate the memory of the Duke of Monmouth)
In less than a year, he was out of the treasury, but he still remained by the person of his monarch and was with him in his dangerous passage to Holland in January 1691. He was one of the eighteen peers who signed the protest against the rejection, on 7 December 1692, of the motion for the appointment of a committee to inquire into the conduct of the war, and although William had refused his consent to a bill for triennial parliaments in the previous session, Lord Monmouth did not shrink from reintroducing it in December 1693. This led to a disagreement with the court, though the final breach did not take place until January 1697, when Monmouth was accused of complicity in Sir John Fenwick's conspiracy and of the use of undutiful words towards the king. He was committed to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, staying in confinement until 30 March 1697, and deprived of his employments. Some consolation for these troubles came to him on 19 June of the same year, when he succeeded to the Earldom of Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
, by the death of his uncle Henry Mordaunt
Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough
Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough, KG, PC, FRS was an English soldier, peer and courtier.-Early life:Styled Lord Mordaunt from 1628, he was the eldest son of John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough...
, 2nd Earl.
Release from the Tower
The four years after his release from the Tower were mainly passed in retirement, but on the accession of Queen AnneAnne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
, he plunged into political life again with avidity. His first act was to draw down on himself in February 1702 the censure of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
for the part which he took in the attempt to secure the return of his nominee for the borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of Malmesbury. Through the fear of the ministry that his restless spirit would drive him into opposition to its measures if he stayed at home, he was appointed early in 1705 to command an expedition to Spain.
Sole commander of land forces
He led English and Dutch troops in SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. He was created the sole commander of the land forces in April 1705 and joint-commander with Sir Cloudesley Shovell
Cloudesley Shovell
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell , was an English naval officer. Rising through the ranks and fighting in many of the important battles of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, he became a popular British hero, whose celebrated career was brought to an end in a disastrous shipwreck in...
of the fleet on 1 May, after he had been reinstated a member of the privy council on 29 March. He arrived at Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
on 20 June 1705, sailed for Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
(August 1705) on an expedition for the conquest of Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, and began to besiege the city
Siege of Barcelona (1705)
The Siege of Barcelona took place between 14 September and 19 October 1705 during the War of the Spanish Succession when an Allied army supporting the Austrian pretender to the Spanish throne led by Lord Peterborough captured the city of Barcelona from its Franco-Spanish Bourbonic defenders.An...
. For some weeks, the operations were not prosecuted with vigour and Peterborough urged that the fleet should transport the troops to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, but the energetic counsels of the Archduke Charles of Austria at last prevailed and by the 14th of October the city fell into his hands. On 24 January 1706 he entered Valencia
Valencia (city in Spain)
Valencia or València is the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with a population of 809,267 in 2010. It is the 15th-most populous municipality in the European Union...
in triumph, but these movements had weakened the garrison at Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, which was now besieged by a superior French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
force under Tessé
René de Froulay de Tessé
René de Froulay, comte de Tessé was a French Marshal and diplomat.- Military career :Tessé was born at Le Mans...
. The garrison, commanded by the Archduke, defended their positions with great bravery, but would have been obliged to surrender had not the fleet of Sir John Leake
John Leake
Sir John Leake was an English Admiral in the Royal Navy and a politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1715.Leake was born at Rotherhithe, the second son of Richard Leake, Master Gunner of England....
, answering the appeals of Charles but contrary to the original orders of Peterborough, come to their assistance on 8 May, whereupon the French raised the siege on 11 May.
It is difficult to understand the action of Peterborough during this campaign, unless on the supposition that he was out of sympathy with the movement for placing an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n prince on the throne of Spain. When Charles determined upon uniting with Lord Galway's troops and marching to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, the advice of Peterborough again hindered his progress. At first, he urged an advance by Valencia as supplies had there been collected, then be withdrew this statement; afterwards he delayed for some weeks to join Galway, who was in need of succour, but ultimately reached the camp on 6 August.
The leaders of the army differed in their views, and Lord Peterborough was recalled to England to explain his conduct (March 1707). He was charged with incompetence and exceeding his authority, and his actions became the subject of partisan controversy between the Tories
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
, who supported him, and the Whigs, who did not.
Return to England
On his return to England, he allied himself with the Tories, and received his reward in being contrasted, much to his advantage, with the Whig victor of Blenheim and Malplaquet. The differences between the three peers, Peterborough, Galway and Tyrawley, who had served in Spain, formed the subject of angry debates in the House of LordsHouse of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, when the majority declared for Peterborough; after some fiery speeches the resolution that he had performed many great and eminent services was carried, and votes of thanks were passed to him without any division (January and February 1708). His new friends were not desirous of detaining him long on English soil, and they sent him on a mission to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where he characteristically engaged the ministry in pledges of which they disapproved. His resentment at this disagreement was softened by the command of a cavalry regiment, and by his appointment as a Knight of the Garter (August 1713). With the accession of George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
, Lord Peterborough's influence was gone. Worn out with suffering, he died at Lisbon on 25 October 1735. His remains were brought to England, and buried at Turvey in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
on 21 November.
Character and family
Lord Peterborough was short in stature and spare in habit of body. His activity knew no bounds. He was said to have seen more kings and postilions than any man in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and the whole point of Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
's lines on Mordanto consisted in a description of the speed with which he hastened from capital to capital. He was eloquent in debate and intrepid in war, but his influence in the senate was ruined through his inconsistency, and his vigour in the field was wasted through his want of union with his colleagues.
In 1678, Charles married Carey Fraser
Carey Fraser
Lady Carey Fraser was a British courtier.She was Maid of Honour to Queen Catherine of Braganza from 1674 - 1680.Lady Carey is one of the Hampton Court Beauties painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller for Queen Mary II...
(died 13 May 1709), daughter of Sir Alexander Fraser of Dores, Kincardineshire
Kincardineshire
The County of Kincardine, also known as Kincardineshire or The Mearns was a local government county on the coast of northeast Scotland...
. She died on 13 May 1709, and was buried at Turvey. They had three children:
- Lady Henrietta Mordaunt (d. 1760), married the 2nd Duke of GordonAlexander Gordon, 2nd Duke of GordonGeneral Alexander Gordon, 2nd Duke of Gordon , styled Earl of Enzie until 1684 and the Marquess of Huntly from 1684 to 1716, was a Scottish peer....
and had issue. Her grandson the 4th Duke eventually inherited the Mordaunt barony. - John Mordaunt, Viscount MordauntJohn Mordaunt, Viscount MordauntJohn Mordaunt, Viscount Mordaunt was an English soldier and politician.The eldest son of Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough, he was a political ally of his father's and managed the attempt to impeach Lord Somers in the House of Commons in 1701.He saw distinguished service during the War of...
(c.1681–1710) ancestor of the 4th Earl. - Capt. Hon. Henry Mordaunt, RN (d. 27 February 1710)
In 1722, he secretly married Anastasia Robinson
Anastasia Robinson
Anastasia Robinson was an English soprano, later contralto, of the Baroque era. She is best remembered for her association with the composer George Frideric Handel, in whose operas she sang.-Early life and initial career:...
(ca. 1695-1755), a famous dramatic singer (from 1714) of great beauty and sweetness of disposition, daughter of Thomas Robinson (died 1722), a portrait painter; but she was at first unrecognized as his wife, and lived apart from him (regarded merely as his mistress) with her two sisters at Parson's Green. She remained on the operatic stage until 1724.
A second marriage ceremony appears to have taken place a few months before his death in 1735. By his second wife, he appears to have had no issue. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), it was only a few months before his death that Anastasia died; however, this is flatly contradicted by the evidence that Anastasia, Countess of Peterborough and Monmouth survived until 1755 and that the purported second marriage ceremony never took place in 1735.