By Hayley Anderson

Copyright belfastlive

Netflix has released House of Guinness and subscribers are keen to delve into the family’s history. Made by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, House of Guinness centres on the lives of Sir Benjamin Guinness’s four children following his death in 1868. Inheriting their father’s vast empire, the children must grapple with their grief whilst shouldering the responsibility of preserving their family’s legacy. As Netflix fans binge-watch the eight-part series, here’s a comprehensive guide to the House of Guinness family. Born in the 1720s, Arthur Guinness was the founder of the Guinness brewery in 1759. He was the offspring of Richard Guinness and Elizabeth Read and tied the knot with Olivia Whitmore in 1761, with whom he had 10 children. Arthur and Elizabeth’s son, Arthur Guinness II, born in 1768, was one of their children. He wed Anne Lee, the daughter of Dublin brickmaker Benjamin Lee and Susanna Smyth, and they had nine children together. After Anne’s death, Arthur Guinness II remarried Maria Baker in 1821, but they did not have any children. Netflix’s House of Guinness primarily focuses on Arthur Guinness II and Elizabeth’s son Benjamin, 1st Baronet, who married his first cousin Elizabeth in 1837. The Guinness family, consisting of four children – Arthur, Benjamin, Anne and Edward, had their lives chronicled following the death of their father in 1968 and their mother a few years earlier. Anne Plunket, the eldest of the four Guinness offspring, married William Plunket, 4th Baron Plunket, in 1863 and they had six children. The Netflix drama portrays her as discontented in her marriage to William, who became the Archbishop of Dublin in 1884. Despite being the eldest, she feels unfulfilled within the Guinness family and sets out on a mission to utilise their wealth for good. Arthur, the eldest son of the Guinness clan, spent most of his twenties studying at Eton College in London. He relishes his life in the capital, so when he is compelled to remain in London and work at the brewery following his father’s demise, Arthur is appalled. Arthur marries Lady Olivia Charlotte Hedges-White in 1971, who becomes known as Baroness Ardilaun or Lady Ardilan – they do not have any children. Benjamin, the second son and third eldest of the siblings, was deemed a lost cause due to his lack of interest in the family enterprise. The Netflix series depicts him grappling with a gambling addiction, yet he seems to attract women who wish to assist him. Benjamin, a former captain in the Royal Horse Guards, married Lady Henrietta Eliza St Lawrence in 1881 and they had two children, Algernon Lee and Kenelm Lee Guinness, both of whom became race car drivers. Edward Guinness, the youngest of the four, was ambitious and spent his teenage years learning the family business. He had grand plans for the brewery and believed that he should be the one to lead the factory despite his young age. Edward took over the business and married his third cousin Adelaide Maria Guinness, the great-granddaughter of Samuel Guinness. They had three children: Rupert Edward Cecil Lee Guinness, Arthur Ernest Guinness and Walter Edward Guinness. Their eldest son, Rupert Guinness, succeeded his father as the chairman of Guinness and also established the iconic Guinness World Records. Rupert’s grandson, Benjamin Guinness, Earl of Iveagh, took over as chairman in 1962 after Rupert’s own son Arthur was killed while serving in Belgium during the Second World War. In 1986, Benjamin stepped down as chairman but remained president of Guinness until his death in 1992. House of Guinness is available to watch on Netflix.