Francis Seymour, 5th Marquess of Hertford

Seymour was the eldest son of Admiral Sir George Seymour by his wife Georgiana Mary Berkeley, daughter of Sir George Berkeley; he was the elder brother of Henry Seymour and Lady Laura Seymour. He was the grandson of Lord Hugh Seymour and a great-grandson of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, and it is through this line he succeeded to the Hertford marquessate when his distant cousin, Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford, died unmarried and without issue in 1870. He inherited the entailed property from the 4th Marquess, including Ragley Hall, whilst the unentailed property went to his cousin's illegitimate son Richard Wallace, including what became the Wallace Collection.[1]

He was educated at Harrow.[2]

Seymour joined the Scots Fusilier Guards as a lieutenant in July 1827, rising to the rank of general in 1876 and retiring in 1881.[2]

He was Groom of the Robes to William IV and Victoria between 1833 and 1870.[3][4] In 1874 Seymour, now Lord Hertford, was sworn of the Privy Council[5] and appointed Lord Chamberlain of the Household under Benjamin Disraeli, a post he held until 1879.[6][7] Just before his retirement he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.[8]

Lord Hertford married, on 9 May 1839, Lady Emily Murray (1816-1902), daughter of David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield and Frederica Markham. They had ten children:

• Frederica Georgina Seymour (c. 1841–1848), died young.
• Lady Horatia Elizabeth Seymour (1842–1922), married Sir Henry David Erskine, a direct descendant of the Earls of Mar and had issue.
• Hugh de Grey Seymour, 6th Marquess of Hertford (1843–1912)
• Lady Florence Catherine Seymour (1845–1921), married Rev. James Blunt.
• Lord Albert Charles Seymour (1847–1891), married Sarah Napier and had issue.
• Lady Georgina Emily Lucy Seymour (1848–1944), married Henry Stirling-Home-Drummond, maternal grandson of Charles Douglas, 6th Marquess of Queensberry.
• Lord Ernest James Seymour (1850–1930), married Lady Georgiana Fortescue, daughter of Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue and had issue.
• Lady Constance Adelaide Seymour (1852–1915),[9] married Frederick St John Newdigate Barne and had issue, including Michael Barne.
• Lady Mary Margaret Seymour (1855–1948), married Sir George Dashwood, 6th Baronet and had issue.
• Reverend Lord Victor Alexander Seymour (1859–1935), married Elizabeth Cator and had issue.

Lord Hertford died on 25 January 1884, aged 71, from injuries following a fall from a horse at Ragley Hall.[2] He was succeeded in the marquessate by his eldest son, Hugh. The Dowager Marchioness of Hertford died at Westcott, Surrey, on 24 June 1902, aged 86.[10]

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Marquess of Hertford