William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle

Who was William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle?

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne KG KB PC was an English polymath and aristocrat, having been a poet, equestrian, playwright, swordsman, politician, architect, diplomat and soldier. Born into the very wealthy Cavendish family at Handsworth in the county of Yorkshire, William's family had a good relationship with the ruling Stuart monarchy and began to gather prominence after he was invested as a Knight of the Bath and soon inherited his father's Northern England estates.

At first a courtier of James I of England, he would later strike up friendships with Charles I of England and his wife Henrietta Maria for whom he hosted lavish banquets. He was created Marquess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and entrusted with the education of the royal couple's son, the future Charles II of England. Cavendish was a staunch royalist helping to fund the king in his Bishops' Wars and then during the English Civil War he was made a general for the fight in the North of England against the roundheads. In 1645 he married the English poet, dramatist, philosopher, and natural scientist Margaret Cavendish.