SOMERSET, CHARLES SEYMOUR, 6TH DUKE OF, BARON SEYMOUR ...

born Aug. 12, 1662 died Dec. 2, 1748, Petworth, Sussex, Eng. British statesman during the reign of Queen Anne, who helped to secure the accession of George I of Hanover. His brother, Francis Seymour, inherited the dukedom on the death of a cousin (the 4th duke) but was shot in 1678 at the age of 20 by a Genoese gentleman named Horatio Botti, whose wife Somerset was said to have insulted. Charles, who thus inherited the barony of Seymour of Trowbridge along with the dukedom of Somerset, was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge; and in 1682 he married a great heiress, Elizabeth, daughter of Joceline Percy, earl of Northumberland, who brought him immense estates, including Alnwick Castle, Petworth, Syon House, and Northumberland House in London. In 1683 Somerset received an appointment in the King's household, and two years later a colonelcy of dragoons; but at the Revolution of 1688 he bore arms for William of Orange. Having befriended Princess Anne in 1692, he became a great favourite with her after her accession to the throne, receiving the post of master of the horse in 1702. Finding himself neglected by Marlborough, he made friends with the Tories and succeeded in retaining the Queen's confidence, while his wife replaced the Duchess of Marlborough as mistress of the robes in 1711. In the memorable crisis when Anne was at the point of death, Somerset acted with Argyll, Shrewsbury, and other Whig nobles who, by insisting on their right to be present in the privy council, secured the Hanoverian succession to the crown. He retained the office of master of the horse under George I until 1716, when he was dismissed and retired into private life.