William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland
William Bentinck (1645-1709), the son of Hendrick Bentinck of Diepenheim, was born in 1645. He was descended from an ancient and noble family of Gelderland. He became page of honor and then gentleman of the bedchamber to William, Prince of Orange. When, in 1675, the prince was attacked by smallpox, Bentinck nursed him assiduously, and this devotion secured for him the special and enduring friendship of William. From that point on, Bentinck had the Prince's confidence. In 1677 he was sent to England to solicit for the prince of Orange, the hand of Mary, daughter of James, Duke of York, afterwards James II. He was again in England on William's behalf in 1683 and in 1685. When, in 1688, William was preparing for his invasion Bentinck went to some of the German princes to secure their support, or at least their neutrality, and he was also a medium of communication between his master and his English friends. He superintended the arrangements for the expedition and sailed to England with the prince.
The revolution accomplished, Bentinck was made groom of the stole, first gentleman of the bedchamber, and a privy councillor. In April 1689 he was created Baron Cirencester, Viscount Woodstock and Earl of Portland. He commanded some cavalry at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, and was present at the Battle of Landen, where he was wounded, and at the siege of Namur. But Bentinck's main work was of a diplomatic nature. Having thwarted the plot to murder the king in 1696, he helped to arrange the peace of Ryswick in 1697; in 1698 he was ambassador to Paris, where he opened negotiations with Louis XIV for a partition of the Spanish monarchy, and as William's representative, he signed the two partition treaties.
Portland had, however, become very jealous of the rising influence of Arnold van Keppel, earl of Albemarle, and, in 1699, he resigned all his offices in the royal household. He did not forfeit the esteem of the king, who continued to trust and employ him. Portland had been loaded with gifts, and this, together with the jealousy felt for him as a foreigner, made him very unpopular in England. He received 135,000 acres (546 km²) of land in Ireland, and only the strong opposition of a united House of Commons prevented him obtaining a large gift of crown lands in North Wales. For his share in drawing up the partition treaties he was impeached in 1701, but the case against him did not proceed. He was occasionally employed on public business under Anne until his death at his residence, Bulstrode in Buckinghamshire, on November 23, 1709. Portland's eldest son Henry succeeded as 2nd earl. He was created marquess of Titchfield and Duke of Portland in 1716.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
