William Wentworth Fitzwilliam, 2nd Earl Fitzwilliam
(1748-1833), Lord-Lieutenant of IrelandRegency Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 13 portraits
William Wentworth Fitzwilliam succeeded to the Earldom in 1756 and entered the House of Lords in 1769. He was the nephew of Lord Rockingham, leader of the Old Whig opposition faction in the 1760s and 1770s, and when Rockingham died in 1782, FitzWilliam inherited his estates. This made him one of the wealthiest landowners in the country, and he also took up his uncle's role as a major leader of the Whigs. In the Lords, he was one of the leading supporters of the Fox-North coalition government. He served briefly as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.
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