Lieutenant-General Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (of the 2nd creation), KG (baptised 17 September 167215 November 1739), also known as in Jacobite Peerage as the 1st Duke of Strafford and 3rd Baron Raby from 1695 to 1711, was an English peer, diplomat and statesman who served as First Lord of the Admiralty. Background Thomas was the eldest surviving son of Sir William Wentworth of Northgatehead—who served as High Sheriff of Yorkshire—and his wife Isabella Apsley, daughter of the prominent Royalist commander Sir Allen Apsley and his wife Frances Petre. His paternal grandfather, Sir William Wentworth of Ashby Puerorum, was a younger brother of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford His education seems to have been deficient; critics said that he was almost illiterate, by which they simply meant not reading Latin and ancient Greek. and certainly, his spelling was appalling. This, combined with his reputation among his enemies as a very poor public speaker would lead many to question his qualifications to be a diplomat. He could read, write and speak French and German. Jonathan Swift said that while he was lively and spirited, he was "proud as hell". Military career In about 1687, he was a page of honour to Queen Mary of Modena. On 31 December 1688, he was commissioned a cornet in Colchester's Regiment of Horse. Thomas Wentworth saw much service as a soldier in the Low Countries, and was occasionally employed on diplomatic errands. He fought courageously at the Battle of Steenkerque, and was wounded. For his good service he was appointed an aide-de-camp to King William in August 1692, was commissioned guideon and 1st major in the 1st Troop of Horse Guards 4 October 1693, and cornet and 1st major in the same 20 January 1694. On 7 May 1695, Wentworth was appointed a groom of the bedchamber to the king. When his cousin William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford died without issue on 16 October 1695, Wentworth succeeded him as the 3rd Baron Raby. He did not inherit the Strafford fortune or the Jacobean house, Wentworth Woodhouse which passed to the second earl's nephew, Thomas Watson, son of his sister Anne. Raby was commissioned colonel of the Royal Regiment of Dragoons in 1697 and appointed deputy lieutenant of Lincolnshire on 21 May 1700. He was employed as ambassador extraordinary to Berlin in March 1701, the first of several missions he undertook to Prussia.