Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset

Who was Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset?

Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, sometimes referred to as the "Proud Duke", was a British peer. The son of Charles Seymour, 2nd Baron Seymour of Trowbridge, and Elizabeth Alington, he succeeded his brother Francis Seymour, 5th Duke of Somerset, in the dukedom when the latter was shot in 1678. He also inherited the title of Baron Seymour of Trowbridge.

Charles was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge, where a portrait by Nathaniel Dance-Holland hangs in the college collection.

In 1682 he married a great heiress, Elizabeth Percy, daughter of Joceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland, who brought him immense estates, including Alnwick Castle, Petworth House, 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 Glorious Revolution he bore arms for the Prince of Orange. Having befriended Princess Anne in 1692, he became a favourite of hers after her accession to the throne, receiving the post of Master of the Horse in 1702.