Lord Torrington
(1812-1884)

George Byng, 7th Viscount Torrington, was a colonial administrator and royal courtier.

Born on 9 September 1812, he was the son of Vice-Admiral George Byng, 6th Viscount Torrington. He succeeded his father in the viscountcy in 1831 at the age of eighteen.

In 1847 he was appointed Governor of Ceylon, a post he held until 1850. He is remembered there for his harsh suppression of the 1848 civil uprising. He later served as a Permanent Lord-in-Waiting to the Prince Consort from 1853 to 1859 and to Queen Victoria from 1859 to 1884.

He died on 27 April 1884, aged 71, and was succeeded in the viscountcy by his nephew, George.

An obituary appeared in the Morning Post (29 April 1884). 'Viscount Torrington died suddenly, we regret to have to state, at the Hôtel des Anglais, Monte Carlo, on Sunday morning last. Lord Torrington was 71 years of age, but until a few months ago every one would have credited him with a long old age. He was, from his early days, directly and intimately connected with the Court, and it fell to his lot to escort the Prince Consort to England. From that day it was always understood that, whatever party might be in power, Lord Torrington should always be attached to the Court. The late Lord Torrington was a man of much influence in society, in as much as his ready wit and power of repartee rendered him a strength to his friends and a power against his foes. Lord Torrington had, through a long life, to contend with adverse circumstances. He had to lament the want of an heir and the loss of a daughter. But he ever could rejoice in the more than constantly gracious favour of his Sovereign, which from earliest days was vouchsafed [sic] to him with a warmth and heartiness that the old courtier must have acknowledged in his last hours at Monte Carlo.'

According to St James's Gazette (28 April 1884), 'His lordship was born in 1812, and succeeded his father as seventh viscount in 1831. From 1847 to 1850 he was Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Ceylon. Three years after his return he was made a lord-in-waiting to the Prince Consort. He retained his post until 1859, when he became a lord-in-waiting to the Queen. He was J.P. and D.L. of Kent and Hon. Colonel of the 3rd and 4th Battalions Queen's Own (Royal West Kent) Regiment. In 1833 he married Mary Anne, daughter of the late Sir John Dugdale Astley, and had issue one daughter, Frances Elizabeth, who died in 1853.' 

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