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John Hookham Frere

(1769-1846), Diplomat and writer

Sitter associated with 5 portraits
Entered Parliament as an MP in 1796. He was an envoy in Lisbon and Madrid, and in 1808 was sent to Spain as Minister-Plenipotentiary to the Central Junta. Affairs on the Peninsula were then in a very critical state, and in November of that year Napoleon marched upon Madrid. Frere advised Sir John Moore, the commander of the British forces in the north of Spain, to advance through Madrid. The consequences were disastrous; Frere was held responsible, recalled the following year, and found his political career at an end. Frere was known as a sparkling writer of humorous poetry. He returned to this pursuit, and his acclaimed translations of the comic plays of Aristophanes were published in 1840.

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John Hookham Frere
by Henry Edridge
NPG 1473

John Hookham Frere
by Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey
NPG 316a(51)

John Hookham Frere
by Henry Bone, possibly after John Hoppner
NPG D17218

John Hookham Frere
after Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey
NPG D14359

John Hookham Frere
by Henry Bone, after John Hoppner
NPG D17452

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Elizabeth Jemima (née Blake), Countess of Erroll (wife)

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John Hookham Frere