The Bentinck family is a prominent family belonging to Dutch, German and British nobility. Its members have served in the armed forces and as ambassadors and politicians, including as Governor General of India and as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The family is related to the British royal family through the maternal Cavendish-Bentinck line of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
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The name Bentinck is a patronymic variation of the Old Germanic name Bento. The family is originally from the east of the Netherlands and is regarded as Uradel nobility, or noble from earliest times. The oldest known ancestor is Johan Bentinck, who owned land near Heerde and is mentioned in documents between 1343 and 1386.
An important British branch was founded by Hans Willem Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, who accompanied William Henry, Prince of Orange to England during the Glorious Revolution. The head of this line was initially given the title of Earl of Portland (later Duke of Portland).
In 1732, the title of Count Bentinck (Graf Bentinck), of the Holy Roman Empire, was created for Willem Bentinck, the second surviving son of the 1st Earl of Portland. A Royal Licence of 1886 was created which allowed the use of this title in Britain. The Royal Warrant of 27 April 1932 abolished the use of foreign titles in the United Kingdom but extended the special allowance in 13 cases, including the Bentinck comital title "during the lives of the present holders, their heirs, and their heir's heir, provided such heir's heir is now in existence." That exception has now expired.[1] Another branch with the title of count existed in the Netherlands, but it died out in the male line.
The Dutch and British branches of the family continue to exist and belong to the Dutch nobility, German nobility and British nobility.
The Lordship of In- and Kniphausen
The counts of Bentinck were sovereign rulers of the Lordship of In- and Kniphausen, a territory of two parts in and around what is now the city of Wilhelmshaven. Originally subject to Brussels, the general reorganisation of the Holy Empire in 1803 (Reichsdeputationshauptschluss) granted Imperial immediacy until the dissolution of the Holy Empire in 1806. The Lordship maintained a precarious independence until 1810, when France annexed it and the whole German North Sea coast to enforce the Continental System. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Lordship was denied admittance to the German Confederation in deference to Tsar Alexander I, who wished to see the territory annexed by his cousin, the Grand Duke of Oldenburg. Count Bentinck fought for his little state, however, and at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818, the Great Powers agreed that the Count's territory should be granted limited sovereignty.
The Frankfurt Convention of 10 July 1819 recognised In- and Kniphausen as sovereign within its own borders but under the protection of Oldenburg.[2] The Treaty of Berlin on 8 June 1825 finalized the terms. In- and Kniphausen was permitted its own commercial flag, which its vessels bore on the high seas.[3] Nevertheless, there was a long dispute between the Oldenburg and the Bentinck families in the latter's inheritance. This dispute was not ended until 1854 with a settlement in which the Bentinck family renounced its sovereignty for financial compensation and certain property rights. The Counts of Bentinck no longer claimed sovereignty over In- and Kniphausen.
Even before the final settlement, Oldenburg and Prussia had negotiated the Treaty of Jade of 1853 in which Oldenburg agreed to sell 340 hectares of Kniphausen territory to Prussia as a naval station for its North Sea Fleet. The cession became the city of Wilhelmshaven.
The Dutch estate of the Bentinck family since the 16th century, Schoonheten House [nl], is situated between the villages Heeten and Raalte in Overijssel. The area contains 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi) of forests and cultivated land. Today the family mainly earns its living by forestry, agriculture and renting holiday houses. The British branch of the family owns Bothal Castle (Bothal Estates) in Northumberland and Welbeck Abbey (Welbeck Estates), the ancestral seat of the Dukes of Portland in Nottinghamshire.
Gary Ramsay Bentinck, Baron Bentinck (1964), is head of both the British baronial branch and the Dutch family.[4] At the moment, there are not so many of the Dutch Bentincks bearing this surname and belonging to the branch of the original family, such as Maxim (baptismal name Maxim Wilhelm Christian Fredrik) Bentinck and Anna Bentinck, direct descendants who are aristocrats.
- Hendrik Bentinck [nl] (c. 1397–1477)
- Henrich Bentinck (died 1502)
- Hendrik Bentinck [nl] (c. 1468–1538), Dutch steward of the Veluwe region, and diplomat
- Willem Bentinck (died 1576)
- Eusebius Bentinck (died 1584)
- Hendrik Bentinck (1563–1639)
- Berent Bentinck (1597–1668)
- Eusebius Borchart Bentinck (1643–1710)
- Willem Bentinck (1673–1747)
- Berend Hendrik Bentinck (1702–1773)
- Derk Bentinck (1741–1813)
- Berend Hendrik Wolter Jan Bentinck (1781–1849)
- Walter Theodore Edward Bentinck (1840–1901)
- Reginald Joseph Bentinck (1866–1937)
- Moyra de Vere Bentinck (1917–1997), married to Dom Mintoff, Prime Minister of Malta
- Sir Rudolph Walter Bentinck (1868–1947), Royal Navy admiral
- Wolf Walter Rudolph Bentinck (1903–1992)
- Vivian Mark Bentinck (born 1945)
- Bernhard Bentinck (1877–1931), English cricketer
- Wolter Jan Gerrit Bentinck [nl] (1745–1781), Dutch naval hero
- Carel Bentinck [nl] (1751–1825), Dutch lieutenant-general
- Berend Hendrik Bentinck tot Buckhorst [nl] (1753–1830), Dutch soldier and statesman
- Hendrik Adolf Bentinck (1678–1734)
- Willem Bentinck (1721–1784)
- Adolf Carel Bentinck van Nijenhuis [nl] (1764–1837), Dutch politician
- Arnold Adolf Bentinck van Nijenhuis [it; nl] (1798–1868), Dutch politician
- John Adolf Bentinck (1824–1917)
- Johannes Adolf Bentinck (1857–1941)
- Johannes Adolf Bentinck (1890–1953)
- Johannes Adolf Bentinck [nl] (1916–2000), Dutch major-general
- Udo Bentinck [nl] (born 1940), Dutch judge
- William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland (1649–1709), Dutch general and diplomat; English peer from 1689
- Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland (1682–1726), Dutch-born British politician and colonial statesman
- Mary Capel, Countess of Essex, née Bentinck (1679–1726)
- Willem Bentinck van Rhoon, 1st Count Bentinck (1704–1774), Dutch politician; married Charlotte Sophie of Aldenburg (1715–1800), ruling Countess of Varel and Kniphausen
- Christiaan Frederik Anton Willem Karel Bentinck (1734–1768)
- Willem Gustaaf Frederik Bentinck [de; nl], 2nd Count Bentinck (1762–1835), Dutch politician
- Jan Carel van Aldenburg Bentinck (1763–1833)
- Willem Frederik Christiaan Bentinck, 3rd Count Bentinck (1787–1855)
- Carel Anton Ferdinand van Aldenburg Bentinck, 4th Count Bentinck (1792–1864)
- Henry Bentinck, 5th Count Bentinck (1846–1903), resigned his rights to his younger brothers 1874
- Count Robert Bentinck (1875–1932)
- Sir Charles Henry Bentinck (1879–1955), British diplomat who, after retirement, became an Anglican priest
- Willem van Aldenburg Bentinck, 6th Count Bentinck (1848–1912)
- Willem van Aldenburg Bentinck, 7th Count Bentinck (1880–1958)
- Isabelle van Aldenburg Bentinck [nl] (1925–2013)
- Carel Reinhard Adelbert van Aldenburg Bentinck (1853–1934)
- Marie von Aldenburg Bentinck [nl] (1879–1975)
- Godard Johan George Carel van Aldenburg Bentinck (1857–1940)
- Carel van Aldenburg Bentinck, 8th Count Bentinck (1885–1964)
- Adriaan van Aldenburg Bentinck, 9th Count Bentinck (1887–1968)
- Sir Henry John William Bentinck (1796–1876), British general
- Charles Ferdinand Bentinck (1764–1811), British colonial governor
- Henry William Bentinck (1765–1820), British colonial governor
- John Bentinck (1737–1775), Royal Navy captain, inventor and member of Parliament
- William Bentinck (1764–1813), Royal Navy admiral, Governor of St Vincent and the Grenadines
Bentinck Family Tree: Earls of Portland, Dukes of Portland and Counts Bentinck |
| | | | | | | | Earl of Portland, 1689 |
| | | | | | | | Hans William Bentinck 1649–1709 1st Earl of Portland |
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| | | | | Duke of Portland, 1715 | | | | | | | | | | Count Bentinck, 1732 |
Willem Bentinck 1681–1689 | | Henry Bentinck 1682–1726 1st Duke of Portland 2nd Earl of Portland | | | | | | | | | | William Bentinck 1704–1774 1st Count Bentinck |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | William Bentinck 1709–1762 2nd Duke of Portland, 3rd Earl of Portland | | | | | | | | | | Christian Frederick Anthony Bentinck 1734–1768 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck 1738–1809 3rd Duke of Portland, 4th Earl of Portland | | | | | | | | | | William Gustavus Frederic Bentinck 1762–1835 2nd Count Bentinck | | John Charles Bentinck 1763–1833 3rd Count Bentinck |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck 1768–1854 4th Duke of Portland, 5th Earl of Portland | | Lord William Charles Augustus Cavendish-Bentinck 1780–1826 | | Lord Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck 1781–1828 | | | | | | Charles Anthony Ferdinand Bentinck 1792–1864 4th Count Bentinck |
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William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck 1796–1824 Marquess of Titchfield | | William John Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck 1800–1879 5th Duke of Portland, 6th Earl of Portland | | Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck 1819–1877 | | George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck 1821–1891 | | | | | | Henry Charles Adolphus Frederick William Bentinck 1846–1903 5th Count Bentinck | | William Charles Philip Otto Bentinck 1848–1912 6th Count Bentinck | | Count Godard John George Charles Bentinck 1857–1940 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | William John Arthur Charles James Cavendish-Bentinck 1857–1943 6th Duke of Portland, 7th Earl of Portland | | William George Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck 1856–1948 | | | | | | Count Robert Charles Bentinck 1875–1932 | | William Frederick Charles Henry Bentinck 1880–1958 7th Count Bentinck | | Charles Arthur Reynard William Godard Augustus Bentinck 1885–1964 8th Count Bentinck | | Godard Adrian Henry Julius Bentinck 1887–1968 9th Count Bentinck |
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| | | | | | | | William Arthur Henry Cavendish-Bentinck 1893–1977 7th Duke of Portland, 8th Earl of Portland | | Ferdinand William Cavendish-Bentinck 1888–1980 8th Duke of Portland, 9th Earl of Portland | | Victor Frederick William Cavendish-Bentinck 1897–1990 9th Duke of Portland, 10th Earl of Portland[5] | | Henry Noel Bentinck 1919–1997 11th Earl of Portland, 10th Count Bentinck |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | William James Cavendish-Bentinck 1925–1966 | | Timothy Charles Robert Noel Bentinck 12th Earl of Portland, 11th Count Bentinck b. 1953 |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | William Jack Henry Bentinck b. 1984 Viscount Woodstock | | Jasper James Mellowes Bentinck (born 1988) |
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- Bentinck Island near Victoria, British Columbia at 48°18′54.08″N 123°32′30.32″W may have been named after Lord George Bentinck.[6]
- North and South Bentinck Arms, inlets off Burke Channel, were named after William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland by Captain Vancouver in 1793.[7]: 48 North Bentinck Arm is significant in the history of Canada because it was here in 1793 that Sir Alexander Mackenzie completed the first recorded transcontinental crossing of North America by a European north of Mexico.
- HMS Bentinck, Royal Navy ships named after Captain John Bentinck.
- After Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to the Netherlands at the end of World War I, he was housed at Amerongen Castle, belonging to Count Bentinck.
- HMS Portland (F79) is a type 23 frigate (Duke class) named after the Dukes of Portland. It is the eighth ship to hold the title, but the first to be named after the Portland family, rather than Portland Harbour.[verification needed]
- Bentinck Street and Bentinck School, in the Radford area of Nottingham, bear the family name. John Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland lived at Welbeck Abbey near Clumber Park in North Nottinghamshire.
- Bentinck Street, near Cavendish Square in the West End of London, bears the family name.
- Bentinckia, a genus of palms named after Lord William Bentinck, Governor General of British India.
Twiss, Travers: The Law of Nations Considered as Independent Political Communities, Oxford University Press, 1861, pages 30-32.
Hertslet, Edward: The Map of Europe by Treaty, 1875, pages 723-726.
The Dukedom of Portland became extinct upon the 9th Duke's death and the Earldom of Portland reverted to the male line of the 1st Earl of Portland with Henry Noel acceding as 11th Earl of Portland.