Sir Thomas Myddelton Biddulph (29 July 1809 – 28 September 1878) was an officer in the British Army and courtier.
He was the second son of Robert Myddelton Biddulph of Ledbury[1] and younger brother of Robert Myddelton Biddulph of Chirk Castle.[2] Educated at Eton College,[1] Biddulph entered the Army with the purchase of a commission as cornet and sub-lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Life Guards on 7 October 1826.[3] He purchased further promotion to lieutenant on 23 February 1829[4] and captain on 16 May 1834.[5] In 1837 and 1841 his brother Robert unsuccessfully tried to have him elected as Member of Parliament for the Denbigh Boroughs.[2] Biddulph was granted brevet rank as a major on 9 November 1846.[6]
On 16 July 1851 Biddulph was appointed Master of the Household to Queen Victoria,[7] an office for which he had been selected by Baron Stockmar.[1] On 31 October that year he purchased the substantive rank of major in the 7th Light Dragoons, and then the rank of lieutenant-colonel on the unattached list the same day.[8] He was made an Extra Equerry to the Queen on 16 July 1854[9] and promoted to brevet colonel on 29 January 1857,[10] with seniority later antedated to 28 November 1854.[11] On 16 February 1857 Biddulph married Mary Frederica Seymour (1824–1902), one of the Queen's maids of honour; she was the only daughter of Frederick Charles William Seymour (son of Vice-Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour) by his first wife Lady Mary Gordon (daughter of George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly)[12] and later served as an honorary Woman of the Bedchamber to the Queen.[1] They had one son and one daughter.[12]
On 10 March 1863 it was announced that Biddulph would be made a Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Order of the Bath;[13] he received the knighthood on 27 March.[1] He was promoted to major-general on 31 May 1865.[14] On 3 March 1866 he resigned as Master of the Household and was appointed joint Keeper of the Privy Purse with Lieutenant-General Charles Grey.[15] He was also appointed Receiver-General of the Duchy of Cornwall on 31 March that year.[16] After Grey's appointment as Private Secretary to the Sovereign on 30 April 1867, Biddulph became sole Keeper of the Privy Purse.[17] He was further appointed Receiver-General of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1873, and would hold all three offices to his death.[1] He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 29 December 1873 and full general on 1 October 1877,[18] and on 22 December 1877 was sworn of the Privy Council.[19]
General Sir Thomas Myddelton Biddulph died at the Mains of Abergeldie, near Balmoral, after a short illness during which Queen Victoria visited him daily. He was buried at Clewer.[1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
Arthur H. Grant (1886). "Biddulph, Thomas Myddleton". In Stephen, Leslie. Dictionary of National Biography. 5. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Margaret Escott, MYDDELTON BIDDULPH, Robert (1805-1872), of Chirk Castle, Denb. and 35 Grosvenor Place, Mdx. in History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1820-1832, Volume 4, Cambridge 2009
- ↑ "No. 18301". 31 October 1826. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/18301/page/
- ↑ "No. 18560". 20 March 1829. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/18560/page/
- ↑ "No. 19155". 16 May 1834. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/19155/page/
- ↑ "No. 20660". 10 November 1846. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/20660/supplement/
- ↑ "No. 21228". 18 July 1851. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/21228/page/
- ↑ "No. 21258". 31 October 1851. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/21258/page/
- ↑ "No. 21637". 5 December 1854. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/21637/page/
- ↑ "No. 21965". 6 February 1857. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/21965/page/
- ↑ "No. 22194". 26 October 1858. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/22194/page/
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 K. D. Reynolds, Biddulph, Sir Thomas Myddleton (1809–1878), courtier and army officer in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford 2004
- ↑ "No. 22721". 27 March 1863. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/22721/page/
- ↑ "No. 22982". 20 June 1865. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/22982/page/
- ↑ "No. 23080". 6 March 1866. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/23080/page/
- ↑ "No. 23097". 6 April 1866. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/23097/page/
- ↑ "No. 23246". 30 April 1867. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/23246/page/
- ↑ "No. 24508". 2 October 1877. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/24508/page/
- ↑ "No. 24535". 25 December 1877. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/24535/page/
The original article can be found at Thomas Myddelton Biddulph and the edit history here.