Background
Henry Clarendon was the eldest son of the first earl, was born on the 2nd of June 1638.
He accompanied his parents into exile and assisted his father as secretary, returning with them in 1660.
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Henry Hyde 2nd Clarendon
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In 1661 Henry Clarendon was returned to parliament for Wiltshire as Lord Cornbury.
He became secretary in 1662 and lord chamberlain to the queen in 1665.
In 1682 he supported Halifax's proposal of declaring war on France.
On the accession of James in 1685 he was appointed lord privy seal, but shortly afterwards, in September, was removed from this office to that of lord- lieutenant of Ireland.
Clarendon arrived in Dublin on the 9th of January 1686.
He now supported the church in its struggle with James, opposed the Declaration of Indulgence, wrote to Mary an account of the resistance of the bishops, 1 and visited and advised the latter in the Tower.
He had no share, however, in inviting William to England.
He assured James in September that the Church would be loyal, advised the calling of the parliament, and on the desertion of his son" Lord Cornbury, to William on the 14th of November, expressed to the king and queen the most poignant grief.
In the council held on the 27th, however, he made a violent and unseasonable attack upon James's conduct, and on the 1st of December set out to meet William, joined him on the 3rd at Berwick near Salisbury, and was present at the conference at Hungerford on the 8th, and again at Windsor on the 16th.
His wish was apparently to effect some compromise, saving the crown for James.
According to Burnet, he advised sending James to Breda, and according to the duchess of Marlborough to the Tower, but he himself denies these statements. 2 He opposed vehemently the settlement of the crown upon William and Mary, voted for the regency, and refused to take the oaths of the new sovereigns, remaining a non-juror for the rest of his life.
Liberated on the 15th of August, he immediately recommenced his intrigues.
On Preston's arrest on the 316t of December, a compromising letter from Clarendon was found upon him, and he was named by Preston as one of his accomplices.
He was examined before the privy council and again imprisoned in the Tower on the 4th of January 1691, remaining in confinement till the 3rd of July.
He died on the 31t of October 1709, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His public career had been neither distinguished nor useful, but it seems natural to ascribe its failure to small abilities and to the conflict between personal ties and political convictions which drew him in opposite directions, rather than, following Macaulay, to motives of self-interest.
Religion
Clarendon was embarrassed in his estate, and James required a willing agent to carry out his design by upsetting the Protestant government and the Act of Settlement.
Connections
In 1660 Hyde married Theodosia, daughter of Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham, and sister of Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort. In 1670 he married Flower, widow of William Bishop and Sir William Backhouse (kinsman of her father), and daughter of William Backhouse.
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Born
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Died
January 31, 1709 (aged 70) -
Nationality
British -
Religion
Protestant -
Political Party
Conservative Party