Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon PCHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons or House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Privy Council, the...
(13 March 1729–2 October 1789) was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
peerThe Peerage is a system of titles in the United Kingdom, which represents the upper ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system. The term is used both collectively to refer to the entire body of titles, and individually to refer to a specific title...
; the son of the
9th Earl of HuntingdonTheophilus Hastings, 9th Earl of Huntingdon was the son of Theophilus Hastings, 7th Earl of Huntingdon and Mary Frances Fowler. He married Lady Selina Shirley, daughter of Washington Shirley, 2nd Earl Ferrers and Mary Levinge, on 3 June 1728....
and his wife,
SelinaSelina, Countess of Huntingdon was an English religious leader who played a prominent part in the religious revival of the eighteenth century and the Methodist movement in England and Wales, and has left a Christian denomination in England and Sierra Leone.-Early life:Selena Hastings was born as...
. Hastings succeeded as
Earl of HuntingdonEarl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The title is associated with the ruling house of Scotland, and latterly with the Hastings family....
and
Baron BotreauxBaron Botreaux is a title in the Peerage of England, created in 1368.The title was created by writ of summons, by Edward III of England to William de Botreaux in 1368. In 1462, the 3rd Baron's daughter inherited the title and because she outlived both her son and grandson, it then passed to her...
on his father's demise in 1746. The earl never married but did father an illegitimate son, Charles, by a
ParisianParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
girl whilst on his
Grand TourThe Grand Tour was the traditional travel of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary...
in 1747 (which was sponsored by the
4th Earl of ChesterfieldPhilip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield PC KG was a British statesman and man of letters.A Whig, Lord Stanhope, as he was known until his father's death in 1726, was born in London, and educated at Cambridge and then went on the Grand Tour of the continent...
). On his return from
the continentEurope 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 water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, he did well at the
Royal CourtRoyal court, as distinguished from a court of law, may refer to:*Court , the household and entourage of a monarch or other ruler, the princely court*Royal Court Theatre, in London, England...
and was appointed
Master of the HorseThe Master of the Horse was a historical position of varying importance in several European nations.-The Roman Master of the Horse :...
in 1760.
Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon PCHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons or House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Privy Council, the...
(13 March 1729–2 October 1789) was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
peerThe Peerage is a system of titles in the United Kingdom, which represents the upper ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system. The term is used both collectively to refer to the entire body of titles, and individually to refer to a specific title...
; the son of the
9th Earl of HuntingdonTheophilus Hastings, 9th Earl of Huntingdon was the son of Theophilus Hastings, 7th Earl of Huntingdon and Mary Frances Fowler. He married Lady Selina Shirley, daughter of Washington Shirley, 2nd Earl Ferrers and Mary Levinge, on 3 June 1728....
and his wife,
SelinaSelina, Countess of Huntingdon was an English religious leader who played a prominent part in the religious revival of the eighteenth century and the Methodist movement in England and Wales, and has left a Christian denomination in England and Sierra Leone.-Early life:Selena Hastings was born as...
. Hastings succeeded as
Earl of HuntingdonEarl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The title is associated with the ruling house of Scotland, and latterly with the Hastings family....
and
Baron BotreauxBaron Botreaux is a title in the Peerage of England, created in 1368.The title was created by writ of summons, by Edward III of England to William de Botreaux in 1368. In 1462, the 3rd Baron's daughter inherited the title and because she outlived both her son and grandson, it then passed to her...
on his father's demise in 1746. The earl never married but did father an illegitimate son, Charles, by a
ParisianParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
girl whilst on his
Grand TourThe Grand Tour was the traditional travel of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary...
in 1747 (which was sponsored by the
4th Earl of ChesterfieldPhilip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield PC KG was a British statesman and man of letters.A Whig, Lord Stanhope, as he was known until his father's death in 1726, was born in London, and educated at Cambridge and then went on the Grand Tour of the continent...
). On his return from
the continentEurope 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 water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, he did well at the
Royal CourtRoyal court, as distinguished from a court of law, may refer to:*Court , the household and entourage of a monarch or other ruler, the princely court*Royal Court Theatre, in London, England...
and was appointed
Master of the HorseThe Master of the Horse was a historical position of varying importance in several European nations.-The Roman Master of the Horse :...
in 1760. He was a Bearer of the Third Sword at
George III'sGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
coronationA coronation is a ceremony marking the investiture of a monarch or their consort with regal power, specifically involving the placement of a crown upon his or her head, and the presentation of other items of regalia...
in 1761 and became
Groom of the StoleGroom of the Stole in the British Royal Household is a position evolved from the earlier Groom of the Stool, an office under Henry VIII of England. The title originally referred to the chamberpot of whomever the person served. The Groom of the Stool "preside[d] over the office of royal excretion,"...
that year. In 1762, he incorrectly announced to the King that his first born child, (
Prince GeorgeGeorge IV was the king of Hanover and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
), by
the QueenCharlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the queen-consort of the United Kingdom as wife of King George III.Queen Charlotte was a patroness of the arts, known to Johann Christian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, among others. She was also an amateur botanist who helped establish Kew Gardens...
, was a girl. The error was doubly unfortunate at the time, as the King had hoped for a male heir and he also promised £1,000 to the bearer of the news that he had a son and £500 that he had a girl (Huntingdon did not receive either). On his death in 1789, his earldom passed to a distant relative, Theophilus and his barony passed to his sister, Elizabeth.
Sources
- Darrly Lundy
- Magazine Antiques
- David, Saul
Julian Saul "Saul" David is a military historian, broadcaster and academic. He is best known for his work on the Indian Mutiny and the Anglo-Zulu War, as well as presenting and appearing in documentaries on British television covering imperial and military themes.David was educated at various...
(1998), The Prince of Pleasure ISBN 0-316-64616-4