Henry Legge (courtier)

British soldier and courtier

Colonel The Honourable

Sir Henry Legge

GCVO

Paymaster to the King's Household
In office
1915–1920
Equerry to the King
In office
1893–1915
Personal details
Born|

Henry Charles Legge

(1852-11-04)4 November 1852
Died| 20 June 1924(1924-06-20) (aged 71)
Spouse|

Amy Gwendoline Lambart

(m. 1884; died 1924)​

Relations| Sir Richard Williams-Bulkeley, 13th Baronet (grandson)
Harry Legge-Bourke (grandson)
Children| 2
Parent| William Legge, 5th Earl of DartmouthAugusta Legge, Countess of Dartmouth
Education| Eton College

Colonel Sir Henry Charles Legge (4 November 1852 – 20 June 1924) was a British soldier and courtier.

## Early life

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Legge was the second son of William Legge, 5th Earl of Dartmouth, and his wife Augusta (née Lady Augusta Finch), and was therefore entitled to the style "The Honourable".[1] He was educated at Eton College.[2]

## Career

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Legge was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards in 1872 and retired from the Army in 1899. He served as an equerry in the Royal Household from 1893 to 1915, when he became Paymaster to the King's Household and an extra equerry to the king. He retired in 1920.

He was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1910 and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in the 1920 Birthday Honours.[1] He received the 2nd class of the Prussian Order of the Crown in January 1903.[3]

## Personal life

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Legge married Amy Gwendoline Lambart (1852–1927) in 1884. They had two children:[2]

* Victoria "Vita" Alexandrina Stella Legge (1885–1965), who married Major Richard Gerard Wellesley Williams-Bulkeley (1887–1918), son of Sir Richard Henry Williams-Bulkeley, 12th Baronet, in 1909.[1] After his death, Vita married Roland Frank Holdway Norman in 1921.[4]
* Nigel Walter Henry Legge (1889–1914), who legally changed his name to Nigel Walter Henry Legge-Bourke by royal licence on 26 April 1911; he married Lady Victoria Alexandrina Wynn-Carington (1892–1966), daughter of Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire, in 1913. He was killed in action in World War I in October 1914.[1]

Sir Henry died on 20 June 1924.[2]

### Descendants

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Through his daughter Vita, he was a grandfather of three. His elder grandson, Richard Harry David Williams-Bulkeley, succeeded his paternal grandfather as the 13th Baronet. The younger grandson, David, died in South Africa in 1937, aged 21, in mysterious circumstances. The granddaughter, Sylvia, married Eustace Clearey. From Vita's second marriage, he had another grandson, Robert Norman, who was educated at Eton and was killed in action in 1944.[4]

Through his son Nigel, he was a grandfather of Sir Harry Legge-Bourke, whose granddaughters are cousins Tiggy and Eleanor Legge-Bourke.[4]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelly's Directories. 1916. p. 255. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
2. ^ a b c Obituary, The Times, 21 June 1924.
3. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36985\. London. 23 January 1903. p. 4.
4. ^ a b c Morris, Susan (20 April 2020). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage 2019. eBook Partnership. p. 2269\. ISBN 978-1-9997670-5-1. Retrieved 31 July 2023.

## External links

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* Sir Harry Charles Legge (1852-1924), Army officer and royal courtier at the National Portrait Gallery, London

*[m.]: married