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[[File:Catherine II's letter to C.Williams (1756).jpg|thumb|A letter to Sir Charles Williams, by Grand Duchess Catherine Alexeyevna]]
[[File:Catherine II's letter to C.Williams (1756).jpg|thumb|A letter to Sir Charles Williams, by Grand Duchess Catherine Alexeyevna]]


Williams's father bought the Coldbrook Park estate near Abergavenny for him from his godfather's bequest. There in 1746 he added a nine-bay, two-storey Georgian façade in 1746. He died insane in 1759 and the Coldbrook estate passed to his brother George.<ref>{{cite book|title= An Historical Tour in Monmouthshire, Volume 2|page=279}}</ref>
Williams's father bought the Coldbrook Park estate near Abergavenny for him from his godfather's bequest. There in 1746 he added a nine-bay, two-storey Georgian façade in 1746. He died insane in 1759 and the Coldbrook estate passed to his brother George.<ref>{{Cite book |title=An Historical Tour in Monmouthshire, Volume 2 |page=279}}</ref>


==Seven Years' War==
==Seven Years' War==
Line 21: Line 21:
Williams played a major role as a British envoy at the court in Russia during the [[Seven Years' War]]. Although Russia was at war with Britain's ally Prussia, the two countries remained at peace.
Williams played a major role as a British envoy at the court in Russia during the [[Seven Years' War]]. Although Russia was at war with Britain's ally Prussia, the two countries remained at peace.


[[Horace Walpole]] praised the wit of his poetry, and wrote of his "biting satire".<ref>{{cite ODNB|id=29488|first=Mary Margaret|last=Stewart|title=Williams, Sir Charles Hanbury}}</ref>
[[Horace Walpole]] praised the wit of his poetry and wrote of his "biting satire".<ref>{{Cite ODNB |id=29488 |first=Mary Margaret |last=Stewart |title=Williams, Sir Charles Hanbury}}</ref>


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
Williams was the inspiration for the character Charles Edaston in the 1913 [[George Bernard Shaw]] play [[Great Catherine (play)|Great Catherine]], which recounts the story of a British envoy to Catherine's court. It was [[Great Catherine (film)|made into a film]] starring [[Peter O'Toole]] in 1968. Williams also left poems which were said to be "witty but licentious".<ref name=daven>{{cite book|last=Davenport|first=Richard Alfred|authorlink=Richard Alfred Davenport|title=A Dictionary of Biography p.571|year=1831|publisher=Chiswick Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2YMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA571}}</ref>
Williams was the inspiration for the character Charles Edaston in the 1913 [[George Bernard Shaw]] play [[Great Catherine (play)|Great Catherine]], which recounts the story of a British envoy to Catherine's court. It was [[Great Catherine (film)|made into a film]] starring [[Peter O'Toole]] in 1968. Williams also left poems which were said to be "witty but licentious".<ref name=daven>{{Cite book |last=Davenport |first=Richard Alfred |authorlink=Richard Alfred Davenport |title=A Dictionary of Biography p. 571 |year=1831 |publisher=Chiswick Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2YMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA571}}</ref>


==Sources==
==Sources==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|30em}}
{{A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature}}
{{A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature}}
==Further reading==
==Further reading==
*Horn, David B., ''Sir Charles Hanbury Williams and European diplomacy, 1747–58'', London et al. 1930: Harrap.
*David B. Horn, ''Sir Charles Hanbury Williams and European diplomacy, 1747–58'', London et al. 1930: Harrap


==External links==
==External links==

Revision as of 12:11, 21 February 2020

This article is about the British diplomat and satirist. For other people called Charles or Charlie Williams, see Charles Williams.

Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, KB (8 December 1708 – 2 November 1759) was a Welsh diplomat, writer and satirist. He was a Member of Parliament from 1734 until his death.

Life

The son of John Hanbury, a Welsh ironmaster, he assumed the name of Williams in 1720, under the terms of a bequest from his godfather, Charles Williams of Caerleon.

On 1 July 1732 at Saint James, Westminster, London, he married Lady Frances Coningsby (15 January 1707/1708 – buried at Westminster Abbey, 31 December 1781), daughter of Thomas Coningsby, 1st Earl Coningsby and Lady Frances Jones. They had two daughters: Frances married William Capel, 4th Earl of Essex and Charlotte Robert Boyle Walsingham, youngest son of the Earl of Shannon.

He entered Parliament in 1734 for the Monmouthshire constituency as a supporter of Robert Walpole, and held the seat until 1747. He then won the seat of Leominster in 1754 and held it until his death.

In 1739 Williams gave support for the establishment of the Foundling Hospital and served as one of its founding governors.

From 1747 till 1750, he was the British ambassador in Dresden. In 1748 he was in Poland and witnessed a Polish Sejm, where he met members of the influential Czartoryski family (August Aleksander Czartoryski). When the future King of Poland, Stanisław Poniatowski, was receiving medical treatment in Berlin, he met Sir Charles, who was sent there as ambassador (1750–1751). This Welshman became part of Polish and Russian history by introducing Stanisław to the Russian Grand Duchess Catherine Alexeyevna (Saint Petersburg 1755, the future Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia). From that moment began the famous romance between Catherine and Poniatowski.

A letter to Sir Charles Williams, by Grand Duchess Catherine Alexeyevna

Williams's father bought the Coldbrook Park estate near Abergavenny for him from his godfather's bequest. There in 1746 he added a nine-bay, two-storey Georgian façade in 1746. He died insane in 1759 and the Coldbrook estate passed to his brother George.[1]

Seven Years' War

Further information: Great Britain in the Seven Years War

Williams played a major role as a British envoy at the court in Russia during the Seven Years' War. Although Russia was at war with Britain's ally Prussia, the two countries remained at peace.

Horace Walpole praised the wit of his poetry and wrote of his "biting satire".[2]

Legacy

Williams was the inspiration for the character Charles Edaston in the 1913 George Bernard Shaw play Great Catherine, which recounts the story of a British envoy to Catherine's court. It was made into a film starring Peter O'Toole in 1968. Williams also left poems which were said to be "witty but licentious".[3]

Sources

  1. ^ An Historical Tour in Monmouthshire, Volume 2. p. 279.
  2. ^ Stewart, Mary Margaret. "Williams, Sir Charles Hanbury". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29488. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ Davenport, Richard Alfred (1831). A Dictionary of Biography p. 571. Chiswick Press.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons – via Wikisource.

Further reading

  • David B. Horn, Sir Charles Hanbury Williams and European diplomacy, 1747–58, London et al. 1930: Harrap
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Monmouthshire
1735–1747
With: Thomas Morgan 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Leominster
1754–1759
With: Richard Gorges 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by British Ambassador to Poland
1747–1755 		Succeeded by
British Ambassador to Saxony
1747–1750
Preceded by British Ambassador to Prussia
1749–1751 		Unknown
Next known title holder:
Andrew Mitchell
Preceded by British Ambassador to Russia
1752–1759 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire
1741–1747 		Succeeded by

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