Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset

The Duke of Somerset
Portrait by John Closterman, c. 1690–1692
Lord President of the Council
In office
29 January – 13 July 1702
MonarchsWilliam III
Anne
Preceded byThomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke
Succeeded byThomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke
Personal details
Born(1662-08-13)13 August 1662
Wiltshire, England
Died2 December 1748(1748-12-02) (aged 86)
Petworth, Great Britain
Resting placethe Seymour Chapel of Salisbury Cathedral
Spouse(s)Lady Elizabeth Percy
Lady Charlotte Finch
Children9, including Algernon
Parent(s)Charles Seymour, 2nd Baron Seymour of Trowbridge (father)
Elizabeth Alington (mother)
Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, portrait by Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1735–1811) (presumably a copy, artist aged 13 at sitter's death), collection of Trinity College, Cambridge. He was Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1689–1748
Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, portrait c. 1703 by Godfrey Kneller, National Portrait Gallery, London

Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, KG, PC, (13 August 1662 – 2 December 1748), known by the epithet "The Proud Duke", was an English aristocrat and courtier. He rebuilt Petworth House in Sussex, the ancient Percy seat inherited from his wife, in the palatial form which survives today. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, he was a remarkably handsome man, and inordinately fond of taking a conspicuous part in court ceremonial; his vanity, which earned him the sobriquet of "the proud duke", was a byword among his contemporaries and was the subject of numerous anecdotes; Macaulay described him as "a man in whom the pride of birth and rank amounted almost to a disease".[1]

  1. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Somerset, Earls and Dukes of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 385–386.