Baron Raglan

Baron Raglan, of Raglan in the County of Monmouth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1852 for the military commander Lord FitzRoy Somerset, chiefly remembered as commander of the British troops during the Crimean War. Somerset was the youngest son of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort (see Duke of Beaufort for earlier history of the family). His second but eldest surviving son, the second Baron, served as a Lord-in-Waiting (government whip in the House of Lords) from 1866 to 1868 in the Conservative administrations of the Earl of Derby and Benjamin Disraeli. He was succeeded by his son, the third Baron. He held office as Under-Secretary of State for War between 1900 and 1902 in the Conservative government of Lord Salisbury. His eldest son, the fourth Baron, was a soldier and also served as Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire. The fifth Baron was active in the House of Lords but lost his seat in the upper chamber of parliament after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. As of 2012 the title is held by the fourth Baron's third but second surviving son, the sixth Baron, who succeeded in 2010. As a descendant of the fifth Duke of Beaufort, Lord Raglan is also in remainder to this peerage and its subsidiary titles.

Like their Beaufort relatives, the Barons of Raglan can boast an unbroken line of male (but illegitimate) descent from Henry II and the earliest Plantagenets.

The family seat is Cefntilla Court, Llandenny in Monmouthshire. An inscription over the porch dated 1858 reads: "This house with 238 acres of land was purchased by 1623 of the friends, admirers and comrades in arms of the late Field Marshal Lord Raglan GCB and presented by them to his son and his heirs for ever in a lasting memorial of affectionate regard and respect". The fifth baron willed Cefntilla to a nephew and not to the heirs of the barony, a decision which is currently being contested. During the legal dispute, the Honourable Arthur Somerset, son and heir of the new Baron, died suddenly on 25th July 2012.