[ 
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]Watford Museum presents...
The Cassiobury Collection
The Earls of Essex, their wives and children at Cassiobury House
The Earls of Essex, their wives and children
Algernon Capel, 2nd Earl of Essex (1670-1710)
Follower of William Wissing
Oil on canvas laid on panel 56.5 x 44.2 cm (23 1/8 x 17 1/5 in)
Like his father before him, Algernon was Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire and acted as Constable of the Tower of London, where ironically both his father and grandfather had been imprisoned. Not everything we read about Algernon is complimentary: for example, he was said to be 'the lewdest young man in town', as quoted in Burke's Complete Peerage.