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The Right Honourable
Baron Henley
GCB PC FRS
The Right Honourable Baron Henley GCB PC FRS
Minister Plenipotentiary to Bavaria
	In office; 1776–1779
Envoy Extraordinary to Denmark
	In office; 1779–1783
Minister Plenipotentiary to Saxony
	In office; 1783–1791
Minister Plenipotentiary to Prussia
	In office; 1791–1793
Ambassador to Austria
	In office; 1793–1794
Ambassador Extraordinary to Spain
	In office; 1794–1794
Envoy Extraordinary to Austria
	In office; 1794–1799
Personal details
Born	Morton Frederick Eden; 8 July 1752; West Auckland, County Durham
Died	6 December 1830 (aged 78); Gumley Hall, Leicestershire
Resting place	Watford, Northamptonshire
Spouse	Lady Elizabeth Henley
Children	4
Alma mater	Eton College; Christ Church, Oxford

Morton Frederick Eden, 1st Baron Henley GCB PC FRS (8 July 1752 – 6 December 1830), was a British diplomat and peer.

Early life and education

Eden was the fifth son of Sir Robert Eden, 3rd Baronet and Mary Davison, youngest daughter of William Davison of Beamish, County Durham. His three eldest brothers were Sir John Eden, 4th Baronet, Sir Robert Eden, 1st Baronet, of Maryland, and William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland.^[1]

He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford.

Career

From 1776 to 1779, Eden was Minister to Bavaria, then to Copenhagen 1779–1782, Dresden 1783–1791, Berlin 1791–1793 and Vienna 1793–1794. From 1794 to 1795, he was Ambassador to Spain, and returned as Minister to Vienna in 1794–1799. He then retired with a pension of £2000.^[2]

Eden was knighted in 1791 and admitted to the Privy Council in 1794. In 1799, Eden was created Baron Henley (Henly), of Chardstock, in the Peerage of Ireland,^[3] in honour of his wife's family. His wife was the co-heiress to her brother, Robert Henley, 2nd Earl of Northington, who died unmarried in 1786, and his earldom and subsidiary title of Baron Henley in the Peerage of Great Britain had become extinct.^[4] The Irish peerage did not allow Henley to sit in the House of Lords.

Marriage and issue

On 7 August 1783, Eden married Lady Elizabeth Henley (the youngest daughter of the 1st Earl of Northington) and they had four children:^[5]

Hon. Frederick Eden (19 August 1784 – 5 November 1823), barrister; died unmarried at his chambers at Inner Temple^[6]
Hon. Robert Eden (1789–1841), succeeded his father
Hon. Rev. William Henley (7 November 1792 – 4 May 1859), Rector of Bishopsbourne, Kent; married in 1820 Anna Maria Yelverton, daughter of William Kellam and widow of the 19th Lord Grey de Ruthyn
Hon. Mary Jane (22 November 1795 – 12 September 1843); married in 1824 Sir Edmund Cradock-Hartopp, 2nd Baronet

Lord Henley died in 1830 and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Robert, who adopted the surname Henley.^[2]

References

^ Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 1270. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
^ ^a ^b Smith & Thorne (2008).
^ "No. 15153". The London Gazette. 29 June 1799. p. 655.
^ Mosley 2003, p. 1866
^ Mosley 2003, p. 1867
^ "Deaths". Yorkshire Gazette. 15 November 1823. p. 3. Retrieved 6 January 2025.

Smith, G. B.; Thorne, Roland (2008). "Eden, Morton, first Baron Henley". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8453. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

External links

"Archival material relating to Morton Eden, 1st Baron Henley". UK National Archives.

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Hugh Elliot	British Minister to Bavaria 1776–1779	Succeeded by Hon. John Trevor
Preceded by Ralph Woodford	British Minister to Denmark 1779–1782	Succeeded by Hugh Elliot
Preceded by Sir John Stepney, Bt	British Minister to Saxony 1783–1791	Succeeded by Hugh Elliot
Preceded by Joseph Ewart	British Minister to Prussia 1791–1793	Succeeded by The Lord Malmesbury
Preceded by The Earl of Elgin	British Minister to Austria 1793–1794	Succeeded by The Earl Spencer
Preceded by The Lord St Helens	British Ambassador to Spain 1794–1795	Succeeded by The Lord Cardiff
Preceded by The Earl Spencer	British Minister to Austria 1794–1799	Succeeded by The Lord Minto
Peerage of Ireland
New creation	Baron Henley 2nd creation 1799–1830	Succeeded by Robert Henley