Charles Culling Smith (c. 1775 – 26 May 1853) was a British politician and courtier, most noted as the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington.[1][2]
Early life
editCulling Smith was born in c. 1775. He was the son of Charles Smith, Governor of Madras, and nephew of Sir Culling Smith, 1st Baronet.[3] His grandfather, Thomas Smith, Esq. of Hadley, Middlesex, was a prosperous London merchant.[2]
Career
editCulling Smith's brother-in-law, the Marquess Wellesley, became Foreign Secretary in the Tory government of Spencer Perceval in 1809, and Culling Smith was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on 13 December that year,[4] serving until 27 February 1812.[5] On 1 June 1812 he was one of the Esquires to his brother-in-law the Earl of Wellington at the latter's installation (by proxy) as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath.[6]
Culling Smith served as an equerry to the Duke of York, and was present in that capacity at the funeral of Queen Charlotte on 8 December 1818,[7] while his son was there as Page of Honour.[8] On 14 August 1820 Culling Smith and his wife, son, daughter and step-daughters were among the mourners at the funeral of the Duchess of York.[9] His last service as equerry was at the Duke of York's funeral on 20 January 1827.[10]
On 13 March 1827 Culling Smith was made one of the Commissioners of the Board of Customs,[11] but he continued to attend state occasions including the funeral of the Duke of Gloucester on 11 December 1834[12] and the Duke of Wellington on 18 November 1852.[13][14]
Personal life
edit
On 2 August 1799 he married Lady Anne FitzRoy (1768[15]–1844), widow of the Hon. Henry FitzRoy (fourth son of Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton) and only daughter of Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington.[16] By this marriage he gained two stepdaughters:
- Anne Caroline FitzRoy (died 1835)
- Georgiana Frederica FitzRoy (1792–1821), who married Henry Somerset, Marquess of Worcester, in 1814.[17]
His marriage to Lady Anne produced a further two children, a daughter and a son:
- Emily Frances Culling Smith (1800–1889), who married her half-sister's widower Lord Worcester (who succeeded his father as 7th Duke of Beaufort in 1835) in 1822. They had one son and six daughters.[17]
- Frederick William Culling Smith (c. 1802–1828), a godson of the Duke of York.[18] He was made a Page of Honour on 13 March 1812[19] and commissioned as a cornet in the 2nd Dragoon Guards on 22 April 1819.[20] He transferred into the Coldstream Guards as an ensign on 18 January 1820[18] and reached the rank of lieutenant in that regiment before promotion to the Royal Horse Guards as a captain on 2 January 1823.[21] On 1 August 1826 he was promoted to the rank of major of infantry on the unattached list,[22] and joined the 80th Regiment of Foot on 17 January 1828.[23] He died at Malta later that year, aged twenty-six.[18]
Culling Smith and Lady Anne lived in a grace-and-favour residence at Apartment 8, Hampton Court Palace.[24]
References
edit- ^ "Smith, Culling Charles (c 1775-1853) Commissioner of Customs". The National Archives. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
- ^ a b Larionov, Denis; Zhulin, Alexander. "The Smith family". Ebooksread.com. pp. 13–21. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
- ^ Arthur Collins, The Baronetage of England, London 1808, p.508
- ^ Joseph Haydn and Horace Ockerby, The Book of Dignities, London 1894, reprinted Bath 1969, p. 229
- ^ 'Alphabetical list of officials', Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 8: Foreign Office Officials 1782-1870 (1979), pp. 58-82. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=16902 Date accessed: 25 June 2011.
- ^ "No. 16609". The London Gazette. 2 June 1812. p. 1055.
- ^ "No. 17429". The London Gazette. 8 December 1818. p. 2200.
- ^ "No. 17429". The London Gazette. 8 December 1818. p. 2199.
- ^ "No. 17625". The London Gazette. 19 August 1820. p. 1585.
- ^ "No. 18328". The London Gazette. 24 January 1827. p. 179.
- ^ Haydn and Ockerby, p. 277
- ^ "No. 19221". The London Gazette. 16 December 1834. p. 2265.
- ^ "No. 21388". The London Gazette. 6 December 1852. p. 3559.
- ^ "No. 21388". The London Gazette. 6 December 1852. p. 3562.
- ^ William Jesse, The Life of George Brummell, Esq., commonly called Beau Brummell, London 1844, vol. I, p. 289
- ^ Patrick Cracroft-Brennan, Cracroft's Peerage: Mornington, Earl of (I, 1760) Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 12 June 2011.
- ^ a b Patrick Cracroft-Brennan, Cracroft's Peerage: Beaufort, Duke of (E, 1682). Accessed 12 June 2011.
- ^ a b c Jesse, p. 290
- ^ "No. 16582". The London Gazette. 10 March 1812. p. 470.
- ^ "No. 17473". The London Gazette. 1 May 1819. p. 755.
- ^ "No. 17886". The London Gazette. 11 January 1823. p. 43.
- ^ "No. 18273". The London Gazette. 1 August 1826. p. 1895.
- ^ "No. 18441". The London Gazette. 12 February 1828. p. 288.
- ^ Sarah E. Parker, Grace & Favour: A handbook of who lived where in Hampton Court Palace 1750 to 1950 Archived 2009-05-06 at the Wayback Machine, Historic Royal Palaces 2005, p.30