Charles Cavendish-Bentinck

Charles William Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (8 November 1817 – 17 August 1865) was a priest of the Church of England who served in Bedfordshire. He is recognized as the maternal grandfather of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II, and the great-great-grandfather of King Charles III.

Born in Kensington, Bentinck was the elder son of Lieutenant Colonel Lord Charles Bentinck and Anne Wellesley, formerly Lady Abdy. He had one younger brother, Arthur Cavendish Bentinck, and two sisters, Anne and Emily. In early life, he was often addressed as William or William-Charles to distinguish him from his father, and later in life, he presented his full name as William Charles Cavendish Bentinck, often signing as "W. C. C. Bentinck." He rarely used the double-barreled surname Cavendish-Bentinck.

His paternal grandparents were William Cavendish-Bentinck, the 3rd Duke of Portland, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, and Dorothy Cavendish, a daughter of William Cavendish, the 4th Duke of Devonshire, also a Prime Minister. His maternal grandparents were Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley—who served as Governor-General of India—and Hyacinthe-Gabrielle Roland, a former actress at the Palais Royal. Richard Wellesley was a brother of Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington and another Prime Minister.

At birth, the prospects for Bentinck or his brother Arthur inheriting peerages appeared remote due to the presence of other heirs in the family, including the elder brother of their father, the 4th Duke of Portland, and their father's other elder brother, Lord William Bentinck (1774–1839).

Bentinck was educated at Merton College, Oxford, where he matriculated on 1 June 1837. He later attended New Inn Hall, Oxford, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1845, followed by a Master of Arts in 1846 by seniority. After completing his education, Bentinck pursued a career in the Church of England and was appointed as Vicar of Husborne Crawley and Ridgmont, both in Bedfordshire. He was appointed to these benefices by the 7th Duke of Bedford. In his clerical work, he was known as William Charles Cavendish Bentinck.

The probability of Bentinck inheriting the Dukedom of Portland increased after the death of his uncle, William Bentinck, the 4th Duke of Portland, on 27 March 1854; at that time, all of the 4th Duke's four sons were either deceased or unmarried. The eldest son, William, Marquess of Titchfield, had died in 1824, and Lord George Bentinck died in 1848. The 5th Duke, Lord William Bentinck, was considered eccentric and had no issue. The youngest son, Lord Henry William Bentinck, was unmarried. Bentinck, being childless after the death of his wife Sinetta in 1850, was next in line but did not inherit the peerage.

Charles William Cavendish Bentinck died on 17 August 1865 at Ridgmont, aged 47, and was buried at Croxton, Cambridgeshire. His younger brother, Arthur Cavendish Bentinck, died in 1877. Their cousin, Lord Henry William Bentinck, died in 1870, and the 5th Duke of Portland in 1879. The title then passed to Bentinck's nephew, William Cavendish-Bentinck, the son of his brother Lt.-General Arthur Cavendish Bentinck.

Bentinck was married twice. His first marriage was on 26 September 1839 to Sinetta Lambourne at St George's, Hanover Square, while he was still an undergraduate. Sinetta was the daughter of James Lambourne, a horse dealer with claims to having founded the area of Summertown, Oxford. They had two children who died in infancy:

* Charles William Cavendish Bentinck (born 1840, died 19 days old)

* Charles Cavendish Bentinck (born 1841, died 1842)

Sinetta Lambourne died on 19 February 1850 at Ampthill. In 1859, Bentinck married Caroline Louisa Burnaby, the daughter of Edwyn Burnaby and Anne Caroline Salisbury. They had three daughters:

* Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne (1862–1938)

* Ann Violet Cavendish-Bentinck (1864–1932)

* Hyacinth Sinetta Cavendish-Bentinck (1864–1916), who married Augustus Edward Jessop

In 1881, Bentinck's daughter Cecilia married Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. She became the mother of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II.