by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

Lord Alfred Paget served Queen Victoria as Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal 1846 – 1858 and 1859-1874 and also as Clerk Marshal 1874 – 1888.

Lord Alfred Henry Paget was born on June 29, 1816, in Cavendish Square, London. He was the fourth of the ten children and the second of the five sons of Field Marshal Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, the eldest son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, and his second wife Lady Charlotte Cadogan, daughter of Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan, and Mary Churchill, a niece of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.

In 1795, Alfred’s father Henry Paget had first married Lady Caroline Villiers, daughter of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey, and his wife Frances, who was one of King George IV’s mistresses when he was Prince of Wales. The couple had eight children who were Lord Alfred’s half-siblings.

In 1810, before Lord Alfred’s father Henry Paget was created 1st Marquess of Anglesey, he and his first wife Lady Caroline were divorced as a result of Henry’s affair with Lady Charlotte Wellesley (born Lady Charlotte Cadogan), who was married to Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley, the brother of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the military hero who led the forces against Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. Charlotte’s brother Lieutenant-Colonel The Honorable Henry Cadogan challenged Paget to a duel, but neither was hurt. Caroline sued her husband for divorce and subsequently married George Campbell, 6th Duke of Argyll.

Lady Charlotte’s first husband divorced her on the grounds of her adultery with Henry Paget. In 1810, after the divorces, Charlotte and Henry Paget were married. In 1812, Henry became 2nd Earl of Uxbridge upon the death of his father. Henry was a prominent military commander who gained fame at the Battle of Waterloo, where he lost his leg. Henry was fitted with an artificial leg but his amputated leg was a tourist attraction in the village of Waterloo in Belgium before it was eventually buried there. On July 4, 1815, several weeks after the Battle of Waterloo, Henry was created Marquess of Anglesey.

Alfred had eight half-siblings from his father’s first marriage to Lady Caroline Villiers:

• Lady Caroline Paget (1796 – 1874), married Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond,  had ten children including Lady Cecilia Gordon-Lennox who married Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan; they are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales
• Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey (1797 – 1869), married (1) Eleanora Campbell, granddaughter of John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, had three children  (2) Henrietta Bagot, had four children
• Lady Jane Paget (1798 – 1876), married Francis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham, had six children
• Lady Georgina Paget (1800 – 1875), married Edward Crofton, 2nd Baron Crofton, had five children
• Lady Augusta Paget (1802 – 1872), married Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Templemore, had seven children
• Lord William Paget (1803 – 1873); married Frances de Rottenburg, had three children
• Lady Agnes Paget (1804 – 1845); married George Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford, had six children
• Lord Arthur Paget (1805 – 1825)

Alfred had nine siblings:

• Lady Emily Paget (1810 – 1893), married John Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney, no children
• Admiral Lord Sir Clarence Paget (1811 – 1895), married Martha Stuart Otway, daughter of Admiral Sir Robert Otway, had three children
• Lady Mary Paget (1812 – 1859), married John Montagu, 7th Earl of Sandwich, had six children
• General Lord George Paget (1818 – 1880), married (1) Agnes Paget, his first cousin, daughter of The Honorable Sir Arthur Paget, had two children (2) Louisa Heneage, no children
• Lady Adelaide Paget (1820 – 1890), married The Honorable Frederick Cadogan, son of George Cadogan, 3rd Earl Cadogan, had four children
• Lord Albert Paget (1821 – 1822)
• Lord Albert Paget (born and died 1823)
• Lady Eleanor Paget (born and died 1825)

Lord Alfred’s family had several connections to royalty:

• Lord Alfred’s father Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey served as Lord High Steward of England at the coronation of King George IV in 1821 and carried St. Edward’s Crown.

• Lord Alfred’s brother-in-law Francis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham who married his half-sister Lady Jane Paget was a Page of Honor to the Prince Regent (later King George IV). He then served as a Groom of the Bedchamber and Master of the Robes during the reign of King George IV. In 1835, during the reign of King William IV, Lord Conyngham was appointed Lord Chamberlain, the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. As Lord Chamberlain, Lord Conyngham and William Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury went to Kensington Palace at 5 AM on June 20, 1837 to inform Princess Victoria that her uncle King William IV had died and she was now Queen. Lord Conyngham was the first person to address her as “Your Majesty”.

• Lord Alfred’s half-brother Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey, then styled the Earl of Uxbridge, served as Lord Chamberlain after his brother-in-law Lord Conyngham, from 1839 – 1841.

• Lord Conyngham and his wife Lady Jane Paget, Lord Alfred’s half-sister, were the parents of Lady Jane Conyngham, Lord Alfred’s niece, who married Francis Spencer, 2nd Baron Churchill. As Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill, she served as a Lady of the Bedchamber and a devoted friend and trusted advisor to Queen Victoria for forty-six years, from 1854 until her death in 1900, making her the longest-serving member of Queen Victoria’s household.

• Lord Alfred’s sister Lady Adelaide Paget was one of the eight train-bearers at Queen Victoria’s coronation.

• Lord Alfred’s first cousin Matilda Paget (1811 – 1871) served as Maid of Honor to Queen Victoria from 1837 – 1842. Matilda never married.  Her father was The Honorable Berkeley Thomas Paget, brother of Lord Alfred’s father.

• Lord Alfred’s second but eldest surviving daughter Evelyn Cecilia Paget served as Maid of Honor to Queen Victoria from 1874 – 1894.  Evelyn never married.

Lord Alfred began his military career as a lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards and in 1854 reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Although his father was a member of the Conservative Party (Tories), Alfred served as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Lichfield from 1837 – 1865, when he was defeated by the Conservative Richard Dyott.

Lord Alfred first served Queen Victoria as Chief Equerry.  Except for some brief periods, he remained in her service until his death in 1888. Queen Victoria was particularly endeared to Lord Alfred because as a new equerry, he wore her portrait on a chain around his neck and so did his Golden Retriever Mrs. Bumps. From July 1846 to March 1852, from December 1852 to March 1858, and from June 1859 to 1888, Alfred served Queen Victoria as Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal. The offices of Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal had been combined but in 1874, they were separated. From 1874 – 1888, Alfred was only Chief Marshal. An Equerry serves as an aide-de-camp, more or less a personal assistant. As Clerk Marshal, Alfred was responsible for the payment of all Royal Household officers and servants. He was also responsible for submitting the accounts of the Royal Household to the Board of Green Cloth which then audited them.

On April 8, 1847, at St. James’s Church in Piccadilly, London, Alfred married Cecilia Wyndham, co-heiress with her elder sister of George Thomas Wyndham. Alfred and Cecilia had fourteen children. Their first child was named Victoria Alexandrina after Queen Victoria.

• Victoria Alexandrina Paget (1848 – 1859), died in childhood
• Evelyn Cecilia Paget (1849 – 1904), Maid of Honor to Queen Victoria 1874 – 1894, unmarried
• General Sir Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget (1851 – 1928), married American heiress Mary “Minnie” Stevens, had four children
• Admiral Sir Alfred Wyndham Paget (1852 – 1918), married Alpini Viti Macgregor, had one daughter
• Major George Thomas Cavendish Paget (1853 – 1939), married Dorothy St. Vincent Parker-Jervis, no children, divorced
• Captain Gerald Cecil Stewart Paget (1854 – 1913), married Lucy Annie Emily Gardner, had two daughters
• Violet Mary Paget (1856 – 1908), married Reverend Sholto Campbell, 2nd Baron Blythswood, no children
• Sydney Augustus Paget (1857 – 1916), married Mary Elizabeth Dolan, no children
• Amy Olivia Paget (1858 – 1948), unmarried
• Alberta Victoria Paget (1859 – 1945), unmarried
• Almeric Hugh Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough (1861 – 1949), married (1) American heiress Pauline Payne Whitney, had two daughters (2) American heiress Edith Starr Miller, had three daughters
• Alice Maud Paget (1862 – 1925), married Captain Claud Edward Stracey-Clitherow, no children
• Alexandra Harriet Paget (1863 – 1944), married Edward Colebrooke, 1st Baron Colebrooke, had three children
• Guinevere Eva Paget (1869 – 1894), married Reginald Charles Hart Dyke, had one son

Lord Alfred Paget died unexpectedly on his yacht off the coast of Inverness, Scotland on August 24, 1888, at the age of 72. He was buried at St, Mary’s Church, Hampton in Hampton, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England.

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Recommended Book – Serving Queen Victoria: Life in the Royal Household by Kate Hubbard

Works Cited

• “Alfred Henry Paget”. It.Wikipedia.Org, 2018, https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Henry_Paget. Accessed 28 May 2018.
• “Henry Paget, 1St Marquess Of Anglesey”. En.Wikipedia.Org, 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Paget,_1st_Marquess_of_Anglesey. Accessed 28 May 2018.
• Hubbard, Kate. Serving Victoria: Life In The Royal Household. Harper Collins Publishers, 2012.
• “Lord Alfred Paget”. En.Wikipedia.Org, 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Alfred_Paget. Accessed 28 May 2018.
• “Lord Alfred Paget”. Thepeerage.Com, 2018, http://www.thepeerage.com/p612.htm#i6117. Accessed 28 May 2018.