George Francis William Child-Villiers, 10th Earl of Jersey (born 5 February 1976), known professionally as William Villiers, is a British nobleman and peer of the Villiers family. He is a former film producer, actor and writer. [1] He is currently Director of Intellectual Property for HandMade Films. [2]
Jersey is the eldest son of guitarist George Child-Villiers, Viscount Villiers and his second wife, Sacha (née Valpy), and was educated at St. Michael's School, Jersey, until the age of 8, then Mount House School, Tavistock, Devon; Canford School, Wimborne, Dorset; Nene College (now Northampton University); and Birmingham School of Speech and Drama. [1] On the death of his father on 19 March 1998, he was briefly styled Viscount Grandison (in accordance with the family's tradition whereby each heir is alternately styled Viscount Villiers and then Viscount Grandison). [1] He succeeded his grandfather as 10th Earl of Jersey in August of that year and took his seat in the House of Lords in 1999, shortly before the reformation of the House. [1] [3]
In 2007, the Earl of Jersey put up for sale the family home, Radier Manor, along with several properties and around 70 acres (28 ha) of land on Jersey with an asking price of £12.5 million. [4] However, the property was later withdrawn from the agents' listings.
On 16 August 2003, the Earl of Jersey married Marianne Simonne de Guelle, daughter of Peter and Jeannette de Guelle, in St Martin de Grouville, Jersey. [5] They have four children:
He is a second cousin of actor Bart Ruspoli.
Earl of Coventry is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation for the Villiers family was created in 1623 and took its name from the city of Coventry. It became extinct in 1687. A decade later, the second creation was for the Coventry family and is still extant.
Earl of the Island of Jersey, usually shortened to Earl of Jersey, is a title in the Peerage of England held by a branch of the Villiers family, which since 1819 has been the Child-Villiers family.
Viscount Mountgarret is a title in the Peerage of Ireland.
Viscount Tenby, of Bulford in the County of Pembroke, is a hereditary title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1957 for former Home Secretary, the Hon. Gwilym Lloyd George, second son of Prime Minister David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor.
Viscount Grandison, of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1620 for Sir Oliver St John, the Lord Deputy of Ireland. He was the descendant and namesake of Oliver St John, whose elder brother Sir John St John was the ancestor of the Barons St John of Bletso and the Earls of Bolingbroke. Moreover, St John's nephew Sir John St John, 1st Baronet, of Lydiard Tregoze, was the ancestor of the Viscounts Bolingbroke and the Viscounts St John.
Nicholas Richard Michael Eliot, 9th Earl of St Germans was a British peer.
Charles Henry John Benedict Crofton Chetwynd Chetwynd-Talbot, 22nd Earl of Shrewsbury, 22nd Earl of Waterford, 7th Earl Talbot,, styled Viscount Ingestre until 1980, is an English nobleman and the Lord High Steward of Ireland. He is the premier earl in the Peerage of England as the Earl of Shrewsbury, and in the Peerage of Ireland as the Earl of Waterford (1446). He also holds the titles of Earl Talbot and Baron Talbot.
William Villiers, 3rd Earl of Jersey, 6th Viscount Grandison, was an English peer and politician from the Villiers family.
George Francis Child-Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey, was an English peer and banker from the Villiers family. Lord Jersey gave one of the family seats, Osterley Park, to the British nation in the late 1940s.
William Henry Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch and 8th Duke of Queensberry was a Scottish Member of Parliament and peer. He was the paternal grandfather of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, and the maternal great-grandfather of Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
William Lloyd George, 3rd Viscount Tenby, JP, is a British peer and former Army officer. Tenby was elected one of the initial ninety hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999 until his retirement in 2015.
William Hare, 2nd Earl of Listowel, known as Viscount Ennismore from 1827 to 1837, was an Anglo-Irish peer and Member of Parliament (MP).
Charles William Slingsby "Sim" Duncombe, 3rd Earl of Feversham DSO, styled the Hon. Charles Duncombe until 1915 and then Viscount Helmsley until he succeeded his father in 1916, was a British Conservative politician.
George Henry Child-Villiers, Viscount Villiers was the first son of George Child-Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey. He was a member of the Villiers family.
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Philip Hunloke TD was a British Conservative politician.
Katherine FitzGerald, suo jure Viscountess Grandison, was a wealthy Irish heiress, being the only child of Sir John FitzGerald of Dromana, County Waterford. She inherited the Dromana estate in 1664 upon the death of her father. She was married three times; firstly to John Le Poer, 2nd Earl of Tyrone; secondly to Brigadier-General, Hon. Edward FitzGerald-Villiers; and thirdly and lastly to General William Steuart.
The Villiers family is one of England's preeminent aristocratic families. Over time, various members of the Villiers family were made knights, baronets and peers. Peerages held by the Villiers family include the dukedoms of Buckingham (1623–1687) and Cleveland (1670–1709), as well as the earldoms of Anglesey (1623–1661), Jersey and Clarendon. Perhaps the most prominent members of the family were those who received the two dukedoms: George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (1592–1628) rose to fame and influence as favourite of King James I of England, while Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland (1640–1709) became a mistress of King Charles II of England, by whom she had five children.
William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison was an Irish peer and Royalist soldier who was fatally wounded during the First English Civil War in 1643.
William Frederick Le Poer Trench, 5th Earl of Clancarty, 4th Marquess of Heusden was an Irish peer of the House of Lords and a nobleman from the Dutch nobility, and was the deputy lieutenant of County Galway.
Lady Frances Villiers was an English noblewoman and a governess to the future Queens Mary II and Anne.