Sir Henry William Carr

Sir Henry William Carr (6 October 1777 – 10 August 1821) was a professional soldier in the British Army who, when peace came in 1814, married the widow of the assassinated prime minister Spencer Perceval.

Early life Born in Twickenham, where at the time his father ran a private school, he was the second son of the Reverend Colston Carr (1740–1822) and his wife Elizabeth Bullock (1747–1826). His elder brother was Robert James Carr, bishop of Chichester and of Worcester, while his eldest sister Elizabeth Anne Carr married Sir James Martin Lloyd . Though his father intended him to join Coutts Bank, he chose the Army.

Army career Joining the newly raised 83rd Foot, Carr was posted to the West Indies where he saw action in the Second Maroon War in Jamaica and in Santo Domingo and was wounded, requiring long convalescence. In 1802 the regiment was recalled to the United Kingdom and the 2nd Battalion was not thrown into action again until 1809, when it was sent to Lisbon to counter the French invasion of Portugal.

Family While stationed in Jamaica, in 1799 Henry married Ann Whitehorne Rose, widow of Edward Chambers and daughter of Major-General James Rose, who had two children. In 1801 they had a son together named Colston Rose Carr, whose fate is unknown. Ann left Henry for another man and died in childbirth.

On returning to his parents' home at Ealing after the end of the war in 1814, Henry met and in 1815 married Jane Wilson (1769–1844), attractive widow of the prime minister Spencer Perceval, who had an ample income, a large house and twelve children. However, unfit after 21 years' continuous active service and a severe wound, he died at the early age of 44 and was buried at Feltham, where his memorial is.