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Notes

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Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort, was renowned for his amorous escapades, his leadership of the Badminton and Windsor hunts and as a member of the 'Four-in-Hand Club'. The club was a group of young men who bribed coachmen to give them the reins to their vehicles then drove them at breakneck speeds along the poor British roads.
Somerset joined the 10th Hussars and was Aide-de-Camp to the Duke of Wellington in the 1812–1814 Peninsular War in Spain. He married Wellington's niece Georgiana Fitzroy and became infamous after her death for eloping with her half-sister, Emily Smith. At the time such a marriage was considered to be against the Bible's teachings.

National Portrait Gallery, London

London

Title

Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort

Date

1845

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 26.7 x W 22.2 cm

Accession number

2806

Acquisition method

Purchased, 1936

Work type

Painting

National Portrait Gallery, London

St Martin’s Place, London, Greater London WC2H 0HE England

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Artist or maker

Henry Thomas Alken

1785–1851

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