Henry, Duke of Beaufort

The 10th Duke of Beaufort was born as Henry Hugh Arthur FitzRoy Somerset at the family’s London home in Mayfair. He was educated at Eton College before going to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, from where he was commissioned into the Royal Horse Guards. He inherited the Beaufort title following the death of his father, the 9th Duke, in 1924.

Beaufort was appointed Master of the Horse, one of the most important roles in the UK’s Royal Household, in 1936. He held the position until resigning in 1978 after a record 42 years in the post. A keen sportsman, Beaufort was involved in football, boxing, and cricket, and was in 1953 the president of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club). He was also president of the British Olympic Association 1949-66. Equestrianism, however, was Beaufort’s first passion. He became Master of the Beaufort Hounds, and it was the duke who introduced King Charles III to hunting when he was the young Prince Charles.

After the 1948 Olympics Beaumont felt there was a need for better equestrian training facilities and he made available the grounds of his home at Badminton House. In 1949 the world-famous Badminton Horse Trials were founded by the duke.

The Lord Lieutenant of Bristol and Gloucester, and later Gloucestershire, between 1931-78, Beaufort died at his Badminton home in 1984. Due to his close association with the Royal Household, his funeral was attended by senior members of the UK Royal Family including Her Majesty the Queen, the Queen Mother, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne, and her husband Mark Phillips.