Colonel Philip Stanhope,
2nd Earl of Chesterfield

Philip Stanhope was Colonel of the Holland Regiment from November 1682 to January 1684. But this was only a stop-gap appointment during which time The Earl of Mulgrave (Buckingham) fell out of favour with King Charles II. Philip Stanhope was promised the Colonelcy of one of the guards regiments but the commission he received appointed him 'to be Colonell of Our Holland Regiment of Foote Guards lately commanded by John Earle of Mulgrave, and to be Capt of a Company in that Regimt.' Stanhope was astonished to find that he had been fobbed off with what he regarded as an ordinary regiment of Foot, disingenuously called a regiment of guards. This was the first and only time that the regiment had been called 'guards' and he struck out the word on the commission document, and wrote a letter of complaint to Sir L Jenkins the Secretary of State. He complained again in Jan 1684 and resigned in disgust when he heard that the Tangier Regiment was to have precedence over the Holland Regiment. He also held the office of Lord Chamberlain to Catherine of Braganza from 1662 to 1665. He was a notorious ladies' man and duellist being imprisoned once for wounding Captain John Walley and being forced to flee the country after killing another man. He was married three times, his first two wives died. He died in 1714 at home in Middlesex and was buried in Shelford, Notts. 1634 Born, son of Lord Henry Stanhope 1640 Educated by Poliander, Professor of Divinity at Leyden 1656 Inherited title Earl of Chesterfield from grandfather 1658 Imprisoned for wounding Capt Walley in a duel 1659 Imprisoned on suspicion of involvement in Sir George Booth's rising 1660 Returned to England with Charles II after fleeing to France 1662 Lord Chamberlain to Queen Catherine, for 3 years 1667 Raised a regiment of Foot but later disbanded 1669 Received a DCL from Oxford University 1670 Member of the Queen's Council 1679 Warden of the Royal Forests south of the Trent 1682 Colonel of the Holland Regiment (The Buffs) 1708 Fellow of the Royal Society 1714 Died on 28th Jan.