Cavendish-Bentinck, William, 6th Duke of Portland (1857 -1943)

William Cavendish-Bentinck was the son of Lieutenant-General Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck by his first wife Elizabeth Sophia Hawkins-Whitshed, daughter of Sir St Vincent Hawkins-Whitshed, 2nd Baronet. His paternal grandparents were Lord Charles Bentinck and his second wife Anne Wellesley, the natural daughter of Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, while his great-great-uncle was Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. His mother died only a few days after his birth. Following his education at Eton, Cavendish-Bentinck initially embarked on a military career. In 1879 he inherited the Cavendish-Bentinck estates, based around Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire, from his cousin William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland. He sat on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords and held office as Master of the Horse under Lord Salisbury from 1886 to 1892 and from 1895 to 1902, and under Arthur Balfour from 1902 to 1905. In 1886 he was also a member of the Privy Council. Among his other offices were Lord-Lieutenant of Caithness, Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, Deputy Lieutenant of Ayrshire, and a trustee of the British Museum. In 1900 he was created a Knight of the Garter, and from 1937 to 1943 he was Chancellor of the Order of the Garter. At the coronation of King George VI he carried the crown of Queen Elizabeth, whose mother (the Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne) was his cousin. Cavendish-Bentinck married Winifred Anna Dallas-Yorke daughter of Thomas Dallas-Yorke, on 11 June 1889. They had three children. Cavendish-Bentinck died in April 1943, aged 85, and was succeeded by his eldest son, William.