Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort

Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort (16 October 1744 – 11 October 1803) was an English courtier and politician. He was styled the Marquess of Worcester from 1745 until 1756, when he succeeded his father as 5th Duke of Beaufort, 7th Marquess of Worcester, 11th Earl of Worcester, and 13th Baron Herbert.

Early life Somerset was born on 16 October 1744 at Brook Street, Hanover Square, London. He was the only son of Lord Charles Somerset (second son of the 2nd Duke of Beaufort) and Elizabeth Beaufort, daughter of John Symes Berkeley.

At the time of Somerset's birth, his father sat in the House of Commons. He was five months old when his father succeeded his elder brother 3rd Duke of Beaufort in the dukedom, at which point Somerset was styled by his father's subsidiary title, the Marquess of Worcester. The 3rd Duke left only an illegitimate daughter, Margaret Burr, who married the artist Thomas Gainsborough.

In October 1765, shortly after his 21st birthday, he succeeded his father as the 5th Duke of Beaufort. On 18 October 1760, Beaufort began his studies at Oriel College, Oxford, graduating on 7 July 1763 with a Doctor of Civil Laws (DCL) degree. He was invested as a Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG) on 2 June 1786. Lord Edward Somerset (1768–1769), who died young. near Sherston, Wiltshire, close to the family seat of Badminton. (4 May 1771 – 19 October 1838) Lady Elizabeth Somerset (1773–1836), who married Very Rev Charles Talbot, Dean of Salisbury, son of Rev. Hon. George Talbot (a son of the 1st Baron Talbot) and Hon. Anne Bouverie (a daughter of the 1st Viscount Folkestone), in 1796.

Lord Beaufort died on 11 October 1803 and was buried at St Michael and All Angels Church, Badminton. His last will was dated from 21 June 1789 to 11 September 1800. He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, Henry After the exhumation of Richard III in 2012, intensive research was conducted using the DNA of descendants of the immediate relatives of Richard, who died without issue. The body exhumed was positively identified by matching his mitochondrial DNA with two living descendants of his eldest sister, Anne of York).

All five known living male-line relatives of Richard are descended from the 5th Duke of Beaufort; however, a Y chromosome type of Richard failed to match any of the five, indicating that at least one non-paternity event had occurred somewhere in the 19 generations between Richard and the 5th Duke. Four of the five, however, had DNA indicating they held Plantagenet ancestry through different ancestors. The fifth was not related at all, indicating an additional non-paternity event had occurred in the 5th Duke's male line in recent generations.