![]() On his return, Brudenell took his seat in the House of Commons, on the ruling, Tory, side of the House. The trip allowed Brudenell to enjoy the full pleasures of both cultural and social opportunities afforded by the countries he visited. His itinerary, with Russia and Sweden included, was more extensive than the traditional destinations of France and Italy. The intention was to give Brudenell a grounding in parliamentary affairs before, eventually, he would take his place in the House of Lords.īrudenell's first action on leaving Oxford was not to take his parliamentary seat but, as was traditional for wealthy young men of the time, to take the Grand Tour. In February 1818, during his last term at Oxford, and again following his father's wishes, he became Member of Parliament (MP) for Marlborough, a pocket borough owned by his cousin Charles, Earl of Ailesbury. He left in his third year-aristocrats with no academic bent were released after only two years-but despite showing some aptitude, he did not take a degree. Instead in November 1815, he was sent up to Christ Church, Oxford as an aristocrat he was automatically granted admission without examination. His father, however, mindful of preserving the family pedigree from risk of battle, would not allow this. īrudenell was a fine rider and, inspired by the decisive role of cavalry at the battle of Waterloo, his wish was to purchase a commission in a fashionable regiment and serve as an army officer. This has been seen as a cause of his arrogance and stubbornness in later life. Here, as the only son among seven sisters, he developed into something of a spoilt child, accustomed to getting his own way. He made good academic progress, but after he had settled a quarrel with another pupil by an organised fistfight, his father removed him from the school (fistfights were tolerated at Harrow it was the fact of Brudenell's receiving punishment for unauthorised absence while having a broken bone in his hand attended to by a London surgeon which had annoyed the earl). ![]() He was educated at Harrow where, notwithstanding the fears of his family that a childhood head injury caused by a dangerous fall from a horse had seriously damaged his intellect, he showed aptitude in Greek and Latin. ![]() James accordingly became "Lord Brudenell", and took up residence in the most grand of households, at the age of fourteen. In February 1811 his father inherited the Cardigan earldom, along with the immense estates and revenues that went with it, and the family seat of Deene Park, Northamptonshire. James Brudenell was born in what was, by the standards of the Brudenell family, a modest manor house at Hambleden, Buckinghamshire to Robert Brudenell and his wife Penelope Brudenell, Countess of Cardigan. As a member of the landed aristocracy, he had actively and steadfastly opposed any political reform in Britain, but in the last year of his life, he relented and came to acknowledge that such reform would bring benefit to all classes of society.īiography Early life Hambleden Manor, where Brudenell was born His progression through the Army was marked by many episodes of extraordinary incompetence, but also by generosity to the men under his command and genuine bravery. Throughout his life in politics and his long military career, he characterised the arrogant and extravagant aristocrat of the period. Lieutenant-General James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, KCB (16 October 1797 – 28 March 1868), styled as Lord Cardigan, was an officer in the British Army who commanded the Light Brigade during the Crimean War, leading its charge at the Battle of Balaclava. Commander of the Legion of Honour (France).Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.
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