Lord George Bentinck

Lord George Bentinck was born on 24 December 1715 and died on 1 March 1759. He was a British Army officer and a Member of Parliament (MP). He was the second son of Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland, and Lady Elizabeth Noel, daughter of Wriothesley Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough.

Bentinck received his early education at Eton College. His military career began with his appointment as an ensign on 3 November 1735. On 12 April 1743, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and given command of a company in the 1st Foot Guards. He served at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743. On 12 March 1752, he was appointed aide-de-camp to the King. On 29 August 1754, he was appointed colonel of the 5th Regiment of Foot. Later, he was promoted to the rank of major-general.

His political career included being elected as a Member of Parliament representing the borough of Droitwich in a by-election in 1742. In the 1747 general election, he was elected as an MP for the rotten borough of Grampound. He served in this position until the 1754 general election, when he was elected as the MP for Malmesbury in Wiltshire. He held this seat continuously until his death in 1759.

In his personal life, Lord George Bentinck lived openly out of wedlock with Mary Davies of Hanwell for several years. They married clandestinely at Keith's Chapel in Westminster on 29 June 1753, a few months after the passage of the Clandestine Marriages Act 1753 but before it was in force. During the marriage, Mary Davies acquired the name Lady George Bentinck.

His family disapproved of his marriage; his brother William, Duke of Portland, and other family members reportedly scorned the relationship. Lady Elizabeth Egerton, his aunt, noted in a letter that Lord George had no known children with Mary Davies and expressed disdain for the marriage. It has been reported that his grief over his family's disapproval contributed to his death from gout, which occurred six years after their marriage. At the time of his death, he left his widow a personal fortune valued at approximately £774,000 in 2023 currency.

Three weeks following his death, Lady George Bentinck remarried Joseph Griffiths, Esq., on 17 April 1759, at St Clement Danes in Westminster.