Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey

Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
William Salter · Public domain · source
Name	Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
Birth date	17 May 1768
Birth place	London
Death date	29 April 1854
Death place	Uxbridge
Nationality	British
Occupation	Soldier, Politician
Title	1st Marquess of Anglesey

Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey was a prominent British nobleman, cavalry commander, and statesman who rose to national prominence during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, notably at the Battle of Waterloo; he later served in high offices under William IV and Queen Victoria. Celebrated for his cavalry leadership and parliamentary service, Paget’s career intersected with figures such as Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Horatio Nelson, George III, and members of the British Cabinet.

Early life and family

Born in London to the aristocratic Paget family, Paget was the eldest son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge and Jane Champagné, linking him to the Anglo-Irish gentry and families associated with County Westmeath and Anglesey estates. Educated in the milieu frequented by heirs of Pembroke House and peers who patronized Eton College and private tutors connected to Christ Church, Oxford society, he inherited the earldom upon his father's death, joining the peerage and the social networks of Westminster and St James's. His familial alliances later connected him to other houses including the Tyrrell family and Wynford relations.

Military career

Paget’s military service began with commission in cavalry regiments such as the South Staffordshire Yeomanry and the Royal Horse Guards, advancing through commands in the British Army during the crises following the French Revolution. He served in the Flanders Campaign and commanded heavy cavalry brigades in the campaigns of Sir John Moore and Sir Ralph Abercromby, later holding the post of Master-General of the Ordnance and field commands under figures like Lord Uxbridge. Promoted to field marshal-level ranks, he served in staff and combat roles that brought him into contact with commanders from the Kingdom of Prussia and the Russian Empire during coalition operations.

Political career and offices

A peer of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Paget took seat in the House of Lords and held office under administrations including those led by Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, William Pitt the Younger, and Viscount Palmerston-era ministries. He served as Master-General of the Ordnance and as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland for a period, and was appointed to the Privy Council and received honors such as the Order of the Bath and later promotion within peerage ranks culminating in the marquessate. His parliamentary activity connected him to debates involving the Corn Laws, the Irish Question, and legislation influenced by ministers at Whitehall.

Role in the Napoleonic Wars and Waterloo

During the Peninsular War and the climactic Hundred Days campaign, Paget commanded cavalry divisions at key engagements including actions near Vitoria, Nivelle, and Waterloo, operating alongside Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Marshal Ney, and coalition commanders from the Kingdom of Hanover and Kingdom of the Netherlands. At the Battle of Waterloo he led the cavalry charge that countered French attacks and famously sustained a severe wound—an amputation of his leg—which became emblematic in accounts alongside medical figures such as Dr. James McGrigor and battlefield surgeons attached to the British Army Medical Department. Contemporary dispatches and memoirs by participants like William Siborne and correspondents in The Times chronicle Paget’s tactical use of cavalry and its contested effectiveness against French cuirassiers and infantry squares.

Personal life and scandal

Paget’s marriage to Caroline Elizabeth Villiers (née Lady Caroline Elizabeth Villiers, daughter of the Earl of Jersey) produced children who allied with families such as the Howard family, Cavendish family, and Talbot family through subsequent marriages; these descendants intertwined with peerage houses including the Marquess of Anglesey line, the Dukes of Norfolk, and the Earl of Uxbridge succession. His public reputation suffered after a notorious scandal involving an affair with Lady Charlotte Paget (née Charlotte Wellesley in some contemporary gossip columns and caricatures published by James Gillray and George Cruikshank), leading to divorce proceedings that attracted commentary in publications such as The Morning Chronicle and satirical illustrations circulated in Pall Mall Gazette-era print culture. The scandal affected social ties with figures like Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and members of Regency society, prompting residence changes to estates on Anglesey and properties near Uxbridge.

Later life, legacy, and honours

In later years Paget continued public service as a figure in aristocratic and veteran circles, receiving honors from foreign sovereigns including orders from the Kingdom of Prussia and the Kingdom of Belgium for his wartime role, while British recognition included elevation to Marquess of Anglesey and investiture into the Order of the Garter. His legacy appears in memorials such as the Anglesey Monument, regimental histories of the Royal Horse Guards and 1st The Royal Dragoons, and biographical treatments by historians of the Napoleonic Wars and the Duke of Wellington’s campaigns. Military scholars drawing on archives from Windsor Castle, the National Archives (UK), and collections at Bodleian Library and British Museum assess his cavalry leadership and political influence, while cultural historians examine his portrayal in prints by Thomas Rowlandson and commemorative sculptures in St Paul's Cathedral-era public memory. Paget died in 1854 at Uxbridge, leaving a complex record intersecting aristocratic politics, battlefield command, and Regency-era society.

Category:British field marshals Category:British military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Category:Marquesses in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Category:1768 births Category:1854 deaths