Marquess of Anglesey is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge, a hero of the Battle of Waterloo, second in command to the Duke of Wellington. The Marquess holds the subsidiary titles of Earl of Uxbridge, in the County of Middlesex, in the Peerage of Great Britain (1784), Baron Paget, de Beaudesert, in the Peerage of England (1553). He is also an Irish Baronet, of Plas Newydd in the County of Anglesey and of Mount Bagenall in the County of Louth.

The 8th Marquess carried the standard of Wales at the 2023 Coronation.

The family seat now is Plas Newydd, at Llanddaniel Fab, Anglesey. Most recent marquesses are buried at St Edwen's Church, Llanedwen, built and maintained by the Marquess. The former family seat was Beaudesert, near Cannock Chase, Staffordshire.

Family history 1553–1815

thumb|262px|William Paget, 1st Baron Paget.

The Paget family descends from Sir William Paget, a close adviser to Henry VIII, who in 1553 was summoned to Parliament as Lord Paget de Beaudesert. His younger son, the third Baron, was a Catholic opponent of Elizabeth I. In 1589, he was attainted and his title forfeited. However, his son, the fourth Baron, was restored to the title in 1604. In contrast to his father, he was a prominent Protestant. He was succeeded by his son, the fifth Baron. He was Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire for the parliamentarians between 1641 and 1642, when he joined the Royalists and was dismissed. His son, the sixth Baron, was Ambassador to both Austria and the Ottoman Empire. On his death, the title passed to his son, the seventh Baron. He had already been created Baron Burton, of Burton-on-Trent in the County of Stafford, in 1711, prior to succeeding to the barony of Paget in 1713. In 1714 he was further honoured when he was made Earl of Uxbridge, in the County of Middlesex. However, the earldom and barony of Burton became extinct on the death of his grandson, the second Earl (son of Thomas Catesby Paget, Lord Paget), in 1769.

The barony of Paget, which could be passed on through the female line, devolved on his cousin Henry Bayly, who became the ninth Baron. He was the son of Sir Nicholas Bayly, 2nd Baronet, of Plas Newydd, and Caroline, Lady Bayly (d. 1766), daughter of Thomas Paget and granddaughter of the Hon. Henry Paget, second son of William Paget, 5th Baron Paget. In 1770 Henry Bayly assumed the surname and arms of Paget only. Twelve years later, in 1782, he succeeded his father in the baronetcy, and in 1784 the earldom of Uxbridge was revived for him, when he was made Earl of Uxbridge, in the County of Middlesex. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. He was a prominent military commander who gained fame at the Battle of Waterloo, where he lost his leg. A few weeks after the battle he was made Marquess of Anglesey. The seventh Marquess died in 2013 and was succeeded by his son Charles Alexander Vaughan Paget, 8th Marquess of Anglesey (born 13 November 1950). He was educated at Eton and Exeter College, Oxford (graduating M.A.), and at the University of Sussex (D.Phil.) His mother is the writer Shirley Paget, Marchioness of Anglesey, née Morgan. In 1986 he married Georgeanne Elizabeth Elliott Downes; they were divorced in 2011.

Bayly, later Paget Baronetcy

thumb|262px|Arms of Bayly Baronets, of Plas Newydd: Azure nine estoiles, three, three, two, and one, argent

The Bayly, later Paget Baronetcy, of Plas Newydd in the County of Anglesey and of Mount Bagenall in the County of Louth, was created in the Baronetage of Ireland in 1730 for Edward Bayly, who had previously represented Newry in the Irish House of Commons. In 1712 he inherited substantial estates on Anglesey, including Plas Newydd, still the family's main residence, from a cousin, Nicholas Bagenall. He was succeeded by his son, the second Baronet. He represented Anglesey in the British House of Commons. His son was the aforementioned third Baronet, who had already succeeded as ninth Baron Paget and was created Earl of Uxbridge in 1784.

Other family members

thumb|262px|Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Paget, younger brother of the first marquess of Anglesey

Numerous other members of the Bayly and Paget families have gained distinction. Charles Paget, youngest son of the first Baron, was a Roman Catholic conspirator.

The first earl of the 1784 creation was especially prolific in notable offspring. His second son, William Paget, was a captain in the Royal Navy and a Member of Parliament. His third son, Sir Arthur Paget, was a diplomat and politician. (His son Sir Augustus Berkeley Paget was a diplomat. His second son Sir Ralph Paget was also a diplomat. Arthur Paget (1839–1924), son of Stewart Paget, eldest son of Sir Arthur Paget, was a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy.)

The first earl's fourth son, Sir Edward Paget, was a general in the Army. His fifth son, Sir Charles Paget, was a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy. His sixth son, Berkeley Paget, sat as a Member of Parliament for Anglesey and Milborne Port. (He was the father of 1) Frederick Paget, Member of Parliament for Beaumaris, and 2) Leopold Paget, a colonel in the Royal Artillery, whose son Wellesley Paget became a major-general in the Royal Artillery. is the son of the 7th Marquess and his wife, Shirley Paget, Marchioness of Anglesey. Formally styled as Earl of Uxbridge from birth, he was educated at Eton College and Exeter College, Oxford, where he graduated BA and MA, and Sussex University, where he was awarded a D.Phil.

In 1986, Uxbridge married, first, Georgeanne Elizabeth Elliott Downes, daughter of Colonel J. A. Downes. They had two children: Earl of Uxbridge (1784), and Lord Paget, of Beaudesert (1549), and also inherited the baronetcy of Bayly, of Placenewyd, Anglesey and Mount Bagenall, County Louth (1730).

The heir apparent to the peerages is the present holder's son, Benedict Dashiell Thomas Paget, Earl of Uxbridge.

  • 25px George Paget, 7th Marquess of Anglesey (1922–2013)
  • 25px Charles Paget, 8th Marquess of Anglesey (b. 1950)
  • (1). Benedict Dashiel Thomas Paget, Earl of Uxbridge (b. 1986)
  • (2). Henry Dashiell Paget, Lord Paget (b. 2021)
  • (3). Lord Rupert Edward Llywellyn Paget (b. 1957)
  • (4). Hon. Jack William Kyffin Paget (b. 1989)

There are other male descendants in remainder to the earldom and barony, descended from the younger sons of the 1st Earl of Uxbridge.