THE EIGHTH DUKE OF BEAUFORT 



mixture of both, cannot be ascertained with cer- 

 tainty. 



That Henry Somerset was never on good terms 

 with his father is certain, nor did he behave par- 

 ticularly well to him or to his step-mother. No 

 doubt he regarded his father as a hopeless visionary, 

 and believed that the only way to keep possession of 

 the family property was to withhold it from one 

 who would cheerfully spend his last penny in 

 mechanical works in which no one but himself 

 believed. 



After the Restoration the sun of royal favour 

 shone on Henry Somerset, Lord Herbert. The 

 question of the patent of the Dukedom of Somerset 

 granted by Charles I. was one of the first that came 

 before Parliament in 1660. This patent was then 

 in the hands of Henry Somerset, though his father 

 naturally claimed the title. The Seymour family 

 also laid claim to the dukedom, and to them it was 

 adjudged to belong. As compensation, Henrj^ 

 Somerset, then Earl and Marquis of Worcester, was 

 created Duke of Beaufort in 1682. This title was 

 also an acknowledgment of royal descent, for Beau- 

 fort was a property belonging to John of Gaunt, 

 from whom the Somersets traced their origin. 



This, however, is anticipating. In 166 1, Henry 

 Somerset, Lord Herbert, was appointed Lord- 

 Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, and two years later 

 he entertained King Charles II. and his queen at 

 Badminton. This estate had been left him by his 



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