David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort

The Duke of Beaufort
Born	23 February 1928 (1928-02-23) (age 83)
Spouse(s)	Caroline Jane Thynne Miranda Elisabeth Morley
Issue	Henry John FitzRoy Somerset, Marquess of Worcester Anne Mary Somerset Edward Alexander Somerset John Robert Somerset

David Robert Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort (born 23 February 1928) is a British peer. He was nominated to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1988.^[1]

Early life

He is the son of Henry Robert Somers Fitzroy de Vere Somerset and Bettine Violet Malcolm and was educated at Eton College. He and his family descend in the male line from Edward III of England; the first Somerset was an illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, whose grandfather was an illegitimate son of John of Gaunt.

Military career

The Duke of Beaufort
Born	23 February 1928(1928-02-23)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1946 -
Service number	370772

He was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards on 6 September 1946 as a Second Lieutenant.^[2] He was promoted to Lieutenant on 1 January 1949.^[3]

Career

He held the office of Hereditary Keeper of Raglan Castle, was President of the British Horse Society between 1988 and 1990 and chairman of Marlborough Fine Art. He ranked 581st in the Sunday Times Rich List 2008, with an estimated wealth of £135m in land.

River Tawe footbridge

The duke was criticised in January 2009 when a Swansea councillor, Ioan Richard, discovered via the Freedom of Information Act, that the duke had been paid £281,431 for a 70 ft bridge to be built over the River Tawe near Swansea. The dukedom was granted the ownership of the river bed 400 years ago, so when the local council wanted to build a bridge linking a shopping centre to the Liberty Stadium, home of Swansea City football club and the Ospreys rugby team, the council had to pay the duke for the right to build it. Richard stated that he was "furious that public money had to be used to pay one of Britain's richest estates. For centuries Swansea folk have paid rents to the Duke of Beaufort and we don't owe this powerful and wealthy family anything." A spokesman for the duke's estate at Badminton House responded: "We do not want to comment about a private transaction."^[4]

Family

He married, firstly, Lady Caroline Jane Thynne (28 August 1928 – 22 April 1995), daughter of Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath, on 5 July 1950. They had four children:

• Henry John FitzRoy Somerset, Marquess of Worcester (b. 22 May 1952), married Tracy Louise Ward (a granddaughter of the 3rd Earl of Dudley) and has issue.
• Lady Anne Mary Somerset (b. 21 January 1955), married Matthew Carr and has issue.
• Lord Edward Alexander Somerset (b. 1 May 1958), married Hon. Georgiana Davidson (daughter of John Davidson, 2nd Viscount Davidson) and has issue.
• Lord John Robert Somerset (b. 5 November 1964) also known as Lord Johnson Somerset, married to (now divorced from) Lady Cosima Vane-Tempest-Stewart (daughter of Alexander Charles Robert Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 9th Marquess of Londonderry), and has issue.

David Somerset married, secondly, Miranda Elisabeth Morley (born 1947), on 2 June 2000. She is a daughter of Brigadier General Michael Frederick Morley.

The Duke's heir apparent is his eldest son Henry John FitzRoy Somerset, Marquess of Worcester (b. 22 May 1952).

Ancestry

1. David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort
2. Henry Robert Somers Fitzroy de Vere Somerset
3. Henry Charles Somers Augustus
4. Lord Henry Somerset
5. Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort
6. Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort
7. Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort
8. Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort
9. Charles Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort
10. Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort
11. Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester
12. Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort
13. Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester
14. Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester
15. Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester
16. William Somerset, 3rd Earl of Worcester
17. Henry Somerset, 2nd Earl of Worcester
18. Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester legitimised son of
19. Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
20. Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
21. John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset legitimised (by marriage) son of
22. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
23. Edward III of England
24. Edward II of England
25. Edward I of England
26. Henry III of England
27. John of England
28. Henry II of England
29. Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou
30. Fulk of Jerusalem
31. Fulk IV, Count of Anjou
32. Geoffrey, Count of Gâtinais
33. Bouchard, Count of Gâtinais

References

• Burke's Peerage

1. ^ Vanity Fair
2. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37753. p. 5028. 8 October 1946. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
3. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 38618. p. 2554. 24 May 1949. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
4. ^ Duke gets £280,000 of public funds for bridge over his river

Peerage of England
Preceded by Henry Somerset	Duke of Beaufort 1984–present	Incumbent
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by His Grace The Duke of Grafton	His Grace The Duke of Beaufort United Kingdom Order of Precedence Gentlemen	Succeeded by His Grace The Duke of St. Albans

Persondata
Name	Beaufort, David Somerset, 11th Duke of
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	23 February 1928
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death