Frederick North, Lord North - Early Life (1732-1754)

Early Life (1732-1754)

Lord North was born in London on 13 April 1732, at the family house at Albemarle Street, just off Piccadilly, though he spent much of his youth at Wroxton Abbey in Oxfordshire. Lord North's strong physical resemblance to George III, suggested to his contemporaries that Prince Frederick may have been North's real father (and North the King's brother), a theory compatible with the Prince's reputation but with little real evidence. His father, the first Earl, was at the time Lord of the Bedchamber to Prince Frederick, who stood as godfather to the infant.

North was descended from the 1st Earl of Sandwich and was related to Samuel Pepys and the 3rd Earl of Bute. He at times enjoyed a slightly turbulent relationship with his father Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford, yet they remained very close. In his early years the family was not wealthy, though their situation improved in 1735 when his father inherited property from his cousin. His mother, Lady Lucy Montagu, died in 1734. His father remarried, but his stepmother, Elizabeth North, also died in 1745, when Frederick was thirteen. One of his stepbrothers was Lord Dartmouth, who remained a close friend for life.

He was educated at Eton College between 1742 and 1748, and at Trinity College, Oxford where in 1750 he was awarded an MA. After leaving Oxford, he travelled in Europe on the Grand Tour with Dartmouth, visiting Leipzig where he studied at the University of Leipzig. He visited Vienna, Milan, and Paris, returning to England in 1753.