George Bubb Dodington, Baron Melcombe
(1691-1762), British ambassador to Spain, wit, patron of literature and politician; MP for BridgwaterSitter in 7 portraits
Dodington inherited his uncle's estate in 1720, which left him very wealthy. He became a friend of Frederick, Prince of Wales, who took advantage of him to obtain loans to clear debts. Frederick promised him a peerage but died before acceding to the throne. Dodington entered Parliament as a Whig MP in 1722. He was appointed by the prime minister, Robert Walpole, as a Lord Commissioner at the Treasury Board. By 1740 however, relations soured and he was dismissed. He finally achieved his goal of a peerage a year before his death, when King George III honoured his father's promise. His diary, published posthumously in 1784 by Henry Penruddocke Wyndham, is a valuable historical source.
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