Charles Middleton, 2nd Earl of Middleton

English and Scottish politician

The Right HonourableThe Earl of MiddletonPC
Coat of arms of the Earl of Middleton

Secretary of State for Scotland
In office 26 September 1682 – 1684Serving with The Earl of Moray
Monarch	Charles II
Preceded by	The Earl of Moray
Succeeded by	The Earl of Moray John Drummond
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
In office August 1684 – September 1688
Monarch	Charles II
Preceded by	The Lord Godolphin
Succeeded by	The Viscount Preston
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
In office September 1688 – December 1688
Monarch	James II & VI
Preceded by	The Earl of Sunderland
Succeeded by	The Earl of Shrewsbury
Jacobite Secretary of State
In office 1693–1713
Monarchs	James II James Francis Edward Stuart
Preceded by	John Drummond, 1st Earl of Melfort
Succeeded by	Thomas Higgons

Personal details
Born	Charles Middleton 1650
Died	9 August 1719 (1719-08-10)
Resting place	Saint-Germain, France
Nationality	Scottish
Spouse	Lady Catherine Brudenell (ca 1648–1743)
Parent	John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton (father)
Occupation	Politician and soldier

Charles Middleton, 2nd Earl of Middleton, Jacobite 1st Earl of Monmouth, PC (1649/1650 – 9 August 1719) was a Scottish and English politician who held several offices under Charles II and James II & VII. He served as Secretary of State for Scotland, the Northern Department and the Southern Department, before acting as Jacobite Secretary of State and chief advisor to James II and then his son James III during their exile in France.

Life

Charles Middleton was born around 1650, the only son of John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton, and his first wife Grizel Durham. He had two elder sisters, Helen and Grizel.

Originally from Kincardineshire, in the first part of the 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, John Middleton supported the Covenanters, who appointed him commander-in-chief in 1644. After switching sides in 1648, he accompanied Charles II into exile, and Charles grew up in exile, returning home in the 1660 Restoration.

His father died in 1674 leaving him little except for the title and debts; in 1683, Charles married Lady Catherine Brudenell, (1648–1743), daughter of the Catholic Earl of Cardigan. They had four children; John (1683–1746), Katherine (1685–1763), Charles (1688–1738), and Elizabeth (1690–1773).

Middleton was described by Gilbert Burnet as ‘a man of generous temper, but without much religion’; he remained a Protestant until 1701, when he converted to Catholicism at the request of the dying James II.

Career

Middleton is thought to have spent 1669 to 1671 in France and Italy; in 1673, he was commissioned as a captain in the 3rd Foot, later the Buffs, which served in the 1672-1678 Franco-Dutch War as part of the Dutch Scots Brigade. By 1678, he was a Lieutenant-Colonel and governor of Bruges.

Shortly after this, he was suggested as Secretary of State for Scotland, in place of the Duke of Lauderdale. This went to Alexander Stuart, 5th Earl of Moray and in June 1680, Middleton was made envoy to Emperor Leopold I.

He returned to Scotland in July 1681, where he became a close associate of James and his wife Mary of Modena. He was appointed to the Scottish Privy Council and made joint Secretary of State for Scotland with Moray on 26 September 1682.

In 1684, he relocated to London and joined the English Privy Council in July and Secretary of State for the Northern Department in August. After James succeeded as king in February 1685, he was elected for Winchelsea and given the task of managing the House of Commons. Parliament was suspended for refusing to repeal the Test Act, while James' reliance on a small circle of Catholics made Middleton suspect as one of the few remaining Protestants.

He was present at the birth of the Prince of Wales in June 1688 and became Secretary of State for the Southern Department in September 1688. When James fled to France after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, he remained in England; in 1692, he was held in the Tower of London for plotting to restore him and after his release, joined the exiled court at Saint-Germain.

He proposed a more moderate declaration for a Jacobite restoration than James' chief advisor and Secretary of State, John Drummond, 1st Earl of Melfort. He became joint Secretary of State with Melfort, responsible for correspondence with England and Scotland, and became sole Secretary of State after Melfort was dismissed in June 1694. In England, he was tried in absentia for treason and outlawed on 23 July 1694, and attainted on 2 July 1695.

He continued as Secretary until James' death in September 1701, when he was appointed to the Regency Council during the minority of his son, James III. Despite his wish to resign, he was persuaded to remain in office and made the Earl of Monmouth in the Jacobite peerage.

With his two sons, Middleton accompanied James in 1708 during the attempted Franco-Jacobite landing in Scotland and allowed to resign as Secretary in 1713. He briefly joined James in Scotland during the 1715 Rising, before returning to France, where he served as Mary's Lord Chamberlain until her death in 1718. Granted a pension by the French government, he died on 9 August 1719 and was buried at the parish church of Saint-Germain.

References

Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Middleton, Earls of § Charles, 2nd Earl of Middleton" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 414–415.
Fugrol 2004, p. Online.
"Middleton, Earl of (S, 1660 - forfeited 1695)". Cracroft's Peerage. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
^ Henning, Basil Duke. "MIDDLETON, Charles, 2nd Earl of Middleton [S]. (c.1650-1719).The House of Commons 1660-1690 (Online ed.)". The History of Parliament. Boydell and Brewer. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
"Proceedings against John Earl of Melfort, John Earl of Middletoun, Richard Earl of Lauderdale, and several others, for treason and rebellion, inciting the French King to invade their Majesties Dominions, and remaining subject to the French King". A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors. 13 (411, column 1441). 1812.
Middleton 1957, p. 234.

Sources

Corp, Edward (2004). "Middleton, Charles, styled second earl of Middleton and Jacobite first earl of Monmouth (1649/50–1719)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/18665. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Fugrol, Edward (2004). "Middleton, John, first earl of Middleton". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/18674. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Henning, BD (1983). MIDDLETON, Charles, 2nd Earl of Middleton . (c.1650-1719) in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660-1690 (Online ed.). Boydell and Brewer.
Middleton, Dorothy (1957). The Life Of Charles 2nd Earl Of Middleton 1650 1719. Staples.

External links

"Middleton, Earl of (S, 1660 - forfeited 1695)". Cracroft's Peerage. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.

Parliament of England
Preceded byCresheld Draper Sir Stephen Lennard, Bt	Member of Parliament for Winchelsea 1685–1689 With: Cresheld Draper	Succeeded byRobert Austen Samuel Western
Political offices
Preceded byThe Earl of Moray	Secretary of State for Scotland 1682–1684 With: The Earl of Moray	Succeeded byThe Earl of Moray John Drummond
Preceded byThe Lord Godolphin	Secretary of State for the Northern Department 1684–1688	Succeeded byThe Viscount Preston
Preceded byThe Earl of Sunderland	Secretary of State for the Southern Department 1688	Succeeded byThe Earl of Shrewsbury
Preceded byJohn Drummond	Jacobite Secretary of State 1693–1713	Succeeded byThomas Higgons
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded byJohn Middleton	Earl of Middleton 1674–1695	Attainted

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