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2nd earl of Clarendon, Henry Hyde
(1638—1709) politician
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(1638–1709).
Clarendon was the son of the lord chancellor, and brother of Anne Hyde, mother of Queen Mary and Queen Anne. On the accession of his brother‐in‐law James II in 1685, Clarendon and his younger brother Rochester were given high office. From 1685 to 1687 Clarendon held the privy seal and was lord‐lieutenant of Ireland. But as a protestant he was increasingly anxious at James's headlong catholicizing policy. In January 1687 both brothers were dismissed. At the revolution, Clarendon joined William. Nevertheless he refused to swear allegiance to the new monarchs and had two spells in the Tower in 1690 and 1691.
