Editing Richard D'Oyly Carte (section)

==Early years==
[[File:Richard-carte.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Carte's father, Richard]]
Carte was born at his parents' house in [[Greek Street]], [[Soho, London|Soho]], in the [[West End of London|West End]] of London on 3 May 1844;<ref name=DNB/> he was the eldest of six children.{{refn|Carte's younger siblings were Blanche (1846–1935), Viola (1848–1925), Rose (1854–1940<ref>[https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=7579&h=26500256&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=6598 "Rose Coulson"], BMD death register 1st quarter 1940, age 85, Camberwell, Vol. 1d, p. 1295</ref>), Henry Williams (1856–1926) and Eliza (1860–1941).<ref>Seeley, Chapter 1</ref>|group= n}} His father, [[Richard Carte]], was a [[flautist]], and his mother was the former Eliza Jones (1814–1885); they had eloped, to the disappointment of her father, Thomas Jones, a clergyman.<ref>Young, pp. 98–99</ref> Carte was of Welsh and probably [[Normans|Norman]] ancestry; D'Oyly is a Norman French name which the biographer [[Arthur Jacobs]] emphasises was in this case "a forename (not part of a double surname)".<ref name=DNB>Jacobs, Arthur. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/32311, "Carte, Richard D'Oyly (1844–1901)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004, accessed 12 September 2008, {{doi|10.1093/ref:odnb/32311}}</ref>{{refn|The name derived from Carte's mother's grandmother, Elizabeth D'Oyly, who came from a line of country squires in [[Suffolk]]; they are thought to have been descended from the Norman Barons D'Oyly who fought under [[William the Conqueror]] at [[Battle of Hastings|Hastings]], although this cannot be conclusively proved.<ref>Seeley, p. 6 and Appendix 2</ref> A rumour circulated, beginning in the 1880s, that "Richard D'Oyly Carte" was an assumed name.<ref>"Theatrical Mems", ''Bristol Mercury'', 19 May 1888, p. 3</ref> There is no truth in it: his [[:File:Richard-D'Oyly-Carte-Civil-Birth-Registration-1844.jpg|birth registration]] (Q2 Apr–May–Jun 1844) shows his birth name as Richard D'Oyly Carte. The misinformation was repeated in ''A Gilbert and Sullivan Dictionary'' (1936, {{oclc|917800614}}) and has been reproduced in subsequent publications.<ref>For instance, books by Alan Jefferson (1984, {{oclc|830678914}}, p. 18 and Diana Bell (1989, {{oclc|1288393289}}, p. 31</ref>|group= n}} To supplement his income as a performer, Carte's father joined the firm of Rudall, Rose & Co., musical instrument makers and music publishers, in 1850.<ref name=Burgess>Burgess, Michael. "Richard D'Oyly Carte", ''The Savoyard'', January 1975, pp. 7–11</ref> After he became a partner in the business, it changed its name to Rudall, Rose, Carte and Co. and later to Rudall, Carte & Co.<ref>"New Music", ''The Era'', 21 March 1869</ref>{{refn|Rudall, Carte and Co was still trading in the West End a hundred years later,<ref>''The Times'', 16 December 1954, p. 1</ref> and finally closed in 1958.<ref>Powell, Ardal. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23209372 "Robert Bigio: ''Rudall, Rose and Carte''"], ''The Galpin Society Journal'', March 2012, pp. 201–202 {{subscription required}}</ref>|group= n}} The family moved away from Soho when Carte was a boy. He was brought up in their large detached house in [[Dartmouth Park]] in north London.<ref name=Ainger75>Ainger, p. 75; and Sharp, Rob. [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/news/blue-plaque-at-london-home-of-a-victorian-simon-cowell-2158693.html "Blue plaque at London home of a Victorian Simon Cowell"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112153109/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/news/blue-plaque-at-london-home-of-a-victorian-simon-cowell-2158693.html |date=12 January 2019 }}. ''The Independent'', 13 December 2010</ref> His cultured mother exposed her family to art, music and poetry, and young Carte studied the violin and then the flute at an early age.<ref name=Joseph8>Joseph, p. 8</ref> The family spoke French at home two days a week, and his parents often took their children to the theatre.<ref name=Burgess/>

He was educated at [[University College School]] from 1856 to 1860. In January 1861, he achieved First Class level in the matriculation examination for [[University College London]],<ref>"University Intelligence", ''The Daily News'', 1 February 1861</ref> but did not take up the place; in deference to his parents' wishes he joined his father's business, along with his brother, Henry.<ref>Seeley, Chapter 2; and Cellier and Bridgeman, p. 374</ref> As the name Richard Carte was by now well known in, and beyond, the musical profession, Carte dropped the use of his own first name and styled himself "D'Oyly Carte" or, more formally, "R. D'Oyly Carte."<ref>Seeley, Chapter 2</ref> He studied music and composed some pieces, which he dedicated to the actress [[Kate Terry]].<ref name=whowaswho>Stone, David. [https://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/C/CarteRichardD'Oyly.htm Biography of Carte] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903152000/https://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/C/CarteRichardD%27Oyly.htm |date=3 September 2006 }} at the ''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company'' website, 27 August 2001, accessed 14 October 2009</ref> He also acted in amateur theatricals.<ref name=Ainger75/>