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Henry Carey Hunsdon

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HENRY CAREY HUNSDON, 1ST Baron ( c. 1524-1596), English soldier and courtier, was a son of William Carey (d. 1529); his mother was Mary (d. 1543), a sister of Anne Boleyn, and he was consequently cousin to Queen Elizabeth. Member of parliament for Buckingham under Edward VI. and Mary, he was knighted in 1558, was created Baron Hunsdon in 1559, and in 1561 became a privy councillor and a knight of the Garter. In 1568 he became governor of Berwick and warden of the east Marches, and he was largely instrumental in quelling the rising in the north of England in 1569, gaining a decisive victory over Leonard Dacre near Carlisle in February 1S70. Hunsdon received very little money to cover his expenses, but Elizabeth lavished honours upon him, although he did not always carry out her wishes. In 1583 he became lord chamberlain, but he did not relinquish his post at Berwick. Hunsdon was one of the commissioners appointed to try Mary queen of Scots; after Mary's execution he went on a mission to James VI. of Scotland, and when the Spanish Armada was expected he commanded the queen's bodyguard. He died in London, at Somerset House, on the 23rd of July 1596.

His eldest son, George (1547-1603), 2nd Baron Hunsdon, was a member of parliament, a diplomatist, a soldier and lord chamberlain. He was also captain-general of the Isle of Wight during the time of the Spanish Armada. He was succeeded by his brother John (d. 1617). In 1628 John's son Henry, 4th Baron Hunsdon, was created earl of Dover. This title became extinct on the death of the 2nd earl, John, in 1677, and a like fate befell the barony of Hunsdon on the death of the 8th baron, William Ferdinand, in June 1765. Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Spencer of Althorp, and wife of the 2nd Lord Hunsdon, is celebrated as the patroness of her kinsman, the poet Spenser; and either this lady or her daughter Elizabeth was the author of the Tragedie of Marian (1613).

The 1st lord's youngest son, Robert Carey (c. 1560-1639), was for a long time a member of the English parliament. He was frequently employed on the Scottish borders; he announced the death of Elizabeth to James VI. of Scotland; and he was created earl of Monmouth in 1626. He wrote some interesting Memoirs, first published in 1759. His son and successor, Henry (1596-1661), is known as a translator of various French and Italian books. The title of earl of Monmouth became extinct on his death in June 1661.