William Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland

William Arthur Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland, KG (16 March 1893 – 21 March 1977), styled Marquess of Titchfield until 1943, was a British peer and Conservative Party politician.

Biography[]

Portland was the elder son of William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland, and his wife, Winifred Anna (née Dallas-Yorke). He was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for Newark in 1922, a seat he held until he succeeded his father in the dukedom in 1943, and served as a Junior Lord of the Treasury under Stanley Baldwin from 1927 to 1929 and under Ramsay MacDonald in 1932. He also held the honorary posts of Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire between 1939 and 1962 and was the second Chancellor of the University of Nottingham between 1954 and 1971. In 1948 he was made a Knight of the Garter. He also held the appointment of the honorary air commodore of No. 616 Squadron RAF.^[1]

Marriage and children[]

Portland married Ivy Gordon-Lennox, daughter of Colonel Lord Algernon Charles Gordon-Lennox and granddaughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, on 12 August 1915. They had two daughters:^[2]

• Lady (Alexandra Margaret) Anne Cavendish-Bentinck (6 September 1916 – 21 December 2008)
• Lady (Victoria) Margaret Cavendish-Bentinck (9 October 1918 – 29 August 1955)

He died in March 1977, aged 84, and was interred at the traditional burial place of the Dukes of Portland, in the churchyard of St Winifred's Church at Holbeck.

He was succeeded in the dukedom by his third cousin Ferdinand Cavendish-Bentinck. Subsidiary title Baron Bolsover became extinct on the death. The family seat of Welbeck Abbey passed to his elder daughter, Lady Anne, who never married; it then passed to the son of her deceased younger sister Lady Margaret who died 1955 aged 36. Her husband was Don Gaetano Parente, Principe di Castel Viscardo,^[a] Italy. The nephew's name was (born 18 February 1951), who served as High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire in 2003–04.^[3]

Portland was a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

Footnote

Wealth[]

Little is published of his wealth. His probate was sworn in 1977 at £4,391,478 (equivalent to about £27,500,000 in 2019), three times that of his father's assets passing at point of death (in real terms).^[4]

Ancestry[]

Arms[]

Coat of arms of William Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland hide

Notes The title Duke of Portland was created by George I in 1716 . Coronet A Coronet of a Duke Crest Out of a ducal coronet proper two arms counter-embowed vested Gules, on the hands gloves Or, each holding an ostrich feather Argent (Bentinck); A snake nowed proper (Cavendish) Escutcheon Quarterly: 1st and 4th, Azure a cross moline Argent (Bentinck); 2nd and 3rd, Sable three stags' heads cabossed Argent attired Or, a crescent for difference (Cavendish) Supporters Two lions double queued, the dexter Or and the sinister sable Motto Craignez Honte (Fear Dishonour)

References[]

• http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/portland1907/portland1.htm "The Portland Peerage Romance (1907)"
• https://web.archive.org/web/20130113035008/http://www.angelfire.com/in/heinbruins/Bentinck.html "The Descendants of Willem Bentinck and Charlotte Aldenburg"
• Michael Rhodes "High Sheriffs for 2003-4" alt.talk.royalty, 21 March 2003
• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,^{[page needed]}
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages ^{[self-published source][better source needed]}
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
• Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.^{[unreliable source]}

External links[]

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Portland
• William Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland