Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury
Encyclopedia
Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, KG
, PC (24 July 1660 – 1 February 1718) was an English
statesman. Born to Roman Catholic
parents, he remained in that faith until 1679 when—during the time of the Popish Plot
and following the advice of the divine John Tillotson
—he converted to the Church of England
. Shrewsbury took his seat in the House of Lords
in 1680 and three years later was appointed Gentleman-Extraordinary of the Bedchamber, suggesting he was in favour at the court of Charles II
.
With the accession in 1685 of James II
Shrewsbury was appointed a captain in order to defeat the Monmouth rebellion
, although he resigned his commission in 1687 after refusing to bow to pressure from James to convert back to the Catholic faith. Making contact with William of Orange
, Shrewsbury's home became a meeting place for the opposition to James II and Shrewsbury was one of seven English statesmen to sign the invitation to William to invade England in June 1688. In September he fled England for Holland and returned with William to England in November. Shrewsbury was influential in the making of the Revolution Settlement, arguing strongly in favour of recognising William and Mary as sovereigns.
However in 1690 Shrewsbury resigned from William's government due to ill-health and opposition to the dissolution of Parliament and the dropping of the Bill that would have required an oath abjuring James as king. In opposition, Shrewsbury contacted the exiled Stuart court in France as a prelude to a Stuart restoration. However in 1694 Shrewsbury returned to government and was prominent in persuading the House of Commons to vote for the funds needed for William's war against France. Ill-health led to his resignation in 1698 but he returned to the government in 1699 until resigning again in 1700.
From 1700 until 1705, Shrewsbury was in self-imposed exile abroad, visiting France, Switzerland, Italy, and marrying Countess Adelaide Roffeni. Upon his return to England, Shrewsbury concentrated on the construction of Heythrop Park
. In April 1710 Shrewsbury return to government and was an early supporter of the Tory efforts to negotiate peace with France to end the War of the Spanish Succession
, concerned at the negative financial impact it was having on landowners. However he was uncomfortable with peace negotiations that left out Britain's ally, the Dutch. In November 1712 he was appointed ambassador to France and then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, returning to England in June 1714.
In July Shrewsbury was appointed Lord Treasurer but in August Queen Anne died and George I succeeded her. the new Whig regime opposed Shrewsbury remaining in government and by 1715 had lost all his governmental offices, although until his death he remained George's Groom of the Stole. Shrewsbury opposed the Whig's attack on the previous Tory ministers and opposed their other policies in the Lords, making contact with the Stuart Pretender
, sending him money. He died of inflammation of the lungs in 1718.
and his second wife, formerly Lady Anne-Marie Brudenell
, a daughter of 2nd Earl of Cardigan (she became the notorious mistress of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham
, who killed her husband in a duel in 1668). Talbot was a godson of King Charles II
, after whom he was named, and he was brought up as a Roman Catholic, but in 1679 under the influence of John Tillotson
he became a member of the Church of England.
, received an appointment in the household of Charles II, and served in the army under James II
. Nonetheless, in 1687 he was in correspondence with the Prince of Orange
, and he was one of the seven signatories of the letter of invitation to William
in the following year. He contributed towards defraying the expenses of the projected invasion, and having crossed to Holland to join William, he landed with him in England in November 1688 during the Glorious Revolution
.
in the first administration of William and Mary
, but he resigned office in 1690 when the Tories gained the upper hand in parliament. While in opposition he brought forward the Triennial Bill
, to which the King refused assent. In 1694 he again became Secretary of State
; but there is some evidence that as early as 1690, when he resigned, he had gone over to the Jacobites
and was in correspondence with James at his court in exile at Saint-Germain-en-Laye
, though it has been stated on the other hand that these relations were entered upon with William's connivance for reasons of policy.
However this may be, William appears to have had no suspicion of Shrewsbury's loyalty, for on 30 April 1694 the latter was created Marquess of Alton and Duke of Shrewsbury, and he acted as one of the regent
s during the King's absence from England in the two following years. In 1696 definite accusations of treason
were brought against him by Sir John Fenwick
, which William himself communicated to Shrewsbury; and about this time the Secretary of State took but a small part in public business, again professing his anxiety to resign. His plea of ill-health was a genuine one, and in 1700 the king reluctantly consented to his retirement into private life.
, whence in 1701 he wrote a celebrated letter to Lord Somers
expressing his abhorrence of public life and declaring that if he had a son he "would sooner bind him to a cobbler than a courtier, and a hangman than a statesman."
in the Tory administration, to which the queen appointed him without the knowledge of Godolphin
and Marlborough
; his wife was at the same time made a Lady of the Bedchamber
.
After a diplomatic mission to France
for the purpose of negotiating preliminaries of peace, Shrewsbury became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
in 1713; but he was in London in July 1714 during the memorable crisis occasioned by the impending death of Queen Anne. On 29 July, when the queen was dying, the Earl of Oxford
received his long-delayed dismissal from the office of Lord Treasurer. On 30 July, Shrewsbury and other ministers assembled at Kensington Palace
and, being admitted to the queen's bedchamber, Bolingbroke
recommended the appointment of Shrewsbury to the vacant treasurership; Anne at once placed the staff of that high office in the duke's hands.
, and in defeating the design of the Jacobites to place the son
of James II on the throne. His disinclination for the highest political offices remained, however, as great as before; and having resigned the lord-treasurership and the lord-lieutenancy of Ireland, he was appointed Lord Chamberlain
. This place he resigned in July 1715, and he died on 1 February 1718.
described him as "the finest gentleman we have", and as "the favourite of the nation", while William III spoke of him as "the king of hearts". Like most of his contemporaries he endeavoured to keep himself in favour both with the exiled house of Stuart and with the reigning sovereign in England; but at the two critical junctures of 1688 and 1714 he acted decisively in favour of the Protestant succession. At other times he appeared weak and vacillating, and he never wholeheartedly supported either Whigs or Tories, though he co-operated with each in turn. His magnanimous disposition saved him from the vindictiveness of the party politician of the period; and the weak health from which he suffered through life probably combined with a congenital lack of ambition to prevent his grasping the power which his personality and talents might have placed in his hands.
, a position which she retained till her death on 29 June 1726. Shrewsbury left no children, and at his death the dukedom became extinct, the earldom of Shrewsbury passing to his cousin Gilbert Talbot.
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 (24 July 1660 – 1 February 1718) was an English
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...
statesman. Born to Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
parents, he remained in that faith until 1679 when—during the time of the Popish Plot
Popish Plot
The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...
and following the advice of the divine John Tillotson
John Tillotson
John Tillotson was an Archbishop of Canterbury .-Curate and rector:Tillotson was the son of a Puritan clothier at Haughend, Sowerby, Yorkshire. He entered as a pensioner of Clare Hall, Cambridge, in 1647, graduated in 1650 and was made fellow of his college in 1651...
—he converted to the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. Shrewsbury took his seat in the House of Lords
House 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....
in 1680 and three years later was appointed Gentleman-Extraordinary of the Bedchamber, suggesting he was in favour at the court of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
.
With the accession in 1685 of James II
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...
Shrewsbury was appointed a captain in order to defeat the Monmouth rebellion
Monmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion,The Revolt of the West or The West Country rebellion of 1685, was an attempt to overthrow James II, who had become King of England, King of Scots and King of Ireland at the death of his elder brother Charles II on 6 February 1685. James II was a Roman Catholic, and some...
, although he resigned his commission in 1687 after refusing to bow to pressure from James to convert back to the Catholic faith. Making contact with 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...
, Shrewsbury's home became a meeting place for the opposition to James II and Shrewsbury was one of seven English statesmen to sign the invitation to William to invade England in June 1688. In September he fled England for Holland and returned with William to England in November. Shrewsbury was influential in the making of the Revolution Settlement, arguing strongly in favour of recognising William and Mary as sovereigns.
However in 1690 Shrewsbury resigned from William's government due to ill-health and opposition to the dissolution of Parliament and the dropping of the Bill that would have required an oath abjuring James as king. In opposition, Shrewsbury contacted the exiled Stuart court in France as a prelude to a Stuart restoration. However in 1694 Shrewsbury returned to government and was prominent in persuading the House of Commons to vote for the funds needed for William's war against France. Ill-health led to his resignation in 1698 but he returned to the government in 1699 until resigning again in 1700.
From 1700 until 1705, Shrewsbury was in self-imposed exile abroad, visiting France, Switzerland, Italy, and marrying Countess Adelaide Roffeni. Upon his return to England, Shrewsbury concentrated on the construction of Heythrop Park
Heythrop Park
Heythrop Park is an early 18th century country house southeast of Heythrop in Oxfordshire. It was designed by the architect Thomas Archer in the Baroque style for Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury. A fire in 1831 destroyed the original interior. From 1922 until 1999 Heythrop housed first a...
. In April 1710 Shrewsbury return to government and was an early supporter of the Tory efforts to negotiate peace with France to end the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, concerned at the negative financial impact it was having on landowners. However he was uncomfortable with peace negotiations that left out Britain's ally, the Dutch. In November 1712 he was appointed ambassador to France and then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, returning to England in June 1714.
In July Shrewsbury was appointed Lord Treasurer but in August Queen Anne died and George I succeeded her. the new Whig regime opposed Shrewsbury remaining in government and by 1715 had lost all his governmental offices, although until his death he remained George's Groom of the Stole. Shrewsbury opposed the Whig's attack on the previous Tory ministers and opposed their other policies in the Lords, making contact with the Stuart Pretender
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
, sending him money. He died of inflammation of the lungs in 1718.
Early life
He was the only son of the 11th Earl of ShrewsburyFrancis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury
Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury, 11th Earl of Waterford was an English peer, the second son of the 10th Earl of Shrewsbury....
and his second wife, formerly Lady Anne-Marie Brudenell
Anna Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury
Anna Maria Talbot was Countess of Shrewsbury from 1659 to 1668, by virtue of her marriage to Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury....
, a daughter of 2nd Earl of Cardigan (she became the notorious mistress of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, 20th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG, PC, FRS was an English statesman and poet.- Upbringing and education :...
, who killed her husband in a duel in 1668). Talbot was a godson of King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, after whom he was named, and he was brought up as a Roman Catholic, but in 1679 under the influence of John Tillotson
John Tillotson
John Tillotson was an Archbishop of Canterbury .-Curate and rector:Tillotson was the son of a Puritan clothier at Haughend, Sowerby, Yorkshire. He entered as a pensioner of Clare Hall, Cambridge, in 1647, graduated in 1650 and was made fellow of his college in 1651...
he became a member of the Church of England.
James II and the Glorious Revolution
On his father's death he succeeded to the Earldom of ShrewsburyEarl of Shrewsbury
Earl of Shrewsbury is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the peerage of England.-First creation, 1074:The first creation occurred in 1074 for Roger de Montgomerie, one of William the Conqueror's principal counselors...
, received an appointment in the household of Charles II, and served in the army under James II
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...
. Nonetheless, in 1687 he was in correspondence with the Prince 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...
, and he was one of the seven signatories of the letter of invitation to William
Invitation to William
The Invitation to William was a letter sent by seven notable Englishmen, later named the Immortal Seven, to William III, Prince of Orange, received by him on 30 June 1688...
in the following year. He contributed towards defraying the expenses of the projected invasion, and having crossed to Holland to join William, he landed with him in England in November 1688 during the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
.
William III
Shrewsbury became Secretary of State for the Southern DepartmentSecretary of State for the Southern Department
The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782.Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two British Secretaries of State were divided not based on the principles of modern ministerial divisions, but...
in the first administration of William and Mary
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
, but he resigned office in 1690 when the Tories gained the upper hand in parliament. While in opposition he brought forward the Triennial Bill
Triennial Acts
The Triennial Act 1641 was an Act passed on 15 February 1641, by the English Long Parliament, during the reign of King Charles I. The act requires that Parliament meet for at least a fifty-day session once every three years. It was intended to prevent kings from ruling without Parliament, as...
, to which the King refused assent. In 1694 he again became Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
; but there is some evidence that as early as 1690, when he resigned, he had gone over to the Jacobites
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
and was in correspondence with James at his court in exile at Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...
, though it has been stated on the other hand that these relations were entered upon with William's connivance for reasons of policy.
However this may be, William appears to have had no suspicion of Shrewsbury's loyalty, for on 30 April 1694 the latter was created Marquess of Alton and Duke of Shrewsbury, and he acted as one of the regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
s during the King's absence from England in the two following years. In 1696 definite accusations of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
were brought against him by Sir John Fenwick
John Fenwick
Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet was an English Jacobite conspirator, who succeeded to the Baronetcy of Fenwick on the death of his father in 1676....
, which William himself communicated to Shrewsbury; and about this time the Secretary of State took but a small part in public business, again professing his anxiety to resign. His plea of ill-health was a genuine one, and in 1700 the king reluctantly consented to his retirement into private life.
Exile
For the next seven years Shrewsbury lived abroad, chiefly at RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, whence in 1701 he wrote a celebrated letter to Lord Somers
John Somers, 1st Baron Somers
John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, PC, FRS was an English Whig jurist and statesman. Somers first came to national attention in the trial of the Seven Bishops where he was on the their defence counsel. He published tracts on political topics such as the succession to the crown, where he elaborated his...
expressing his abhorrence of public life and declaring that if he had a son he "would sooner bind him to a cobbler than a courtier, and a hangman than a statesman."
Lord Chamberlain
On the accession of Queen Anne the Whig leaders made an ineffectual attempt to persuade Shrewsbury to return to office. When he returned at last to England on 30 December 1705, he gradually became alienated from his old political associates, and in 1710 he accepted the post of Lord ChamberlainLord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
in the Tory administration, to which the queen appointed him without the knowledge of Godolphin
Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin
Sir Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, KG, PC was a leading English politician of the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
and Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
; his wife was at the same time made a Lady of the Bedchamber
Lady of the Bedchamber
This is an incomplete list of those who have served as Lady of the Bedchamber in the British Royal Household...
.
After a diplomatic mission to France
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...
for the purpose of negotiating preliminaries of peace, Shrewsbury became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
in 1713; but he was in London in July 1714 during the memorable crisis occasioned by the impending death of Queen Anne. On 29 July, when the queen was dying, the Earl of Oxford
Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer
Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer KG was a British politician and statesman of the late Stuart and early Georgian periods. He began his career as a Whig, before defecting to a new Tory Ministry. Between 1711 and 1714 he served as First Lord of the Treasury, effectively Queen...
received his long-delayed dismissal from the office of Lord Treasurer. On 30 July, Shrewsbury and other ministers assembled at Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and...
and, being admitted to the queen's bedchamber, Bolingbroke
Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke
Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically despite his atheism. In 1715 he supported the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 which sought to overthrow the...
recommended the appointment of Shrewsbury to the vacant treasurership; Anne at once placed the staff of that high office in the duke's hands.
Accession of George I
Thus, when the queen died on 1 August, Shrewsbury was in a position of supreme power with reference to the momentous question of the succession to the crown. He threw his influence into the scale in favour of the Elector of Hanover, and was powerfully influential in bringing about the peaceful accession of George IGeorge 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....
, and in defeating the design of the Jacobites to place the son
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
of James II on the throne. His disinclination for the highest political offices remained, however, as great as before; and having resigned the lord-treasurership and the lord-lieutenancy of Ireland, he was appointed Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
. This place he resigned in July 1715, and he died on 1 February 1718.
Legacy
The Duke of Shrewsbury was one of the greatest noblemen of the reign of Queen Anne. Though blind in one eye, he was strikingly handsome in person, his demeanour was dignified and his manners full of grace and courtesy. SwiftJonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
described him as "the finest gentleman we have", and as "the favourite of the nation", while William III spoke of him as "the king of hearts". Like most of his contemporaries he endeavoured to keep himself in favour both with the exiled house of Stuart and with the reigning sovereign in England; but at the two critical junctures of 1688 and 1714 he acted decisively in favour of the Protestant succession. At other times he appeared weak and vacillating, and he never wholeheartedly supported either Whigs or Tories, though he co-operated with each in turn. His magnanimous disposition saved him from the vindictiveness of the party politician of the period; and the weak health from which he suffered through life probably combined with a congenital lack of ambition to prevent his grasping the power which his personality and talents might have placed in his hands.
Marriage
In 1705 Shrewsbury married Adelaide Roffeni, daughter of the Marquis Andrea Paleotti and Christina Dudley Paleotti of Bologna. This lady, who is said to have had "a great many engaging qualities" besides many accomplishments, was the subject of much malicious gossip. She was the widow, or as some declared, the mistress of a Count Brachiano; and Lady Cowper reported that the lady's brother had forced Shrewsbury to marry her "after an intrigue together". After Shrewsbury's return to England the duchess became conspicuous in London society, where the caustic wit of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was exercised at her expense. During the Paris embassy she became extremely popular, due to her hospitality and lively conversation. The Duc de Saint-Simon thought that her eccentricity bordered on madness, but did praise the simple, practical hairstyle which she made fashionable. On the accession of George I the duchess of Shrewsbury became a lady of the bedchamber to the Princess of WalesCaroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state...
, a position which she retained till her death on 29 June 1726. Shrewsbury left no children, and at his death the dukedom became extinct, the earldom of Shrewsbury passing to his cousin Gilbert Talbot.
Further reading
- W. Coxe (ed.), Private and Original Correspondence of Charles Talbot, Duke of Shrewsbury (1821).
- Edward Gregg, Queen Anne (1980).
- Henry Horwitz, Parliament, Policy and Politics in the Reign of William III (1977).
- G. P. R. James, Letters Illustrative of the Reign of William III from 1696 to 1708 addressed to the Duke of Shrewsbury by James Vernon, 3 vols. (1841).
- T. C. Nicholson and A. S. Turberville, Charles Talbot, Duke of Shrewsbury (1930).
- Daniel Szechi, ‘The Duke of Shrewsbury's contacts with the Jacobites in 1713’, Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, 56 (1983), pp. 229–32.