William Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter

The Most Honourable The Marquess of Exeter PC
200px The Marquess of Exeter by Carlo Pellegrini, 1881.
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms
In office 20 March 1867 – 1 December 1868
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	The Earl of Derby Benjamin Disraeli
Preceded by	The Earl of Tankerville
Succeeded by	The Lord Foley
Personal details
Born	30 April 1825 (1825-04-30)
Died	14 July 1895 (1895-07-15) (aged 70)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Lady Georgina Pakenham (d. 1909)

William Alleyne Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter PC (30 April 1825 – 14 July 1895), styled Lord Burghley between 1825 and 1867, was a British peer and Conservative politician. He served as Treasurer of the Household between 1866 and 1867 and as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms between 1867 and 1868.

Background

Exeter was the eldest son of Brownlow Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Exeter, and Isabella, daughter of William Stephen Poyntz, MP. He was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, where he was president of the University Pitt Club.

Cricket

Exeter played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Cambridge University between 1847 and 1851.

Political career

Exeter was elected to the House of Commons for South Lincolnshire in 1847, a seat he held until 1857, and then represented North Northamptonshire from 1857 to 1867. He served under the Earl of Derby as Treasurer of the Household from 1866 to 1867, when he succeeded his father in the marquessate and entered the House of Lords. In March 1867 Derby appointed him Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms, a post he held until December 1868, the last nine months under the premiership of Benjamin Disraeli. In 1866 he was admitted to the Privy Council.

Family

Lord Exeter married Lady Georgina Sophia Pakenham, daughter of Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford, on 17 October 1848. They had at least nine children:

• Brownlow Henry George, Lord Burghley, later the 4th Marquess of Exeter (1849–1898)
• Lord Francis Horace Pierrepont (1851–1889), married Edith Brookes, daughter of Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, 1st Baronet.
• Lord William (1854–1943), married (1) Mary Tyssen-Amherst, Baroness Amherst, (2) Violet Freer.
• Lady Catherine Sarah (1861–1918), married Henry de Vere Vane, 9th Baron Barnard.
• Colonel Lord John Pakenham Joicey-Cecil (1867–1942)
• Lady Isabella Georgiana Katherine (d. 1903), married William Battie-Wrightson.
• Lady Mary Louisa Wellesley (d. 1930), married James Hozier, 2nd Baron Newlands.
• Lady Louisa Alexandrina (d. 1950), died unmarried.
• Lady Frances Emily (d. 1951), died unmarried.

Lord Exeter died in July 1895, aged 70, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son Brownlow, who also became a government minister. The Marchioness of Exeter died in March 1909.

External links

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

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Christopher Turnor Sir John Trollope, Bt	Member of Parliament for South Lincolnshire 1847–1857 With: Sir John Trollope, Bt	Succeeded by Sir John Trollope, Bt Anthony Wilson
Preceded by Thomas Philip Maunsell Augustus O'Brien-Stafford	Member of Parliament for North Northamptonshire 1857–1867 With: Augustus O'Brien-Stafford 1857 George Ward Hunt 1857–1867	Succeeded by George Ward Hunt Sackville Stopford-Sackville
Political offices
Preceded by Lord Otho FitzGerald	Treasurer of the Household 1866–1867	Succeeded by Hon. Percy Egerton Herbert
Preceded by The Earl of Tankerville	Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms 1867–1868	Succeeded by The Lord Foley
Preceded by The Earl of Ilchester	Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms 1874–1875	Succeeded by The Earl of Shrewsbury
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Brownlow Cecil	Marquess of Exeter 1867–1895	Succeeded by Brownlow Cecil