Lieutenant-GeneralThe Right Honourable The Earl of Romney PC
Master-General of the Ordnance
In office 1693–1702
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
In office March 1692 – May 1693
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
In office 1690–1692
Lord Lieutenant of Kent
In office 1689–1704
Member of Parliament forTamworth
In office January 1689 – April 1689
Envoy to the United Provinces
In office June 1679 – 1681
Member of Parliament forBramber
In office July 1679 – January 1681
Personal details
Born	1641 Paris, France
Died	8 April 1704(1704-04-08) (aged 63) St James's, London
Resting place	St James's Church, Piccadilly
Nationality	English
Political party	Whig
Occupation	Soldier and politician
Military service
Allegiance	England
Branch/service	English Army
Years of service	1678–1694
Rank	Lieutenant general
Unit	Holland Regiment
Commands	1st Regiment of Foot Guards
Battles/wars	Williamite War in Ireland Battle of the Boyne Capture of Waterford Siege of Limerick (1690)

Lieutenant-GeneralHenry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney (March 1641 – 8 April 1704) was anEnglish Army officer andWhig politician who served asMaster-General of the Ordnance from 1693 to 1702. He is best known as one of theImmortal Seven, a group of seven Englishmen who drafted an invitation toWilliam of Orange, which led to the November 1688Glorious Revolution and subsequent deposition ofJames II of England.

Henry Sydney was born inParis around March 1641, fourth surviving son ofRobert Sydney, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1595–1677), and his wife Lady Dorothy Percy (died 1659). His brothers includedPhilip (1619–1698), who fought forParliament during theWars of the Three Kingdoms, andAlgernon (1623–1683), a political theorist closely associated withJohn Locke who was executed in 1683 for his part in theRye House Plot.^[1] Another brother, Robert (1626–1668), served in the army of theDutch Republic, and was a close companion of the exiledCharles II of England, although he fell from favour shortly before his death.^[2]

His eldest sisterDorothy (1617–1684) marriedHenry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland (1620–1643), killed fighting for theRoyalists during theFirst English Civil War; her son,Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland (1641–1702), was born in Paris a few months after Henry and the two men were close friends for most of their lives. From December 1685 to October 1688, Sunderland wasLord President of the Council underJames II of England.^[3] Another sister, Lucy (circa 1626-1685), marriedSir John Pelham, 3rd Baronet (1623–1703),MP forSussex for most of the period from 1654 to 1695. AWhig who supported theGlorious Revolution, two of his grandsons served asPrime Minister.^[4]

Although Sydney had an illegitimate son, Henry Worthley, he never married; on 8 April 1704, he died ofsmallpox at his house inLondon and was buried a few days later inSt James's Church, Piccadilly. His titles became extinct.^[5]

Sydney was brought up atPenshurst Place, the family home in Kent and spent much of the period from 1658 to 1664 travelling in Europe with his nephew and contemporary, the Earl of Sunderland. On his return, he held a number of positions at court and in 1667 was commissioned ascaptain in theHolland Regiment, commanded by his brother Robert. He carried out a number of minor diplomatic missions in the 1670s and received his first significant office in 1678 when Charles appointed himMaster of the Robes.^[6]

In early 1678,England re-entered theFranco-Dutch War as an ally of the Dutch Republic and Sydney was given command of a new regiment raised to fight in it. Although the war ended before he saw active service, he became friends withWilliam of Orange; with the support of Sunderland, thenSecretary of State for the Northern Department, in June 1679 he was appointedEnvoy to the United Provinces, a position he held with marked success until 1681.^[5]

In October 1679, he was also elected asMP forBramber in what is commonly called the "Exclusion Bill Parliament". The central issue during this period was the attempt toexclude the CatholicDuke of York from the succession. Sydney was a "Williamite exclusionist", one of those who supported exclusion but preferred William of Orange, son of aStuart mother and married to James' eldest daughterMary, rather than Charles' illegitimate son,James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. This ultimately led to his dismissal, although he was permitted to return to the Netherlands in 1682 and given command of one of the English regiments of the DutchAnglo-Scots Brigade.^[6]

In 1683, Algernon Sydney was executed for his part in the Rye House Plot, an alleged conspiracy to assassinate Charles II along with his brother James, and place Monmouth on the throne.^[7] As William's wife Mary was then heir to the English throne, he provided troops to help suppress the June 1685Monmouth Rebellion. Sydney was thus able to balance his obligations as a loyal subject with acting as an informal contact point between William and his English supporters, as well as Sunderland, whom James appointedLord President of the Council in 1685.^[6] The situation changed in June 1688 with the birth of a male heir,James Francis Edward Stuart; the prospect of a Catholic dynasty led to theInvitation to William. Signed by theImmortal Seven, representatives from the key political constituencies whose support William needed to commit to an invasion, it was drafted by Sydney, later described as "the great wheel on which the Revolution rolled".^[8]

In August, he journeyed toThe Hague and was appointedmajor general in the invasion force assembled by William that landed atTorbay on 5 November.^[9] In what became known as theGlorious Revolution, most of James' army changed sides and he escaped into exile inFrance on 23 December. Sydney was elected MP forTamworth in the 1689Convention Parliament that on 14 February made William and Mary co-monarchs in place of her father.^[10] On 4 April, he was createdBaron Milton andViscount Sydney, became aPrivy Councillor and received a number of other offices, includingLord Lieutenant of Kent andConstable of Dover Castle.^[6]

Sydney accompanied William in 1690 when he took personal charge of thewar in Ireland; appointedcolonel of theFoot Guards, he fought at theBoyne in July, as well as the sieges ofWaterford andLimerick. Recalled to London in December 1690, he was appointedSecretary of State for the Northern Department, before returning toIreland asLord Lieutenant in March 1692. Although his tenure was marked by conflict with theIrish Parliament and lasted less than a year, he retained William's confidence; in 1693, he was madeMaster-General of the Ordnance, then promoted tolieutenant general and createdEarl of Romney in 1694.^[6]

At the same time, he purchased the office of Chief Ranger ofGreenwich Park, allowing him to use theQueen's House as a personal residence. He undertook a series of improvements, one of which was to alter the course of the main road betweenWoolwich andDeptford, part of which is now called "Romney Road".^[11] He remained a close advisor to William and accompanied him to The Hague for the negotiations that led to the signing of theSecond Grand Alliance in September 1701. However, when William died andQueen Anne came to the throne in March 1702, he lost most of his offices and retired from active political life; he died ofsmallpox at his house in London on 8 April 1704, and was buried a few days later atSt James's Church, Piccadilly.^[5]

Sydney's reputation has been subject to a variety of views; some contemporaries considered him lazy and superficial, while Tory satiristJonathan Swift dismissed him as 'an idle, drunken, ignorant rake, without sense or honour'.^[12] Other perspectives are more charitable and in general present him as "an individual with flaws, but also remarkable for his even temper, straight dealing, good judgement, and a knack for gaining the trust of others".^[6]

It has been suggested the use of thepheon, orbroad arrow, on government property dates from Sydney's period as Master General of the Ordnance.^[13] However, theOxford English Dictionary argues "this is not supported by the evidence", as the use of the device predates his association with the Board.^[14]

• Crook, B.M (1983).PELHAM, Sir John, 3rd Bt. (c.1623-1703), of Halland, Laughton, Suss in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660–1690. CUP.ISBN 978-1107002258.
• Harris, Tim (1993).Politics under the later Stuarts. Longman.ISBN 0-58204082-5.
• Harris, Tim (2006).Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685–1720. Allen Lane.ISBN 978-0-7139-9759-0.
• Hosford, Stuart (2004). "Sidney, Henry, first earl of Romney (1641–1704)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25521. (Subscription,Wikipedia Library access orUK public library membership required.)
• Jackson, Clare (2021).Devil-Land; England under siege 1588-1688. Allen Lane.ISBN 978-0-241-285817.
• Jones, J. R. (1988).The Revolution of 1688 in England. Weidenfeld and Nicolson.ISBN 978-0-297-99569-2.
• Mimardière, A.M (1983).SIDNEY (SYDNEY), Hon. Henry (1641–1704), of Jermyn Street, Westminster and Elverton, Stone, Kent in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660–1690. CUP.ISBN 978-1107002258.
• Scott, Jonathan (2004). "Sidney [Sydney], Algernon".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25519. (Subscription,Wikipedia Library access orUK public library membership required.)
• Speck, W. A. (2008). "Spencer, Robert, second earl of Sunderland (1641–1702)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/26135. (Subscription,Wikipedia Library access orUK public library membership required.)
• Spence, Keith (2000).The companion guide to Kent and Sussex. Companion Guides.ISBN 978-1900639262.
• *Swift, Jonathan (1962). Davis, H (ed.).The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift; Volume V. Blackwell.
• Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher (1992).The London Encyclopaedia (2008 ed.). Macmillan.ISBN 978-1405049245.

• 1641 births
• 1704 deaths
• Earls in the Peerage of England
• Peers of England created by William III
• English generals
• Grenadier Guards officers
• Lord-lieutenants of Kent
• Lords Lieutenant of Ireland
• Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports
• Members of the Privy Council of England
• People from Penshurst
• Younger sons of earls
• Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland
• Ambassadors of England to the Dutch Republic
• English MPs 1679
• English MPs 1689–1690
• Grooms of the Stool
• People of the Glorious Revolution

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