Edward Capel

Who was Edward Capel?

General Thomas Edward Capel was an English soldier and sportsman.

He was the son of William Capel, 4th Earl of Essex, by his second wife, Harriet Bladen, and the elder brother of Rev. William Robert Capel. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford, where he graduated with a BA in 1790, and was subsequently a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford.

As a cricketer, Capel was mainly associated with Marylebone Cricket Club. He made 3 known appearances in first-class matches in the 1790 season.

Capel served in the Flanders Campaign of the late 1790s. On 2 March 1795, Capel was appointed a Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chamber. In the same year, he was commissioned lieutenant and captain in the 1st Foot Guards, and became captain and lieutenant-colonel in 1803. Capel was promoted from a Gentleman Usher to a Groom of the Bedchamber on 31 October 1808, but was not immediately present at court, as he served with the 3rd Btn. of the Guards during Sir John Moore's campaign of 1808–1809 in the Peninsular War, including the Battle of Corunna. He was presented at the royal levee on 6 March 1809, after returning from Corunna.