Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore

Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore, KT (27 August 1700 – 5 July 1785), known as Lord Milsington to 1730, of Portmore House, Weybridge, Surrey, was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1726 and 1730, when he succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Portmore. He subsequently became a Scottish representative peer in the House of Lords. He was a racehorse owner and was known as Beau Colyear for his conspicuous dress.

Early life Colyear was the son of David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore and his wife Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, daughter of Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet, MP, of Aylesford, Kent, and former mistress of James II. His mother was the owner of Portmore House, Weybridge, which became the seat of the Earls of Portmore. In 1719, he was page to the Princess of Wales. Together, they were the parents of:

Caroline Colyear (–1812), who married Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Scarsdale.

Lord Portmore also had an illegitimate daughter by Elizabeth Collier:

Elizabeth Collier (1747–1832), who married Col. Edward Pole (1718–1780). After his death, she married, as his second wife, Dr. Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles Darwin from his first marriage).

Lord Portmore died on 5 July 1785. His widow died on 20 November 1794.

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