Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort

Major Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort (5 February 1792 – 17 November 1853), styled Earl of Glamorgan until 1803 and Marquess of Worcester between 1803 and 1835, was a British peer, soldier, and politician.

Background Beaufort was the eldest son of Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort, and Lady Charlotte Sophia, daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford. Lord Granville Somerset was his younger brother.

Military and political career Beaufort was commissioned a cornet in the 10th Hussars on 18 June 1811. He was promoted to lieutenant in the 14th Light Dragoons on 21 August, but transferred back to the 10th Hussars on 6 September. Worcester also served as an aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington in Portugal and Spain between 1812 and 1814.

Beaufort died in 1853, aged 61 at Badminton House, Gloucestershire, and was buried at St Michael and All Angels Church, Badminton. He is best known today for his two marriages, and his involvement, as a very young man, with the courtesan Harriette Wilson, to whom he apparently proposed marriage.

Fictional portrayal Both Beaufort and Harriette Wilson feature as minor characters in Black Ajax by George MacDonald Fraser.

Ancestry