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Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu,
(-1709)
son of Edward Montagu, 2nd Lord Montagu, of Boughton and Anne Winwood
baptised 24 December 1638 London, St.Barth.-the-Less
Died 9 March 1709 Bloomsbury, Montagu House
Buried Warkton, Co. Northampton
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His elder brother, Edward Montagu, had been appointed Master of the
Horse to the queen consort. However, in May 1664 he was dismissed for squeezing
her hand when leading her to her coach. He then enlisted on the Earl of
Sandwich's ship and was killed in August 1665 in a sea battle with the
Dutch near Bergen in Norway. As he was unmarried this made Ralph Montagu
heir to the family's estate and the title of Baron Montagu of Boughton.
Ralph Montagu had been educated at Westminster School and he, too,
became Master of the Horse to the queen consort from 1665 to 1678.
Ralph Montagu was recorded as being a smug-looking, chubby-cheeked
man whose ambitions knew no bounds and whose scruples were in keeping.
As a young man he had been used by King Charles II as a secret go-between
with the French court. A few years later he was sent as ambassador to Paris
where he became aware of the even closer ties between England and France
which were being prepared. As ambassador he also made sure that Louise
de Kerouaille was safely sent to England to become both a spy and Charles
II's mistress. On his return to England he was made a member of the Privy
Council. He may have been regarded as ridiculous-looking but he was nevertheless
a
dangerous ladies' man. As well, he may also have been in a position
of trust with the king yet this had not provided him with wealth. To remedy
this he pursued the rich widow of the last Earl of Northumberland but had
to follow her across Europe before she would accept him at Aix in Savoy.
They married, 24 August 1673, at Titchfield.
However, on his journey to Aix he had also re-acquainted himself with
the beautiful Hortense Mancini, urging her to come to England. Hoping her
beauty would capture King Charles II, which she did, and so would replace
Louise de Kerouaille, which she also did if only temporarily. Ralph Montagu
had hoped to be able to influence the king's mistress but Hortense managed
to keep the king's interest for only a short while because she was free
and easy with her affections. Amongst her other admirers were the Portugese
Ambassador and Ralph Montagu.
In December 1673 he was imprisoned in the Tower for three days for
attempting to force a duel with the Duke of Buckingham, with whom he had
quarrelled in the king's presence. He became a Whig M.P. for Northampton
1678-1679, for Huntingdonshire in 1679 and again for Northampton 1679-1681.
He was ambassador in Paris in 1666, 1669, 1676, 1677 and 1678. While in
Paris he had an affaire with Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland, an
ex-mistress of King Charles II. In England the Earl of Sussex, who was
married to a daughter of the king by Barbara Villiers, disapproved of his
wife's friendship with Hortense Mancini and made her leave court to live
at their country estate at Hurtsmonceaux. After a short while she became
bored and left for Paris to visit her mother. When her mother left Paris
temporarily, she replaced her in Ralph Montagu's affection. To spite Montagu,
Barbara Villiers returned to England and revealed to Charles II Montagu's
double-dealing with the French.
Montagu was recalled and, in turn, revealed to the House of Commons
that Charles II's minister, Danby, had been secretly seeking French financial
aid. Consequently Danby was impeached and imprisoned. In 1681 Lady Sussex
returned to live with her husband.
He promoted the Bill of Exclusion in the House of Commons and actively
promoted the Revolution which replaced James II with William and Mary.
On 9 April 1689 the new monarchs created him Viscount Monthermer and Earl
of Montagu.
Lady Elizabeth Cavendish at age fifteen had married Christopher Monck,
2nd Duke of Albemarle, who was only sixteen. At first her tantrums were
ignored but by the time she was thirty it was obvious that she was mad.
In 1688, by which time she had been mad for six years, her husband, who
had been driven to drink, died. Insane or not, she was still a great catch,
in monetary terms at least, and made it known that she would consider only
a crowned head for a second husband.
Being a widower, Ralph Montagu promptly presented himself to her as
Emperor of China and was accepted. Until she died she believed herself
Empress of China. Ralph Montagu moved into her house and renamed it Montagu
House (now the British Museum). Although he grovelled to King William III,
he was unsuccessful in becoming Duke of Montagu. The marriage may have
brought him money and estates but it also brought trouble. When he became
involved in lawsuits with regard to the Albemarle estate, he simply bribed
witnesses to be assured that he could keep the œ7,000 annuity derived from
the estate.
Then, as no-one had seen her for years, it was claimed that she had
died and by Act of Parliament he was forced to show her in public. She
was then declared a lunatic unable to manage her affairs and moved to a
house at Clerkenwell where she was cared for. It was said that: "Only by
dint of the most cunning artifices was she induced to transfer the seat
of her imperial throne from Bloomsbury to Clerkenwell."
In 1695 he became Commissioner of Greenwich Hospital and in the same
year splendidly entertained King William III. He may have been unsuccessful
with William III, but now fared better with Queen Anne: in 1705 he became
Marquess of Monthermer and Duke of Montagu. He died in 1709 while his mad
duchess outlived him to die in 1734 at the age
of eighty.
Source: Leo van de Pas |
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