By Hayley Anderson

Copyright irishmirror

Netflix has released its gritty period drama House of Guinness with subscribers eager to know all there is about the family. Brought to life by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, House of Guinness revolves around the lives of the four children of Sir Benjamin Guinness after his death in 1868. He leaves his vast empire to his children who not only have to deal with their grief but carry the weight and responsibility of keeping their family’s legacy alive. As Netflix fans binge-watch the eight-part drama, here’s everything there is to know about the House of Guinness family. Born in the 1720s, Arthur Guinness was the one who founded the Guinness brewery in 1759. He was the son of Richard Guinness and Elizabeth Read and married Olivia Whitmore in 1761 who he went on to have 10 children with. One of Arthur and Elizabeth’s children was Arthur Guinness II, born in 1768. He married Anne Lee, the daughter of Dublin brickmaker Benjamin Lee and Susanna Smyth, and had nine children together. Anne died and in 1821, Arthur Guinness II remarried Maria Baker but had no children of their own. Netflix’s House of Guinness really revolves around Arthur Guinness II and Elizabeth’s son Benjamin, 1st Baronet who went on to marry his first cousin Elizabeth in 1837. They had four children, Arthur, Benjamin, Anne and Edward, with the show following all of their lives following the death of their father in 1968 and their mum a few years prior. The eldest of the four Guinness children was Anne Plunket who married William Plunket, 4th Baron Plunket, in 1863 and had six children. In the Netflix drama, she is depicted as being unhappy in her marriage to William who became the Archbishop of Dublin in 1884. She is frustrated with her lack of purpose in the Guinness family, despite being the eldest, and embarks on a mission to use their wealth to make a difference. Arthur is the eldest son of the Guinness family and spent most of his 20s in London where he studied at Eton College. He enjoys his life in London so when he is forced to stay in London and to work at the brewery after his dad’s death, Arthur is horrified by the prospect. Arthur goes on to marry Lady Olivia Charlotte Hedges-White in 1971, and she becomes known as Baroness Ardilaun or Lady Ardilan – they never had any children. Benjamin was the second son and third eldest of the siblings but was considered a write-off since he had no interest in the family business. The Netflix drama sees him struggle with a gambling addiction but finds himself attracting women who want to help him. Benjamin, who was a captain in the Royal Horse Guards, goes on to marry Lady Henrietta Eliza St Lawrence in 1881 and have two children, Algernon Lee and Kenelm Lee Guinness. Both of their children became race car drivers. While Edward was the youngest of the four, he was the one with the most ambition and spent his teenage years learning the family business. Edward had big ideas for the brewery and believed that despite his age, he should be the one to lead the way with the factory. He took control of the business and married his third cousin Adelaide Maria Guinness, the great-granddaughter of Samuel Guinness. They went on to have three children, Rupert Edward Cecil Lee Guinness, Arthur Ernest Guinness and Walter Edward Guinness. It was their eldest Rupert who succeeded his father, became the chairman of Guinness and also started up the iconic Guinness World Records. Rupert’s grandson, Benjamin Guinness, Earl of Iveagh, took over as chairman in 1962 as Rupert’s own son Arthur was killed while serving in Belgium during the Second World War. In 1986, Benjamin resigned as chairman but was president of Guinness until his death in 1992. House of Guinness is available to watch on Netflix.