Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle


Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, KG, PC, styled Lord Henry Cavendish until 1659 and Viscount Mansfield from 1659 to 1676, was an English politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1660 until 1676, when he inherited the dukedom. He is also an 8th great-grandfather to King Charles III.

Life and career

Cavendish was the only surviving son of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, and his first wife, Elizabeth Basset. His maternal grandparents were William Basset and Judith Austen, daughter of Thomas Austen. See Wikipedia William Cavendish 1st Duke of Newcastle married Elizabeth Howard. their fourth child being Henry Cavendish 2nd Duke of Newcastle.
After the Restoration of the Monarchy, he was appointed Master of the Robes and a Gentleman of the Bedchamber. In April 1660, Lord Mansfield was elected Member of Parliament for Derbyshire in the Convention Parliament. He was elected MP for Northumberland in 1661 for the Cavalier Parliament.
In 1676, he inherited the title of Duke of Newcastle and the family seats of Welbeck Abbey, Bolsover Castle and Nottingham Castle on the death of his father and was invested a Knight of the Garter in 1677. He died in 1691, leaving no surviving male heir, and thus the dukedom became extinct. Welbeck Abbey and other East Midlands estates passed to his favourite daughter Margaret, who had married John Holles, for whom the dukedom was recreated in 1694. The bequest was unsuccessfully contested by Cavendish's other daughters.
The department of Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham, holds a number of papers relating to the 2nd Duke of Newcastle – the Cavendish Papers, part of the Portland Collection, includes some of his personal papers; and the Newcastle Collection includes estate papers and family settlements from the time of the 2nd Duke.

Marriage and issue

In 1652, Henry married Frances Pierrepont, daughter of The Hon. William Pierrepont, and they had six children:
Through Henry, King Charles III and Queen Camilla are ninth cousins once removed.