Earl of Worcester
Encyclopedia
Earl of Worcester is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....

. The first creation came in 1138 in favour of the Norman noble Waleran de Beaumont
Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester
Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, 1st Earl of Worcester , was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth de Vermandois, and the twin brother of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester...

. He was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan was a powerful English and French nobleman, revered as one of the wisest men of his age...

, by Elizabeth of Vermandois, and the twin brother of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester was Justiciar of England 1155–1168.The surname "de Beaumont" is given him by genealogists. The only known contemporary surname applied to him is "Robert son of Count Robert"...

. Like his father and brother he also held the title Count of Meulan in the French nobility. The earldom of Worcester apparently became extinct on his death in 1166.

The second creation came in 1397 in favour of the military commander and governor Thomas Percy
Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester
Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, KG was an English medieval nobleman best known for taking part in the rebellion with his nephew Henry Percy, known as 'Harry Hotspur', and brother Northumberland .-Lineage:...

. He was a younger son of Henry Percy, 3rd Baron Percy, and Mary of Lancaster
Mary of Lancaster
Mary of Lancaster, Baroness Percy , was the youngest surviving child of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster by his wife Maud Chaworth. Through her father, she was a great-granddaughter of Henry III of England.-Family:...

, and the brother of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland. He fought in the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...

 for Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...

, against whom he later rebelled. After the Battle of Shrewsbury
Battle of Shrewsbury
The Battle of Shrewsbury was a battle fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King, Henry IV, and a rebel army led by Henry "Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland....

, he was hanged for treason and his honours forfeit, although he was without issue anyway.

The third creation came in 1420 in favour of Richard Beauchamp, 2nd Baron Bergavenny
Richard Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester
Richard de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester, KB was an English peer.The only son of the William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny, he succeeded as 2nd Baron Bergavenny upon the death of his father....

. He was the son of William de Beauchamp, younger son of Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, KG was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War...

 and Katherine Mortimer
Katherine Mortimer, Countess of Warwick
Katherine Mortimer, Countess of Warwick was the wife of Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick KG, an English peer, and military commander during the Hundred Years War...

. William de Beauchamp was summoned to Parliament as "Willilmo Beauchamp de Bergavenny" on 23 July 1392, by which he is held to have become Baron Bergavenny. The earldom of Worcester became extinct on the death of its first holder in 1422, while the barony was passed on to his daughter and only child, Elizabeth. See Baron Bergavenny for further history of this title.

The fourth creation came in 1457 in favour of John Tiptoft, 2nd Baron Tiptoft
John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester
John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester KG , English nobleman and scholar, was the son of John Tiptoft, 1st Baron Tiptoft and Joyce Cherleton, co-heiress of Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton. He was also known as the Butcher of England...

, a noted scholar and sometime favourite of Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...

. After the Lancastrians came to power under Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...

, Worcester was captured and beheaded, with his titles forfeited. However, they were restored the following year in favour of his second and only surviving son Edward. Edward died at an early age in 1486. On his death the earldom became extinct while the barony became either extinct or fell into abeyance
Abeyance
Abeyance is a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the true owner. In law, the term abeyance can only be applied to such future estates as have not yet vested or possibly...

 between his aunts. The barony of Tiptoft had been created on 7 January 1426 when the first Earl's father, John Tiptoft
John Tiptoft, 1st Baron Tiptoft
Sir John Tiptoft, 1st Baron Tiptoft was a Knight of the Shire for Huntingdonshire and Somerset, Speaker of the House of Commons, Treasurer of the Household, Chief Butler of England, Treasurer of the Exchequer and Seneschal of Landes and Aquitaine.-Early life:This English nobleman was the eldest...

, was summoned to Parliament. He had previously served as Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...

 and Lord High Treasurer
Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Act of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third highest ranked Great Officer of State, below the Lord High Chancellor and above the Lord President...

.

The fifth creation came in 1514 in favour of Charles Somerset
Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester
Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester was the legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset and Joan Hill.-Biography:He was born around 1460 to Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset and Joan Hill...

, the legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset was an important Lancastrian military commander during the English Wars of the Roses. He is sometimes numbered the 2nd Duke of Somerset, since the title was re-created for his father after his uncle died...

. The fifth Earl was made Marquess of Worcester in 1643 and the third Marquess Duke of Beaufort
Duke of Beaufort
Duke of Beaufort is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, a Lancastrian leader in the Wars of the...

 in 1682. See the latter title for more information on this creation.

Earls of Worcester; First creation (1138)

  • Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester
    Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester
    Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, 1st Earl of Worcester , was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth de Vermandois, and the twin brother of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester...

     (1104–1166)

Earls of Worcester; Second creation (1397)

  • Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester
    Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester
    Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, KG was an English medieval nobleman best known for taking part in the rebellion with his nephew Henry Percy, known as 'Harry Hotspur', and brother Northumberland .-Lineage:...

     (1343–1403) (forfeit)

Earls of Worcester; Third creation (1420)

  • Richard Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester
    Richard Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester
    Richard de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester, KB was an English peer.The only son of the William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny, he succeeded as 2nd Baron Bergavenny upon the death of his father....

     (c. 1397–1422)

Earls of Worcester; Fourth creation (1449)

  • John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester
    John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester
    John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester KG , English nobleman and scholar, was the son of John Tiptoft, 1st Baron Tiptoft and Joyce Cherleton, co-heiress of Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton. He was also known as the Butcher of England...

     (c. 1427–1470) (attainted 1470)
  • Edward Tiptoft, 2nd Earl of Worcester (c. 1469–1485) (restored 1471)
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