The Viscount Valentia | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byPhilip de László, 1912 | |
| Comptroller of the Household | |
| In office 19 October 1898 – 4 December 1905 | |
| Monarchs | Queen Victoria Edward VII |
| Prime Minister | The Marquess of Salisbury Arthur Balfour |
| Preceded by | Lord Arthur Hill |
| Succeeded by | The Master of Elibank |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1843-08-23)23 August 1843 |
| Died | 20 January 1927(1927-01-20) (aged 83) |
| Nationality | British |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Laura Sarah Webb (died 1933); 8 children |
| Alma mater | Royal Military Academy, Woolwich |
Arthur Annesley, 11th Viscount Valentia,KCVO, CB, JP (23 August 1843 – 20 January 1927) was a British soldier, courtier andConservative Party politician. He notably served asComptroller of the Household between 1898 and 1905.
Annesley was the eldest son of the Honourable Arthur Annesley by his wife Flora Mary[1] Macdonald, daughter of Lt. Colonel James Macdonald of Clanranald. His father died when he was one year old[2] and he succeeded his grandfather in the viscountcy in 1863. He was educated at theRoyal Military Academy, Woolwich.[citation needed]
Annesley joined the10th Hussars in 1864 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1868. He retired from the Army in 1872, but in 1894 was appointedLieutenant colonel of theQueen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars. In early 1900, Lord Valentia was seconded for service with theImperial Yeomanry in theSecond Boer War,[3] and left forSouth Africa in theSS Scot in late January.[4] He served asAssistant Adjutant-General for Imperial Yeomanry, with the temporary rank ofcolonel,[5] and wasmentioned in despatches and appointed a Companion of theOrder of the Bath (CB) in November 1900 for his services.[6] Upon relinquishing his commission, he was granted, on 1 January 1901, the honorary rank of Colonel in the Army.[7]
He was appointedHigh Sheriff of Oxfordshire for 1874–75. The viscountcy of Valentia was anIrish peerage and did not entitle Annesley to an automatic seat in theHouse of Lords. He was instead elected as theMember of Parliament (MP) forOxford in 1895, a seat he held until 1917.[citation needed]
He served asComptroller of the Household underLord Salisbury from 1898[8] to 1902 and underArthur Balfour from 1902 to 1905.[9] He was appointed aMember of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in July 1901.[10] When thecoalition government was formed in 1915, Lord Valentia was appointed aLord in Waiting,[11] a post he held until 1924.
In 1917 he was createdBaron Annesley of Bletchington, in the County of Oxford, in thePeerage of the United Kingdom,[12] which entitled him to a seat in the House of Lords. He was made aKnight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1923.[13]
Lord Valentia married, on 30 January 1878, Laura Sarah Webb, daughter of Daniel Hale Webb, of Wykeham Park,Oxfordshire, and widow of Sir Algernon William Peyton, 4th Baronet.[14] They had two sons and six daughters:[14]
Lord Valentia died in January 1927, aged 83, and was succeeded by his younger son, the Hon. Caryl Arthur James Annesley, as Lord Valentia's elder son, the Hon. Arthur Annesley, was killed in action in 1914.[2]
He was the Chairman of theHurlingham Club Committee and theNational Polo Pony Society.[15]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forOxford 1895–1917 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Comptroller of the Household 1898–1905 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by | Viscount Valentia 1863–1927 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Annesley of Bletchington 1917–1927 | Succeeded by |