William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne KG KB PC (6 December 1592 – 25 December 1676) was an English polymath and aristocrat, having been a poet, equestrian, playwright, swordsman, politician, architect, diplomat and soldier. The Cavendish family had a good relationship with the ruling Stuart Monarchy. The family gained prominence after he was invested as a Knight of the Bath, and then inherited his father's Northern England estates. At first a courtier of James I of England, Cavendish would later strike up friendships with Charles I of England and his wife Henrietta Maria for whom he hosted lavish banquets. Created Marquess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he was entrusted with the education of the royal couple's son, the future Charles II of England. Newcastle was a staunch royalist helping to fund the king in his Bishops' Wars. During the English Civil War he was made a general for the struggle in the North of England against the Roundheads. After the defeat at Marston Moor in 1644, Newcastle went into self-imposed exile. The next year he married the English poet, dramatist, philosopher, and natural scientist Margaret Lucas. He returned to England with the English Restoration when he was created Duke of Newcastle. The Duchess of Newcastle died in 1673. The Duke himself died three years later.