Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven PC (20 October 1660 – 26 July 1723), styled 17th Baron Willoughby de Eresby between 1666 and 1701, and known as 4th Earl of Lindsey between 1701 and 1706, and as 1st Marquess of Lindsey between 1706 and 1715, was a British statesman and nobleman.

Early life

Bertie was the eldest son of Robert Bertie, 3rd Earl of Lindsey and, his second wife, the Hon. Elizabeth Wharton, daughter of Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton. Among his younger brothers were Hon. Peregrine Bertie (the Vice Chamberlain to King William III and to Queen Anne, Teller of the Exchequer), Hon. Philip Bertie (Auditor of the Duchy of Cornwall, who married Lady Elizabeth Brabazon, eldest daughter of William Brabazon, 3rd Earl of Meath), Hon. Norris Bertie (a Lt. of the Royal Navy), and Hon. Albemarle Bertie (MP who also served as Auditor of the Duchy of Cornwall. Among his sisters were Lady Jane Bertie (wife of Maj.-Gen. Edward Mathew, Governor of Grenada), Lady Caroline Bertie (second wife of Capt. George Dewar). From his father's first marriage to Mary (née Massingberd) Berkeley (widow of Hon. George Berkeley and second daughter John Massingberd, Treasurer of the East India Company), he had an elder half-sister, Lady Arabella Bertie (second wife Thomas Savage, 3rd Earl Rivers). In 1688, Bertie took part in the northern rising led by his kinsman, the Earl of Danby, in favour of William of Orange. He was rewarded with the chancellorship of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1689, a post which enabled him to secure a seat at Preston at the general election of 1690. Lord Willougby inherited the earldom of Lindsey on his father's death in 1701, and was invested a Privy Counsellor one month later; along with the Earldom of Lindsey, he also inherited the offices of Lord Great Chamberlain and Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, both of which he would hold until his death and would pass onto his son, the 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven. and was finally created Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven in 1715, with a special remainder failing the heirs male of his body, to the heirs male of the body of his father, Robert, late Earl of Lindsey, by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Philip, Lord Wharton. This was in addition to the London mansion, Lindsey House, at 59-60 Lincoln's Inn Fields, built for the Bertie family in 1640.

Personal life

On 30 July 1678, Lord Willoughby married Mary Wynn (d. 1689), a Welsh heiress and direct descendant of the princely house of Aberffraw. She was the daughter, and sole heiress, of Sir Richard Wynn, 4th Baronet of Gwydyr Estate and the former Sarah Myddelton (daughter of Sir Thomas Myddelton of Chirk Castle). They had five children, including:

  • Robert Bertie, Lord Willoughby (1683–1704), who died while studying at the Wolfenbüttel Ritter-Akademie
  • Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven (1686–1742), who married Jane Brownlow, third daughter of Sir John Brownlow, 3rd Baronet.
  • Lord Vere Bertie (d. 1768), an MP for Boston who married Ann Casey, illegitimate daughter of Sir Cecil Wray, 11th Baronet, in 1736.

Descendants

thumb|Funerary monument in [[Edenham Church by Henry Scheemakers and Henry Cheere]]

Through his son Lord Vere, he was a grandfather of Albinia Bertie (wife of George Hobart, 3rd Earl of Buckinghamshire) and Louisa Bertie (wife of Lt.-Gen. Hon. Sir Charles Stuart, Governor of Minorca and fourth son of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute).