Henry Byng, 4th Earl of Strafford
Henry William John Byng, 4th Earl of Strafford KCVO CB (21 August 1831 – 16 May 1899) was a British peer and courtier.
The Earl of Strafford KCVO CB | |
|---|---|
 "Byngo" Byng as caricatured in Vanity Fair, May 1892 | |
| Equerry | |
| In office 1874–1899 | |
| Preceded by | The Lord de Ros |
| Succeeded by | John Brocklehurst |
| Groom-in-Waiting | |
| In office 1872–1874 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Gardiner |
| Succeeded by | John Campbell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Henry William John Byng 21 August 1831 London, England |
| Died | 16 May 1899 (aged 67) Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, England |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | British Army |
| Rank | Supernumerary Major |
| Unit | Coldstream Guards |
Biography
Byng was the second son of George Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford and his first wife, Agnes. From 1840 he was a Page of Honour to Queen Victoria and joined the Coldstream Guards in 1847 as a Lieutenant. In 1854, he was promoted to Captain, by purchase, appointed an Adjutant later that year and a Supernumerary Major in 1865.
In 1872, Byng was made a Groom-in-Waiting and then an Equerry two years later. In 1895, he was appointed a CB and knighted KCVO in 1897. In 1898, he inherited his elder brother's titles.
Byng was killed by an express train at Potters Bar railway station. Witnesses said he appeared to step in front of the approaching engine from the bottom of the slope at the end of the platform. His body was carried 50 yards down the track.[1] A coroner's court was later told he had the nervous condition of catalepsy. The inquest jury – after considering several verdicts including suicide – returned a finding of death by misadventure.[1]
As his sons predeceased him[lower-alpha 1] the titles passed to his brother, Francis.
Family
On 15 October 1863, Byng married Countess Henrietta Louisa Elizabeth Danneskiold-Samsøe (a maternal granddaughter of the 1st Marquess of Ailesbury) and they had four children:
- Hon. George Albert Edward Alexander (1867–1893)
- Hon. John George Thomas Wentworth (1870–1894)
- Lady Mary Elizabeth Agnes (d. 1946), married Count Maurice de Mauny Talvande.
- Lady Amy Frederica Alice (1865–1961), married Sidney Agar, 4th Earl of Normanton.
After his wife's death in 1880, Byng married on 6 December 1898 Cora Colgate née Smith (a wealthy American widow), but they did not have any children.
Byng had been buried in a family vault in the churchyard of St John's Potter's Bar with his first wife, the church had become disused and prone to vandalism so the bodies were exhumed in 1935 and moved to a mausoleum at the nearby family estate of Wrotham Park.[2]
Notes
- Eldest son George was drowned at sea in 1893 between Naples and Gibraltar from the RMS Ophir, second son John died the following year aged 23 in Paris of typhoid.
References
- "The Death of Lord Strafford". The Times (35833). London. 19 May 1899. p. 8.
- "Exhumation of Earl and Wife". Dundee Courier. 9 August 1935. p. 5.
| Court offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by George Cavendish |
Page of Honour 1840–1847 |
Succeeded by Alfred Crofton |
| Preceded by Henry Gardiner |
Groom-in-Waiting 1872–1874 |
Succeeded by John Campbell |
| Preceded by The Lord de Ros |
Equerry 1874–1899 |
Succeeded by John Brocklehurst |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by George Byng |
Earl of Strafford 1898–1899 |
Succeeded by Francis Byng |