William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland

William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland KG (1 March 1709 1 May 1762), styled Viscount Woodstock from 1709 to 1716 and Marquess of Titchfield from 1716 to 1726, was a British peer and politician.


The Duke of Portland

William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland (Christian Friedrich Zincke)
Personal details
Born(1709-03-01)1 March 1709
Died1 May 1762(1762-05-01) (aged 53)
Resting placeWestminster Abbey
NationalityEnglish
Spouse(s)Lady Margaret Harley
ChildrenElizabeth Thynne, Marchioness of Bath
Henrietta Grey, Countess of Stamford
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
Lady Margaret Bentinck
Lady Frances Bentinck
Lord Edward Bentinck
ParentsHenry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland
Elizabeth Noel
Coat of arms of William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland, KG

Portland was the son of Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland and his wife Elizabeth Noel, daughter of Wriothesley Baptist Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough. He succeeded his father in the dukedom as a teen in 1726.[1] He was an original governor of the Foundling Hospital in London, founded in 1739, and was made a Knight of the Garter in 1741. On 11 June 1734 he married Lady Margaret Harley, daughter of Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer. They had six children:

The Duke did not seek any public office, but focused on his family life at the family seat, Bulstrode Park.[1]

Portland is identified in The Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities (1909) as one of the perpetrators of The Great Bottle Hoax of 1749, in which a large crowd was lured to a London theatre with the expectation of seeing a man jump into a "quart bottle".

Portland died in May 1762, aged 53, was buried at Westminster Abbey. He was succeeded in the dukedom by his eldest son William, who became Prime Minister of Great Britain. The Duchess of Portland died in 1785. Also, the Duke was the great-great-great-great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth the Second current reigning monarch of Great Britain. 1952-

Peerage of England
Preceded by
Henry Bentinck
Duke of Portland
17261762
Succeeded by
William Cavendish-Bentinck

References

  1. "Biography of William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland (1709-1762)". University of Nottingham. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  2. Burkes Peerage (1939 edition), s.v. Stamford.

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