Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos

Richard Plantagenet Campbell Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, (10 September 1823 – 26 March 1889), styled Earl Temple until 1839 and Marquess of Chandos from 1839 to 1861, was a British soldier, politician and administrator of the 19th century. He was a close friend and subordinate of Benjamin Disraeli and served as the secretary of state for the colonies from 1867 to 1868 and governor of Madras from 1875 to 1880.

Buckingham was the only son of Richard Temple-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, and was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He joined the British Army, eventually rising to become a colonel. Buckingham entered politics, as Lord Chandos, in 1846 when he was elected unopposed from Buckinghamshire as a candidate of the Conservative Party. Buckingham served as a member of Parliament from 1846 to 1857, when he resigned. He contested a re-election in 1859, but lost. Buckingham served in various political offices during his tenure.

In March 1867, he was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies and served until December 1868. He also served as governor of Madras from 1875 to 1880. As governor, he handled the relief measures for the victims of the Great Famine of 1876–1878. Buckingham also served as Lord of the Treasury, Keeper of the Privy Seal of the Prince of Wales, Deputy Warden of the Stannaries, Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Chairman of the London and North-Western Railway, member of the Imperial Privy Council, Lord President of the Council and chairman of the committees in the House of Lords. He died in 1889 at the age of 65.

Background and education Buckingham was the second child and only son of Richard, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, and his wife Lady Mary, younger daughter of John Campbell, 4th Earl of Breadalbane and Holland (later the 1st Marquess of Breadalbane). His sister, Lady Anna Eliza Mary Gore-Langton, was a women's rights campaigner. As his father's son and heir apparent, he was styled Earl Temple from birth. He was 15 years of age when his paternal grandfather died and his father became the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. From this time, he was styled Marquess of Chandos until he succeeded his father as Duke. He inherited 10,500 acres, mostly in Buckingham.

The young Lord Temple, later Lord Chandos, attended Eton until 1841 and graduated from Christ Church, Oxford, from which he later received an honorary degree of D.C.L.

Early career

In 1846, Buckingham, as the Marquess of Chandos, entered Parliament as Conservative MP for Buckinghamshire, and remained as an unopposed MP until 1857. The young Lord Chandos was appointed a deputy lieutenant for Oxfordshire on 3 February 1846, Hampshire on 17 February, and Northamptonshire on 29 May.

In 1852, he entered Lord Derby's administration as a Lord of the Treasury, a position he held for exactly ten months. That year, he was also appointed Keeper of the Privy Seal of the Prince of Wales, Deputy Warden of the Stannaries, deputy lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, and chairman of the London and North-Western Railway. In 1857, he resigned as MP for Buckinghamshire and did not stand for re-election. In 1861, he succeeded his father as Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (and in various other titles across four Peerages) and took his seat in the House of Lords. In the 1860s he was chairman of the London Pneumatic Despatch Company.

Buckingham's political career was stagnant until 1866, when he was appointed to the Privy Council and became Lord Derby's Lord President of the Council. He served as Lord President of the Council until 8 March 1867, when he succeeded Lord Carnarvon as Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Governor of Madras Map of Chennai City showing the Buckingham Canal. The Canal connects the Coovum and Adayar rivers.

When the Conservative Party was re-elected to power in the United Kingdom in 1874 and Disraeli became the Prime Minister once again, Buckingham was appointed Governor of the Madras Presidency, British India. Buckingham moved to Madras and took his seat on 23 November 1875.

Buckingham served as the governor of Madras from 1875 to 1880. His tenure was plagued by deteriorating socio-economic and health conditions. In 1876, the Great Famine of 1876–78 broke out in Madras Presidency. By August 1877, the famine had spread all over the Presidency and over 18 million people were affected. To make matters worse, the rains failed in parts of Madras and Mysore.

On 30 August 1880, William Patrick Adam was appointed Governor of Madras and he succeeded Buckingham in December 1880.

Later life and death The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, by Carlo Pellegrini, 1875.

In May 1886, Buckingham succeeded Lord Redesdale as Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords. He made few speeches in the House of Lords and succeeded in paying off most of his father's debts. Gradually, towards the later part of his life, his financial situation improved. By 1883, he owned of land with a total value of £18,080.

Buckingham died in March 1889, aged 65, from diabetes at Chandos House, London. His illness was unexpected and not originally thought to be serious; the House of Lords postponed voting on several bills until he recovered. Within a week, however, his illness proved fatal, despite the efforts of Dr. Henry Walter Kiallmark, the family physician, and Sir James Paget, who was called in to assist. There were no children from this marriage. Widowed in 1889, Alice, Dowager Duchess of Buckingham and Chandos, married the 1st Earl Egerton in 1894. She died in 1931, aged 83.