Henry Villiers-Stuart

Who was Henry Villiers-Stuart?

Henry Windsor Villiers-Stuart, was a British soldier, politician, clergyman and author. He was the son of Henry Villiers-Stuart, 1st and last Baron Stuart de Decies, son of Lord Henry Stuart and his wife, Lady Gertrude Amelia, daughter of George Mason-Villiers, 2nd Earl Grandison. His paternal great-grandfather was John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, son of Prime Minister John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute. Henry Villiers-Stuart had a younger sister, Pauline, later Lady Wheeler Cuffe.

His mother was Theresia Pauline, an Austrian Roman Catholic from Vienna. His parents married on 12 January 1826 in a Roman Catholic service at St James's, Spanish Place, London, and also under Scottish law, but there was uncertainty over whether Theresia was free to marry. Theresia's married name became Villiers-Stuart, and, as a result of her marriage, she was styled as Baroness Stuart de Decies on 10 March 1839. She died on 7 August 1867 at Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany and was interred at Villierstown, County Waterford, Ireland.

Villiers-Stuart was educated at University College, Durham and served in the Austrian Army from 1844–46 and in the British Army from 1846-47.