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Cover Alfred, Prince, duke of Edinburgh (1844–1900)
Prince Alfred, duke of Edinburgh (1844–1900) by Abel Lewis, c. 1875–80 © National Portrait Gallery, London

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Alfred, Prince, duke of Edinburgh (1844–1900), duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, naval officer, and son of Queen Victoria  

John Van der Kiste

Alfred, Prince, duke of Edinburgh (1844–1900), duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, naval officer, and son of Queen Victoria, was born Alfred Ernest Albert at Windsor Castle on 6 August 1844, the second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. An extroverted child, his capacity for learning delighted his parents. They feared that the comparative academic weakness of his elder brother ...

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Armorer, Sir Nicholas (c. 1620–1686), royalist army officer, conspirator, and courtier  

Geoffrey Smith

Armorer, Sir Nicholas (c. 1620–1686), royalist army officer, conspirator, and courtier, was born at Belford, Northumberland, a younger son of Thomas Armorer (d. 1642), of Belford, and his wife, Margaret, daughter of Robert Clavering of Callaly in the same county. Like his brother ...

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Arthur (supp. fl. in or before 6th cent.), legendary warrior and supposed king of Britain  

O. J. Padel

Arthur (supp. fl. in or before 6th cent.), legendary warrior and supposed king of Britain, has an attested career that is entirely posthumous. From obscure beginnings in British legend, he became internationally known in the twelfth century, particularly through the success of Geoffrey of Monmouth's...

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Cover Ashmore, Sir Peter William Beckwith (1921–2002)

Ashmore, Sir Peter William Beckwith (1921–2002)  

Maker: Godfrey Argent

In 

Sir Peter William Beckwith Ashmore (1921–2002) by Godfrey Argent, 1968 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Article

Ashmore, Sir Peter William Beckwith (1921–2002), naval officer and courtier  

Eric J. Grove

Ashmore, Sir Peter William Beckwith (1921–2002), naval officer and courtier, was born on 4 February 1921 at 5 Coombe Villas, Saltash, Cornwall, the younger son (there were no daughters) of Lieutenant (later Vice-Admiral) Leslie Haliburton Ashmore (1893–1974), naval officer, and his wife, Tamara, ...

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Ashton, Sir John (c. 1354–c. 1398), soldier and landowner  

Carole Rawcliffe and Andrew Ayton

Ashton, Sir John (c. 1354–c. 1398), soldier and landowner, was the son and heir of Sir John Ashton (d. c.1360) of Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire, and of Margaret, a daughter of Robert del Leigh of Adlington, Cheshire. His mother's second marriage, to ...

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Basset, Thomas (d. 1220), soldier and courtier  

Nicholas Vincent

Basset, Thomas (d. 1220), soldier and courtier, was a younger son of Thomas Basset (d. c. 1182) of Headington and Adeliza Basset [see under Dunstanville, de, family], daughter of Walter de Dunstanville, lord of Castle Combe in Wiltshire. First recorded before ...

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Beauchamp, Thomas, eleventh earl of Warwick (1313/14–1369), soldier and magnate  

Anthony Tuck

Beauchamp, Thomas, eleventh earl of Warwick (1313/14–1369), soldier and magnate, was the son and heir of Guy de Beauchamp, tenth earl of Warwick (c. 1272–1315), and his wife, Alice Tosny, widow of Thomas Leyburn.

Beauchamp was probably born some time between August 1313 and 14 February 1314, most likely the latter date. He was no more than two years old when his father died on 12 August 1315, and the earldom thus underwent a long minority at a time of political instability. The custody of the lands of the earldom was granted on 21 June 1317 to ...

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Beauchamp, William, first Baron Bergavenny (c. 1343–1411), soldier and landowner  

Christine Carpenter

revised

Beauchamp, William, first Baron Bergavenny (c. 1343–1411), soldier and landowner, was the fourth son of Thomas Beauchamp, eleventh earl of Warwick (1313/14–1369), and of Katherine (d. 1369), daughter of Roger Mortimer, first earl of March.

As a younger son Beauchamp was destined for the church and attended ...

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Beauclerk, Charles, first duke of St Albans (1670–1726), army officer  

William Hunt

revised by Jonathan Spain

Beauclerk, Charles, first duke of St Albans (1670–1726), army officer, the illegitimate son of Charles II and Nell Gwyn, was born at his mother's house in Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, on 8 May 1670. It is said that one day when the king was with ...

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Beaufort, Edmund, first duke of Somerset (c. 1406–1455), magnate and soldier  

Colin Richmond

Beaufort, Edmund, first duke of Somerset (c. 1406–1455), magnate and soldier, was the younger brother of John Beaufort, duke of Somerset (1404–1444); John and Edmund were the second and third sons of John Beaufort, marquess of Dorset and of Somerset (c. 1371–1410), who was the eldest son of ...

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Beaufort, John, marquess of Dorset and marquess of Somerset (c. 1371–1410), soldier and administrator  

G. L. Harriss

Beaufort, John, marquess of Dorset and marquess of Somerset (c. 1371–1410), soldier and administrator, was the first offspring of the liaison between John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster (1340–1399), and Katherine Swynford (1350?–1403) [see Katherine, duchess of Lancaster]. He became a staunch supporter of ...

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Beaufort, John, duke of Somerset (1404–1444), magnate and soldier  

G. L. Harriss

Beaufort, John, duke of Somerset (1404–1444), magnate and soldier, was the second son of John Beaufort, marquess of Dorset and of Somerset (d. 1410), and Margaret Holland, daughter of Thomas Holland, earl of Kent. He succeeded to the earldom of Somerset on the death of his elder brother, ...

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Beaufort, Thomas, duke of Exeter (1377?–1426), magnate and soldier  

G. L. Harriss

Beaufort, Thomas, duke of Exeter (1377?–1426), magnate and soldier, was the youngest of the three illegitimate sons of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, and Katherine Swynford [see Katherine, duchess of Lancaster]. His brothers were John Beaufort and Henry Beaufort...

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Berkeley, John, first Baron Berkeley of Stratton (bap. 1607, d. 1678), royalist army officer and courtier  

D. W. Hayton

Berkeley, John, first Baron Berkeley of Stratton (bap. 1607, d. 1678), royalist army officer and courtier, was baptized on 1 February 1607 at Hanworth, Middlesex, the fifth son of Sir Maurice Berkeley (1576/7–1617) of Bruton, Somerset, a well-connected but penurious gentleman who died when ...

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Bertie, Montague, second earl of Lindsey (1607/8–1666), royalist nobleman and army officer  

David L. Smith

Bertie, Montague, second earl of Lindsey (1607/8–1666), royalist nobleman and army officer, was the eldest son of Robert Bertie, first earl of Lindsey (1582–1642), and Elizabeth Montagu (bap. 1586, d. 1654). He was educated briefly at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he was admitted as a fellow-commoner on 1 February 1623. He served as MP for ...

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Bertie, Peregrine, thirteenth Baron Willoughby of Willoughby, Beck, and Eresby (1555–1601), nobleman and soldier  

D. J. B. Trim

Bertie, Peregrine, thirteenth Baron Willoughby of Willoughby, Beck, and Eresby (1555–1601), nobleman and soldier, was born on 12 October 1555 in Wesel, Cleves, the only son of Richard Bertie (1517–1582), landowner and religious evangelical, and his wife, Katherine [see Bertie, Katherine, duchess of Suffolk (1519–1580)...

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Cover Bertie, Peregrine, thirteenth Baron Willoughby of Willoughby, Beck, and Eresby (1555–1601)

Bertie, Peregrine, thirteenth Baron Willoughby of Willoughby, Beck, and Eresby (1555–1601)  

Maker: unknown artist

In 

Peregrine Bertie, thirteenth Baron Willoughby of Willoughby, Beck, and Eresby (1555–1601) by unknown artist The Trustees of the Grimsthorpe and Drummond Castle Trust Ltd. Photograph: Photographic Survey, Courtauld Institute of Art, London

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Biddulph, Sir Thomas Myddleton (1809–1878), courtier and army officer  

Arthur H. Grant

revised by K. D. Reynolds

Biddulph, Sir Thomas Myddleton (1809–1878), courtier and army officer, born on 29 July 1809, was the second son of Robert Biddulph of Ledbury and Charlotte, the daughter and coheir of Richard Myddleton MP, of Chirk Castle, of the old Welsh family of Myddleton...