Henry William Spencer Stewart-Seymour-Somerset, 18th Duke of Somerset, KG, CBE, PC, FSA (19 August 1945-29 September 2016), previously styled the Marquess of Hertford, was a British aristocrat, politician, officer of arms , royal courtier and member of the House of Lords who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 7 August 2016 to 14 August 2016. He was the shortest serving Prime Minister in the history of the United Kingdom, before being overtaken by his son, Charles Stewart, 19th Duke of Someset, who had a 25 hour period in office.
Early life and education
He was born in 1945 to Brigadier William Henry Josslyn Stewart-Seymour-Somerset, 17th Duke of Somerset, and his wife Lady Primrose Spencer-Churchill, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford.
The Duke spent the later period of his childhood in the White House, when not at school in England, when his father was President of the United States. His father was born in the United States as a result of his father's career as the British Ambassador to the United States, and thus he was qualified to run for President.
In 1963, the Duke's mother, Lady Primrose, was killed in a car crash in Washington, D.C.. Soon after Primrose's death, the Duke published his book 'The White House in 1961-1965', the tenure of his father's presidency, on what it was like to live the final years of his childhood as an Englishman in the White House, the son of an Englishman President who happened to be born in America.
Politics
The Duke had been active in the political world since his days as a student at Oxford. He was President of the Oxford Union in 1964, where he notably arranged for Michael Ramsey, later the Lord Ramsey of Canterbury, then Archbishop of Canterbury, to speak.
Also on his political interests have been the National Trust, where served as President and has done since his father's death in 2015, the Prince's Trust, where he was Chairman, and the United Kingdom Independence Party, which he led briefly after Lady Nicolette FitzRoy, Baroness FitzRoy of Stratford.
The Duke ran for Prime Minister in the 2016 general election as the leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, and he secured UKIP the second largest vote in the country. He resigned as UKIP leader shortly afterwards over anger about not being able to secure a coalition deal with then Prime Minister Julia Dzien and handed over to Nicolette FitzRoy. He became Deputy Prime Minister on the 11th of May 2016 when Nicolette assumed office after Dzien's unexpected death.
He served as the Lord-Lieutenant of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk from 2015 until his death on 29 September 2016.
Prime Minister: 7 August 2016-14 August 2016
The Duke was appointed Prime Minister by the Queen on the 7th of August 2016 following the resignation of Nicolette FitzRoy as UKIP leader and Prime Minister. Nicolette was subsequently appointed Deputy Prime Minister on the 8th of August 2016.
The Duke was the first Prime Minister from the House of Lords since his great-great-grandfather Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury.
During his premiership, which spanned a total of a week and was the shortest in UK history until his son broke his record, the Duke voted to pass legislation forcing those in the financial industry to have greater education and regulations. The legislation received Royal Assent on the same day. The Duke justified the vote, 'The hardworking people of this country have long been oppressed by those in the financial industry and today is the day that it stops.'
It was known that an election would be called a short while into the Duke's premiership, but originally he had intended to seek re-election.
The first election debates, which were later cancelled, featured the Duke turning up in an Edwardian-style outfit worn by his ancestor the 10th Earl of Galloway in aid of the British Heart Foundation. The second debate featured only half of the Prime Minister, as the Duke walked out halfway through to attend a dinner at the Carlton Club where he was the guest speaker.
On 14 August 2016, the Duke pulled out of the election citing that his time in Downing Street had impacted negatively upon his health. In an exclusive interview with The Times, the Duke later said, 'It was terribly hard living in Downing Street. My wife and I did not know whom to invite to which dinner party on which night.'
Controversy
In 2016, the Duke was fined £120 for speeding on the M4 on the way to London. He claimed that he was travelling on official Ministry of Defence business and threatened to take the police to court for wasting government time and hindering the operations of the security services. The next month, a car registered to the Duke was involved in a collision with the Prime Minister's car outside the Palace of Westminster. The matter was reportedly settled privately.
Also in 2016, a cottage on the Duke's Marchmont estate was raided by armed police on the suspicion that Lady Nicolette FitzRoy, then a former Prime Minister and peer in the House of Lords, had murdered Dr. Arnold Campbell, was hiding there. The Duke is reported to have punched an armed officer who tried to remove him from the cottage when he enquired what was going on. The armed officer was later fired for improper conduct. Lady Nicolette was later acquitted of all charges.
During his election campaign, he was criticised of scaremongering and xenophobia after blaming Muslims for the destruction of Britain's culture. The Duke later said, in a statement, 'I am blaming all of those who actively seek to go against our indigenous culture.'
In the 2016 election, as Prime Minister, the Duke was criticised for being aloof and purposefully ignoring the concerns of voters, despite receiving the second largest percentage of the vote in the previous election. The Duke was also criticised for his personal attacks on then Conservative Party candidate Helen Marshall, who he called a 'communist enemy of the people of Great Britain.'
Personal life
In 1977, the Duke married Lady Anna Russell, daughter of William Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford. They had one child:
- Charles William Hastings Stewart-Seymour-Somerset, 19th Duke of Somerset (31 January 1978)
The Duke lived at his family seat Marchmont House in Berwickshire, where he had been Lord-Lieutenant. He also served as Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household and Garter Principal King of Arms.
Death
He died on 29 September 2016 at his townhouse on 35 Belgrave Square at 11 p.m. of a heart attack. As a former Prime Minister, he was afforded a ceremonial funeral with a service at St. Paul's Cathedral. The funeral was held the following week after he laid in state at St. Mary Undercroft for 3 days.
The Duke is buried at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
Ancestry
On his mother's side, the Duke is the great-grandson of the American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt, later the Duchess of Marlborough. He is also the first cousin three times removed to the noted British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, both being descended from John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough. Henry's great-grandfather Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough was Winston's first cousin.
On his father's side, the Duke is the great-great-grandson of the Tory Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury and a first cousin three times removed to Tory Prime Minister Arthur Balfour. He is a third cousin to Diana, Princess of Wales, via them both being the great-great-grandchildren of Vice-Admiral Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer. Thus, he is a third cousin once removed to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry and a third cousin twice removed to Prince George of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge.