Richard Somerset, 2nd Baron Raglan

Who was Richard Somerset, 2nd Baron Raglan?

Richard Henry FitzRoy Somerset, 2nd Baron Raglan was a British peer.

The second son of the 1st Baron Raglan, Somerset was born in Paris and educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He came to Ceylon with Sir Colin Campbell as his Private Secretary and was subsequently taken into the Ceylon Civil Service in 1841. In 1844 he was Assistant Government Agent of Colombo. He left the island in 1849 to become the Private Secretary of George V of Hanover, leaving that office in 1855 when he succeeded to his father's title. Parliament granted him and his successor a pension of £ 2,000 for the service of his father. The family seat is Cefntilla Court, Llandenny in Monmouthshire. An inscription over the porch dated 1858 reads: “This house with 238 acres of land was purchased by 1623 of the friends, admirers and comrades in arms of the late Field Marshal Lord Raglan GCB and presented by them to his son and his heirs for ever in a lasting memorial of affectionate regard and respect”.

Cornet Gloucestershire Yeomanry 1856 and Captain 1864–75 he became a Lord-in-Waiting from 1858–59 and 1866–69, under The Earl of Derby's and Disraeli's governments respectively.