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Earl of Leicester

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This article is about the title of nobility. For the band, seeThe Earls of Leicester (band).

Earldom of Leicester
Arms of the Earl of Leicester
Arms of Coke, Earls of Leicester:Per pale gules and azure, three eagles displayed argent[1]
Creation date12 August 1837
CreationSeventh
Created byQueen Victoria
PeeragePeerage of the United Kingdom
First holderThomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (seventh creation)
Present holderThomas Coke, 8th Earl of Leicester
Heir apparentEdward Coke, Viscount Coke
Remainder tothe 1st Earl’sheirs male of the bodylawfully begotten
Subsidiary titlesViscount Coke
StatusExtant
Seat(s)Holkham Hall
MottoPRUDENS QUI PATIENS
( "He is prudent who is patient" )
Robert Dudley, created Earl of Leicester in 1564.

Earl of Leicesteris a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in thePeerage of England.The current title is in thePeerage of the United Kingdomand was created in 1837.

Early creations[edit]

The title was first created forRobert de Beaumont(also spelt de Bellomont), but he nearly always used his French title ofCount of Meulan.Three generations of his descendants, all also named Robert, called themselves Earls of Leicester. The Beaumont male line ended with the death of the4th Earl.His property was split between his two sisters, withSimon IV de Montfort,the son of the eldest sister, acquiring Leicester and the rights to the earldom. (The husband of the younger daughter,Saer de Quincy,was createdEarl of Winchester.) However, Simon IV de Montfort was never formally recognized as earl, due to the antipathy between France and England at that time. His second son,Simon V de Montfort,did succeed in taking possession of the earldom and its associated properties. He is the Simon de Montfort who became so prominent during the reign ofHenry III.He was killed at theBattle of Eveshamin 1265, and his lands and titles were forfeited.

In 1267 the title was created a second time and granted to the king's youngest son,Edmund Crouchback.In 1276 he also becameEarl of Lancaster,and the titles became united. Crouchback's sonThomaslost the earldom when he was executed for treason in 1322, but a few years later, it was restored to his younger brother Henry. Henry's son Henry of Grosmont left only two daughters, and his estate was divided between them, the eldest daughter Matilda receiving the earldom, which was held by her husbandWilliam V of Holland.(The two passages of the earldom via females illustrate the medieval practice by which such inheritance was allowed in the absence of male heirs.) Matilda, however, soon died, and the title passed toJohn of Gaunt,husband of her younger sister, Blanche, who was later createdDuke of Lancaster.Both the dukedom and the earldom were inherited by John of Gaunt's son,Henry Bolingbroke,and both titles ceased to exist when Henry usurped the throne, as the titles "merged into the crown". (The peers arevassalsto the Sovereign, and no one can be a vassal to himself.) The properties associated with the earldom became part of what was later called theDuchy of Lancaster.

In 1564 the earldom was again created forQueen Elizabeth I's favourite,Robert Dudley.Since Dudley died without heirs, the title became extinct at his death. The title was again created in 1618 forRobert Sidney(Baron Sydney), his nephew. Prior to being granted the earldom, Robert Sidney was granted the subsidiary title ofViscount Lisleon 4 May 1605. The Sidneys retained the titles until the death of the seventh Earl in 1743, when the titles again became extinct. The title of earl was then recreated forThomas Coke(pronounced "Cook"[2]), but it became extinct when he, too, died without heirs.

1784 creation[edit]

The title was again bestowed uponGeorge Townshend,17thBaron Ferrers of Chartleyand 8thBaron Compton,eldest son and heir apparent ofGeorge Townshend, 4th Viscount Townshend,later the firstMarquess Townshend.Townshend was a female-line great-great-great-grandson of Lady Lucy Sydney, daughter of the second Earl of the 1618 creation. The earldom became extinct yet again upon the death ofhis son,the third Marquess and second Earl, in 1855 (the marquessate was passed on to a cousin and is extant).

1744 and 1837 creations[edit]

The Coke family is descended from the noted judge and politicianSir Edward Coke,Lord Chief Justicefrom 1613 to 1616. Through his sonHenry Coke,his great-great-great-grandsonThomas Cokewas a landowner, politician and patron of arts. In 1728 he was raised to thePeerage of Great BritainasBaron Lovel,of Minster Lovel in the County of Oxford, and in 1744 he was createdViscount Coke,of Holkham in the County of Norfolk, andEarl of Leicester,also in the Peerage of Great Britain. Lord Leicester began the construction ofHolkham HallinNorfolk.He married LadyMargaret Tufton, 19th Baroness de Clifford(1700—1775) (see theBaron de Cliffordfor earlier history of this title). Their only childEdward Coke, Viscount Coke,predeceased both his parents, without issue. Consequently, Lord Leicester's titles became extinct on his death in 1759 while the barony of de Clifford fell intoabeyanceon Lady de Clifford's death in 1775.

The Coke estates were passed on to the late Earl's nephewWenman Coke.Born Wenman Roberts, he was the son of Philip Roberts and Anne, sister of Lord Leicester, and assumed the surname of Coke in lieu of Roberts. His sonThomas Cokewas a politician and noted agriculturalist. Known as "Coke of Norfolk", he sat as aMember of Parliamentfor many years but is best remembered for his interest in agricultural improvements and is seen as one of the instigators of theBritish Agricultural Revolution.In 1837 the titles held by his great-uncle were revived when Coke was raised to thePeerage of the United KingdomasViscount CokeandEarl of Leicester,of Holkham in the County of Norfolk. This was despite the fact that the 1784 creation of the earldom held by the Townshend family was then still extant (then "usurped" byJohn Dunn-Gardner), hence theterritorial designation"of Holkham". Lord Leicester was succeeded by his eldest son from his second marriage, the second Earl. He served asLord-Lieutenant of Norfolkfor sixty years and was made aKnight of the Garterin 1873.

On his death in 1909 the titles passed to his eldest son, thethird Earl.He was a colonel in the 2nd Battalion of theScots Guardsand also served as Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk. He was succeeded by his eldest son, thefourth Earlin 1944. He was also Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk. His younger son,David Arthur Cokewas a friend of the authorRoald Dahlbut waskilled in actionduring the second world war in December 1941. When he (fourth Earl) died the titles passed to his eldest son, thefifth Earl,in 1949. He was anExtra Equerryto bothGeorge VIandElizabeth II.He died without male issue and was succeeded by his first cousin, thesixth Earlin 1976. He was the son of the Hon. Arthur George Coke, second son of the third Earl. Upon his death in 1994, his son became the7th Earl of Leicester.As of 2015the titles are held by his son Thomas Edward Coke, theeighth Earl,who succeeded in that year.

The family seat isHolkham Hall,nearWells-next-the-Sea,Norfolk.The traditional burial place of the Coke family is a plot situated on the south side of the churchyard of theHolkhamparish church of St Withburga. A family mausoleum was built in the same churchyard in the 1870s,[3]but was later abandoned. Many members of the Coke family during the post-medieval period were also buried inSt. Mary's Church, Tittleshall.

List of Earls of Leicester[edit]

First creation (1107)[edit]

Arms of Beaumont, Earls of Leicester(1st Creation):Gules, a Cinquefoil Ermine,which were adopted by the town ofLeicester[4]

Second creation (1267)[edit]

Third creation (1564)[edit]

Fourth creation (1618)[edit]

Arms of Sidney Earls of Leicester(4th Creation):Or, a Pheon Azure.

Fifth creation (1744)[edit]

Sixth creation (1784)[edit]

Seventh creation (1837)[edit]

Holkham Hall

Theheir apparentis the 8th Earl's son, Edward Horatio Coke, Viscount Coke (b. 2003).

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Citations
  1. ^Crest:On a Chapeau Azure, turned up Ermine, an Ostrich Argent, holding in the beak a Horseshoe Or.Supporters: Dexter:an Ostrich Argent, gorged with a Ducal Coronet per pale Gules and Azure, line reflexed over the back Argent. Sinister: an Ostrich Argent, gorged with a Ducal Coronet per pale Azure and Gules, line reflexed over the back Argent.
  2. ^Debrett's Peerage, 1967, p.669
  3. ^"Coke Mausoleum, Holkham".Archived fromthe originalon 28 February 2020.Retrieved28 February2020.
  4. ^Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1904).The Art of Heraldry: An Encyclopaedia of Armory.T.C. & E.C. Jack. p.195.Retrieved27 August2017.
Sources

External links[edit]

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