Earl de Grey, of Wrest in the County of Bedford, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
Earl de Grey, of Wrest in the County of Bedford, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
The title was created on 25 October 1816 (as Countess de Grey) for Amabell Hume-Campbell, Dowager Lady Polwarth and suo jure 5th Baroness Lucas, with remainder to the heirs male of her body, and in default of such issue to her sister Mary Jemima Robinson, Dowager Baroness Grantham, and the heirs male of her body. [1] She was the elder daughter and co-heir of Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, and Jemima Campbell, 2nd Marchioness Grey (see Marquess Grey), eldest daughter of John Campbell, 3rd Earl of Breadalbane and Holland, and Lady Amabel Grey, eldest daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent (see Duke of Kent).
The marquessate of Grey had become extinct on her mother's death in 1797, and when the Grey title was revived in favour of her daughter, the style "de Grey" was used to distinguish it from the earldom of Grey, which had been created in 1806; the Grey family was extremely distantly related to the Earls Grey. The Countess de Grey was the widow of Alexander Hume-Campbell, Lord Polwarth, eldest son of Hugh Hume, 3rd Earl of Marchmont. [2]
The Countess de Grey was childless, and she was succeeded in the barony of Lucas according to the normal descent of that title and in the earldom of de Grey according to the special remainder by her nephew, Thomas Robinson, 3rd Baron Grantham, who assumed the surname of de Grey on succeeding to the title. Lord de Grey was the eldest son of Thomas Robinson, 2nd Baron Grantham, and the aforementioned Mary Jemima Robinson, Dowager Baroness Grantham (died 1830), sister of the Countess de Grey (see Marquess of Ripon for earlier history of the Robinson family). [3]
He died in 1859 and was succeeded in the barony of Lucas (which could be passed on through female lines) by his eldest daughter Lady Anne (see Baron Lucas for further history of this title) [4] and in the earldom of de Grey (which could only be passed on through male lines) by his nephew, George Robinson, 2nd Earl of Ripon, only son of F. J. Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon, the former prime minister better known as Lord Goderich. On succeeding to the earldom of de Grey, Lord Ripon styled himself "Earl de Grey and Ripon". In 1871, he was created Marquess of Ripon, whereafter Earl de Grey became the courtesy title used by the heir apparent to the marquessate. [5] Ripon was succeeded by his son and only surviving child, Frederick Robinson, 2nd Marquess of Ripon. The second Marquess was childless, and on his death in 1923, the marquessate and earldom of de Grey and all other titles became extinct. [6]
The title of Duke of Kent has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II's cousin.
Thomas Robinson, 2nd Baron Grantham PC was a British statesman. He notably served as Foreign Secretary between 1782 and 1783.
Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, PC, FRS, styled Viscount Royston between 1754 and 1764, was an English politician and writer.
Earl of Loudoun, named after Loudoun in Ayrshire, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for John Campbell, 2nd Lord Campbell of Loudoun, along with the subsidiary title Lord Tarrinzean and Mauchline. The 1st Earl's wife Margaret was the granddaughter and heiress of Hugh Campbell, who had been created Lord Campbell of Loudoun; he resigned the peerage in favour of his grandson-in-law, who was later created an earl.
Baron Hastings is a title that has been created three times. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in 1290, and is extant. The second creation was in the Peerage of England in 1299, and became extinct on the death of the first holder in c. 1314. The third creation was in the Peerage of England in 1461, and has been in abeyance since 1960.
Earl of Hardwicke is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1754 for Philip Yorke, 1st Baron Hardwicke, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1737 to 1756. He had already been created Baron Hardwicke, of Hardwicke in the County of Gloucestershire, in 1733, and was made Viscount Royston at the same time as he was given the earldom. These titles were also in the Peerage of Great Britain. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. He represented Reigate and Cambridgeshire in the House of Commons and served as Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire. Lord Hardwicke married Lady Jemima Campbell, only daughter of John Campbell, 3rd Earl of Breadalbane, and granddaughter and heiress of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, who succeeded her grandfather as Marchioness Grey in 1722. They had two daughters of whom the eldest, Lady Amabel, was created Countess De Grey in her own right in 1816.
Baron Lucas is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The second creation is extant and is currently held with the title Lord Dingwall in the Peerage of Scotland.
Baron Ravensdale, of Ravensdale in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title held by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four Duchesses of Kent since the title's creation. The current duchess is Katharine, whose husband Prince Edward, inherited the dukedom on 25 August 1942 upon the death of his father Prince George, the son of George V.
Thomas Philip de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey, 3rd Baron Grantham, 6th Baron Lucas, KG, PC, FRS, styled the Honourable Thomas Robinson until 1786 and Lord Grantham from 1786 to 1833, of Wrest Park in the parish of Silsoe, Bedfordshire, was a British Tory statesman. He changed his surname to Weddell in 1803 and to de Grey in 1833.
Marquess Grey was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 19 May 1740 for Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, with remainder to the male issue of his body and in default thereof to his granddaughter, the Honourable Jemima Campbell, and the heirs male of her body. The Duke of Kent died only two weeks after the creation of the marquessate, at which point the dukedom and most of its subsidiary titles became extinct.
Marquess of Ripon, in the County of York was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1871 for the Liberal politician George Robinson, 2nd Earl of Ripon.
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, KG, PC was a British politician and courtier. None of his sons outlived him, so his new title became extinct on his death. Though the house he built at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire has gone, parts of his very grand garden have survived relatively untouched.
Marquess of Hastings was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 6 December 1816 for Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 2nd Earl of Moira.
Earl Cowper was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1718 by George I for William Cowper, 1st Baron Cowper, his first Lord Chancellor, with remainder in default of male issue of his own to his younger brother, Spencer Cowper. Cowper had already been created Baron Cowper of Wingham in the County of Kent, in the Peerage of England on 14 December 1706, with normal remainder to the heirs male of his body, and was made Viscount Fordwich, in the County of Kent, at the same time as he was given the earldom, also Peerage of Great Britain and with similar remainder. He was the great-grandson of William Cowper, who was created a Baronet, of Ratling Court in the County of Kent, in the Baronetage of England on 4 March 1642. The latter was succeeded by his grandson, the second Baronet. He represented Hertford in Parliament. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the aforementioned William Cowper, the third Baronet, who was elevated to the peerage as Baron Cowper in 1706 and made Earl Cowper in 1718. In 1706 Lord Cowper married as his second wife Mary Clavering, daughter of John Clavering, of Chopwell, County Durham.
Jemima Yorke, 2nd Marchioness Grey and Countess of Hardwicke, was a British peeress.
The de Grey Mausoleum in Flitton, Bedfordshire, England, is one of the largest sepulchral chapels in the country. The Mausoleum contains over twenty monuments to the de Grey family who lived in nearby Wrest Park.
The House of Grey is an ancient English noble family from Creully in Normandy. The founder of the House of Grey was Anchetil de Greye, a Norman chevalier and vassal of William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford. The Greys were first ennobled in the 13th century as Barons Grey of Codnor, of Ruthyn and of Wilton, and they were later elevated as viscounts, earls, marquesses, dukes and royalty.
Nan Ino Cooper, 10th Baroness Lucas and 6th Lady Dingwall was a British nurse and educator.
Amabel Hume-Campbell, 1st Countess de Grey, 5th Baroness Lucas was a British diarist and political writer who was a countess and baroness in her own right. Had she been male, she would have served in the House of Lords as a Whig. She wrote particularly about the French Revolution.