Willem Bentinck van Rhoon

Biography

Son of Hans Willem Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland. Created Count by Emperor Karl IV in 1732. Married (1733) to Countess Charlotte Sophie von Aldenburg. They divorced in 1740. Father of Christian F. A. van Bentinck.

Also known as

• Comte de Rhoon

Life with James Boswell

Boswell went with Arend van Reede to visit the Comte de Rhoon¹ on April 28, 1764. Boswell described him as "polite; great man of business in Dutch affairs".

Notes

Note 1: I am a bit unsure if this is in fact the Comte de Rhoon referred to by Boswell. Willem Bentinck was Heer van Zorgvliet, while his son, Count Anthony Bentinck (1734-1768) was Heer van Rhoon at the time of his death in 1768. Add to this, that Anthony married in 1760 Maria Catharina van Tuyll van Serooskerken, a daughter of Baroness Ursulina van Reede, the aunt of Arend van Reede, who accompanied Boswell to visit the Comte de Rhoon. Anthony's brother Johan Albrecht Bentinck coincidentally had married another daughter,Reiniera van Tuyll van Serooskerken, of Ursulina van Reede in 1763. It does seem, however, that Boswell consistenly referred to Willem Bentinck as Count Rhoon, and to his son as Count Bentinck.

Mentioned in

Willem Bentinck van Rhoon is mentioned in:

• Boswell in Holland 1763-1764