William Charles Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle, GCH, PC (14 May 1772 – 30 October 1849), briefly styled Viscount Bury between May and October 1772, was a British Whig politician. Background Albemarle was the only child of General George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle, and Anne, daughter of Sir John Miller, 4th Baronet. He succeeded in the earldom in October 1772, aged five months, on the early death of his father. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge. Political career On the formation of the Ministry of All the Talents in 1806, Lord Albemarle was appointed Master of the Buckhounds by Lord Grenville. Thereby he became an officer in the Master of the Horse's department in the Royal Household and also the equivalent of today's Representative of Her Majesty at Ascot. The Mastership of the Buckhounds being a political office, the holder changed with every government and because the Earl's patrons fell in March 1807 he lost his position after only one year. He remained out of office until 1830 when he was sworn of the Privy Council and made Master of the Horse by Lord Grey, which was the third-ranking officer at court (after the Lord Chamberlain and Lord Steward). He continued in this office until November 1834, the last few months under the premiership of Lord Melbourne, and held the same post under Melbourne between 1835 and 1841. Consequently, he was responsible for managing all matters equine at the changeover from one reign to the next and, in particular, at Queen Victoria's Coronation. The Earl was accorded the honour of travelling to Westminster Abbey inside the Gold State Coach with the nineteen-year-old, and as yet unmarried Victoria, who recorded in her diary: "At 10 I got into the State Coach with the Duchess of Sutherland and Lord Albemarle...It was a fine day, and the crowds of people exceeded what I have ever seen; their good humour and excessive loyalty was beyond everything, and I really cannot say how proud I feel to be the Queen of such a nation". As horseman and racehorse owner In addition to managing the bloodstock of two successive heads of state, when the horse was still a main mode of transport, Lord Albemarle was also a leading racehorse owner of his day. As an owner, William Charles won two Classics (the 1000 Guineas in 1838 with Barcarolle and the 2000 Guineas in