Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu
His Grace Ralph Montagu | |
---|---|
Duke of Montagu | |
Reign | 1705–1709 |
Successor | John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu |
Born | 24 December 1638 |
Died | 9 March 1709 |
Noble family | Montagu |
Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Wriothesley Elizabeth Monck, Duchess of Albemarle |
Issue | John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu Anne Montagu |
Father | Edward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton |
Mother | Anne Winwood |
Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu (24 December 1638 – 9 March 1709) was an English courtier, diplomat, politician and peer.[1]
Background
Ralph Montagu was the second son of Edward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton (1616–1684), and Anne Winwood, daughter of the Secretary of State Ralph Winwood.[1] The peerage of his father was one of several granted in the seventeenth century to different members of the Montagu family.
Sir
Career
The elder son, Edward, was
Having quarrelled with Danby and the Duchess of Cleveland, who denounced him to the king, Montagu was elected member of Parliament for Northampton in 1678, with the intention of bringing about the fall of Danby; but, having produced letters seriously compromising the minister, the dissolution of Parliament placed him in such danger of arrest that he attempted to fly to France. Foiled in this design, he continued to intrigue against the government, supporting the movement for excluding the Duke of York from the succession and for recognizing the Duke of Monmouth as heir to the crown. After securing re-election to Parliament for Huntingdonshire in 1679 and again for Northampton in 1679 and 1681 his safety was then ensured by Parliamentary immunity. His elder brother having predeceased his father, Ralph became Baron Montagu of Boughton on the death of the latter in 1684.
Notwithstanding his former intrigues, Montagu gained the favour of King
Ralph Montagu's position was further strengthened in 1705 by the marriage of his son and heir to Mary, daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. In the same year he was created Duke of Montagu and Marquess of Monthermer. His London residence, Montagu House, Bloomsbury, was bought by the government in 1753 to hold the national collection of antiquities, and on its site was built the British Museum.
Children
Montagu and his first wife Elizabeth Wriothesley were parents to two children:
- John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu (c. 1690 – 5 July 1749).
- Anne Montagu, married Alexander Popham (grandson of Alexander Popham), and had a daughter, Elizabeth, (d. 20 March 1761), who married firstly Edward Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and secondly Francis Seymour, of Sherborne, Dorset.
Montagu and his second wife Elizabeth Monck had no known children. However, through this marriage the 1st Duke of Montagu acquired the Lordship of Bowland, one of northern England's most powerful feudal lordships which on his death passed to John, the son of his first marriage.
The pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Montagu was named after him.
References
- ^ a b Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
Further reading
- Boyer, Abel, History of the Reign of Queen Anne, vol. viii. (11 vols., London, 1703–1713).
- Burke, John Bernard, Genealogical History of Dormant (etc.) Peerages (London, 1883).
- Murdoch, Tessa (ed.), OCLC 78044620. For inventories of the duke's goods and chattels on his death in 1709, see pp. 14–26 (at Montagu House, Bloomsbury), pp. 51–61 (at Boughton House) and pp. 80–4 (at Ditton House).
- Attribution
public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Montagu, Ralph". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 747–748.
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