Henry Luttrell, 2nd Earl of Carhampton

General Henry Lawes Luttrell, 2nd Earl of Carhampton PC (7 August 1743 – 25 April 1821) was a politician and soldier. He was the son of Simon Luttrell, 1st Earl of Carhampton, and brother-in-law of Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn.

Military career

Educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, Luttrell was commissioned into the 48th Regiment of Foot in 1757. Two years later he became lieutenant of the 34th Regiment of Foot.

In 1762, during the Seven Years' War, he became Deputy Adjutant-General of the British Forces in Portugal. In 1768 he became a Tory Member of Parliament in for the village of Bossiney, Cornwall. Then in 1769 he became Member of Parliament for Middlesex defeating John Wilkes in controversial circumstances; Wilkes outpolled him by a large margin, but the House of Commons declared that Luttrell "should have been returned" and seated him. As a reward for unseating Wilkes he was made Adjutant-General for Ireland in 1770. He then became active in Irish politics and between 1783 and 1787, he sat in the Irish House of Commons for Old Leighlin.

Luttrell succeeded to the Earldom and other titles on the death of his father in 1787. Meanwhile, he became Colonel of the 6th Dragoon Guards and Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance in Ireland. He re-entered the Westminster Parliament as Member for Plympton Erle in 1790. Then in 1796 he was made Commander-in-Chief, Ireland and in 1798 he led the British suppression of the United Irishmen Rebellion.

When the Dublin Post of 2 May 1811 erroneously reported his death, he demanded a retraction which they printed under the headline Public Disappointment.

He purchased an estate at Painshill Park in Surrey and re-entered parliament in June 1817 as Member for Ludgershall and held the seat until his death.

He was a member of the Irish branch of the ancient family of Luttrell and a descendant of Sir Geoffrey de Luterel, who established Luttrellstown Castle, County Dublin in the early 13th century.

Family

He briefly married Elizabeth Mullen in 1759, and had a daughter, Harriet Luttrell. This marriage was later annulled.

He married Jane Boyd in 1776, but they had no children and was succeeded by his brother John.