William Stourton, 18th Baron Stourton
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William Stourton, 18th Baron Stourton (1776–1846) was a Roman Catholic English peer. He is chiefly remembered for the private memoirs of his relative Maria Fitzherbert, the secret wife of King George IV, which she dictated to him, and which formed the basis for her first biography, published by his brother Charles Langdale in 1856.[1]
He was the eldest son and successor of Charles Philip Stourton, 17th Baron Stourton; his mother was Mary Langdale, daughter of Marmaduke, 5th Baron Langdale (his brother Charles adopted their mother's surname). He was educated at the English College, Douai. In 1793 he left France with two brothers named Oliveira, all escorted by John Lingard, one of the professors at Douai. For nearly a year, Lingard was a tutor to young Stourton at his father's residence.[2] Lingard later became a noted historian.
Like his brother Charles, he was deeply committed to the cause of Catholic Emancipation, and was one of the first Roman Catholic peers to take his seat in the House of Lords after the achievement of Emancipation.
He married Catherine Winifred Weld, daughter of Thomas Weld of Lulworth Castle and his wife Mary Stanley-Massey; they had six children. Catherine was the sister of Cardinal Thomas Weld, and a niece by marriage of Mrs. Fitzherbert. His sister, Charlotte Mary, married Joseph Weld, third son of Thomas Weld of Lulworth and his wife, Mary and succeeded to the Lulworth Estate.[3]
William was succeeded as Baron by his eldest son Charles in 1846.
