Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney

Early life

Henry Sydney was born in Paris around March 1641, fourth surviving son of Robert Sydney, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1595–1677), and his wife Lady Dorothy Percy (died 1659). His brothers included Philip (1619–1698), who fought for Parliament during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and Algernon (1623–1683), a political theorist closely associated with John Locke who was executed in 1683 for his part in the Rye House Plot. Another brother, Robert (1626–1668), served in the army of the Dutch Republic, and was a close companion of the exiled Charles II of England, although he fell from favour shortly before his death.

His eldest sister Dorothy (1617–1684) married Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland (1620–1643), who was killed fighting for the Royalists during the First English Civil War; her son, Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland (1641–1702), was born in Paris a few months after Henry and the two men were close friends for most of their lives. From December 1685 to October 1688, Sunderland was Lord President of the Council under James II of England. Another sister, Lucy (circa 1626-1685), married Sir John Pelham, 3rd Baronet (1623–1703), MP for Sussex for most of the period from 1654 to 1695. A Whig who supported the Glorious Revolution, two of his grandsons served as Prime Minister.

Sydney was brought up at Penshurst Place, the family home in Kent and spent much of the period from 1658 to 1664 travelling in Europe with his nephew and contemporary, the future 2nd Earl of Sunderland.

Career

On his return from the continent in 1664, Sydney began to hold positions at court. In 1667, he was commissioned as a captain in the Holland Regiment, then commanded by his brother Robert. In the 1670s, he carried out some minor diplomatic missions and received his first significant office in 1678, when Charles appointed him as Master of the Robes.

In early 1678, England re-entered the Franco-Dutch War as an ally of the Dutch Republic, and Sydney was given command of a new regiment raised to fight in the war. Although it ended before he saw active service, he became a friend of William of Orange; and with the support of Sunderland, then Secretary of State for the Northern Department, in June 1679 he was appointed Envoy to the United Provinces, a position he held with marked success until 1681.

In October 1679, he was also elected as MP for Bramber in what is commonly called the "Exclusion Bill Parliament". The central issue during this period was the attempt to exclude the Catholic Duke of York from the succession. Sydney was a "Williamite exclusionist", one of those who supported exclusion but preferred William of Orange, son of a Stuart mother and married to James' eldest daughter Mary, rather than Charles' illegitimate son, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. This ultimately led to his dismissal, although he was permitted to return to the Netherlands in 1682 and given command of one of the English regiments of the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade.

In 1683, Algernon Sydney was executed for his part in the Rye House Plot, an alleged conspiracy to assassinate Charles II along with his brother James, and place Monmouth on the throne. Charles died in February 1685, and James succeeded to the English throne, leading to the June 1685 Monmouth Rebellion. As William's wife Mary was then the heir to the throne, after James, William sent troops to help suppress Monmouth. Sydney was thus able to balance his obligations as a loyal subject with acting as an informal contact point between William and his English supporters, as well as Sunderland, whom James appointed Lord President of the Council in 1685. The situation changed in June 1688 with the birth of a male heir, James Francis Edward Stuart; the prospect of a Catholic dynasty led to the Invitation to William. Signed by the Immortal Seven, representatives from the key political constituencies whose support William needed to commit to an invasion, it was drafted by Sydney, later described as "the great wheel on which the Revolution rolled".

Reputation

Sydney's reputation has been subject to a variety of views; some contemporaries considered him lazy and superficial, while Tory satirist Jonathan Swift dismissed him as 'an idle, drunken, ignorant rake, without sense or honour'. Other perspectives are more charitable and in general present him as "an individual with flaws, but also remarkable for his even temper, straight dealing, good judgement, and a knack for gaining the trust of others".

Personal life and death

Sydney never married but he had an illegitimate son, Henry Worthley. On 8 April 1704, he died of smallpox at his house in London and was buried a few days later in St James's Church, Piccadilly. His titles became extinct.