Lord Alfred Henry Paget (26 June 1816 – 24 August 1888) was a British soldier, courtier and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1837 and 1865.
Early life
Paget was the sixth son of William Paget, the 1st Marquess of Anglesey and the former Hon. Charlotte Cadogan. Among his siblings were Lady Emily Paget (wife of John Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney), Lord Clarence Paget, Lady Mary Paget (wife of John Montagu, 7th Earl of Sandwich), Lord George Paget, and Lady Adelaide Paget (wife of Frederick William Cadogan). From his mother's first marriage to Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley, he had four half-siblings, including Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley, William Henry George Wellesley, Hon. Charlotte Wellesley (wife of Robert Grosvenor, 1st Baron Ebury), and Gerald Valerian Wellesley.
Career
thumb|Portrait by [[Francis Grant (artist)|Francis Grant, 1859]]
He became a lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards. In 1837 he was elected Member of Parliament for Lichfield and held the seat until 1865,
Paget was Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal to the Queen from July 1846 to March 1852, from December 1852 to March 1858, and from June 1859. The office ceased to be a political one from 1866.
He was the Commodore of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, 1846–1873, and Vice-Commodore, 1845-1846 and 1874–1888.
On 1 August 1874, he resigned the Chief Equerryship only. He became a Lieutenant-Colonel (unattached) in 1854.
- Victoria Alexandrina Paget (1848–1859) who married Pauline Payne Whitney in 1895. After her death in 1916, he married Edith Starr Miller in 1921.
- Alice Maud Paget (1862–1925)
In popular culture
In the television series Victoria, Lord Alfred is played by Jordan Waller. In the second series, he was depicted having a same-sex romantic relationship with Sir Robert Peel's secretary, Edward Drummond. There is no historical evidence that this took place. In the same series, Lord Alfred marries Lady Wilhelmina Coke (the niece of the Duchess of Buccleuch); but in real life, Lord Alfred married Cecilia Wyndham.