Charles Francis Topham de Vere Beauclerk, Earl of Burford (born 22 February 1965) is a British aristocrat who is heir to the title Duke of St Albans. He first came to public attention when he attempted to interfere with a debate in Parliament, declaring a bill which proposed to exclude hereditary peers from automatic voting rights in the House of Lords to be treasonable. He is a writer and exponent of the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship.
Family
Beauclerk is the only son and heir apparent of Murray Beauclerk, 14th Duke of St Albans. He is descended from Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, the natural son of Charles II and Nell Gwyn. Though he is entitled to use the courtesy title Earl of Burford, Beauclerk does not currently use the title.
He was educated at Eton College, Sherborne School & Hertford College, Oxford.
Politics
In 1999, Beauclerk first encountered fame during a debate on the House of Lords Act 1999 concerning the amendment of voting rights for hereditary peers. After listening to the debate while seated on the first step of the Throne, as was his right as the eldest son of a peer, Beauclerk leapt to his feet, crossed the floor of the House, stood on the Woolsack (the Speaker's seat in the House of Lords) and declared the bill treason to the life and culture of Britain, insisting that hereditary peers should retain their right to an unelected place in the legislature.
His actions led to widespread criticism from Labour Party MPs. Angela Smith said it was the "tantrum of a naughty child", adding that "While claiming to defend tradition, he clearly showed no respect for it; while decrying the will of the elected House to be 'treason', he showed no respect for democracy." Beauclerk received the distinction of being banned for life from the Palace of Westminster.
Election candidate
Subsequently, he stood as the first ever candidate for the right wing Democratic Party at the 1999 Kensington and Chelsea by-election. Kensington and Chelsea was perceived as a very safe seat for the Conservatives. Beauclerk's campaign manager John Gouriet, head of the group Freedom in Action, said that "Lord Burford feels very strongly as a true patriot that the Conservative Party has failed completely to stop the revolutionary march of socialism in the last few months." The seat was won, as expected, by the Conservative candidate Michael Portillo. Beauclerk received 189 votes (0.9%).
Oxfordian theory and writings
Through his father he is the heir of the family of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (hence the double surname), and has played a prominent role in promoting the Oxfordian theory that his ancestor wrote the works of William Shakespeare. He also claims that Oxford was the real author of works attributed to other Elizabethan writers, including John Lyly, George Gascoigne and Thomas Watson. Beauclerk regularly lectures on Oxfordian subjects in the United States.
In 2010 he published Shakespeare's Lost Kingdom: The True History of Shakespeare and Elizabeth, in which he espouses a version of "Prince Tudor theory" which holds that Oxford was the lover of Queen Elizabeth I, and that he fathered Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. Beauclerk supports the most radical version of the theory, which adds the claim that Oxford himself was the queen's son, and thus the father of his own half-brother.
Beauclerk has also written a biography of his ancestress Nell Gwyn (published 2005).
Personal life
From 29 December 1994, at Manaton, Dartmoor, to 2001 he was married to Canadian actress and pop singer, Louise Ann Robey. From that marriage he has one son, James Malcolm Aubrey Edward de Vere Beauclerk, Lord Vere of Hanworth (born 2 August 1995). After their divorce, they have shared custody of their son James.
References
External links
- Shakespeare’s Lost Kingdom: The True History of Shakespeare and Elizabeth, Book Review by Michael Delahoyde, Brief Chronicles, Vol. II (2010), pp. 237â€"243.
- Shakespeare’s Lost Kingdom: The True History of Shakespeare and Elizabeth, Book Review by Christopher Paul, Brief Chronicles, Vol. II (2010), pp. 244â€"257.