Marquess of Lansdowne
Encyclopedia
Peerage of Great Britain
The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Act of Union 1707 but before the Act of Union 1800...
held by the head of the Petty-Fitzmaurice family. This branch of the family descends from the Hon. John Petty (originally John Fitzmaurice), second son of Thomas Fitzmaurice, 1st Earl of Kerry
Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st Earl of Kerry
Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st Earl of Kerry PC was an Irish peer and politician.He was the son of William FitzMaurice, 20th Baron Kerry, and Constance Long, and succeeded his father in March 1696/97 and was invested as a Privy Counsellor before April 1711...
(see the Earl of Kerry
Earl of Kerry
Baron Kerry is an ancient title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created circa 1223 for Thomas Fitzmaurice.In 1325, Maurice FitzMaurice, 4th Baron of Kerry, murdered Diarmaid Óg MacCarthy in the courtroom at Tralee...
for earlier history of the family), and his wife Anne, the daughter of the noted political economist Sir William Petty
William Petty
Sir William Petty FRS was an English economist, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to survey the land that was to be confiscated and given to Cromwell's soldiers...
(whose wife had been created Baroness Shelburne and whose two sons had been created Baron Shelburne and Earl of Shelburne
Earl of Shelburne
Earl of Shelburne is a title that has been created two times while the title of Baron Shelburne has been created three times. The Shelburne title was created for the first time in the Peerage of Ireland in 1688 when Elizabeth, Lady Petty, was made Baroness Shelburne. She was the wife of the noted...
respectively, but who had died without heirs; see these title for more information). In 1751 he succeeded to the estates of his maternal uncle Henry Petty, 1st Earl of Shelburne, and assumed by Royal license the surname of Petty in lieu of FitzMaurice. The same year he was created Baron Dunkeron and Viscount FitzMaurice in the Peerage of Ireland
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
. In 1753 the earldom held by his uncle was revived when he was made Earl of Shelburne, in the County of Wexford, in the Peerage of Ireland. He later represented Wycombe
Wycombe (UK Parliament constituency)
Wycombe is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It currently elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of elections....
in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
as a Whig. In 1760 he was created Baron Wycombe, of Chepping Wycombe in the County of Buckingham, in the Peerage of Great Britain, which gave him an automatic seat in the British House of Lords.
He was succeeded by his eldest son William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
William Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC , known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782–1783 during the final...
. He was a prominent statesman and served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1782 to 1783. In 1784 he was created Viscount Calne and Calston, in the County of Wiltshire, Earl of Wycombe, of Chepping Wycombe, and Marquess of Lansdowne, in the County of Somerset, in the Peerage of Great Britain. Through his first wife Lady Sophia Carteret (1745–1771), only daughter of Robert Carteret, 3rd Earl Granville (see the Earl Granville 1715 creation
Earl Granville
Earl Granville is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.-First Creation:...
), he acquired large estates, including Lansdowne Hill near Bath, from which he took his title of Marquess. However, he is better known to history under his former title of Earl of Shelburne. He was succeeded by his son from his first marriage to Lady Sophia Carteret, the second Marquess. He sat as Whig Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Wycombe between 1786 and 1805.
He died childless and was succeeded by his half-brother, the third Marquess. He was the son of the first Marquess's second marriage to Lady Louisa FitzPatrick. Known as Lord Henry Petty from 1784 to 1809, he was one of the most influential Whig politicians of the first half of the 19th century. In a ministerial career spanning over fifty years he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
from 1806 to 1807, as Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
from 1827 to 1828, as Lord President of the Council
Lord President of the Council
The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval...
from 1830 to 1834, 1835 to 1841 and 1846 to 1852 and as Minister without Portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
from 1852 to 1858. He twice declined to become Prime Minister and refused the offer of a dukedom from Queen Victoria in 1857. In 1818 Lord Lansdowne also succeeded his cousin as fourth Earl of Kerry. His eldest son William Petty FitzMaurice, Earl of Kerry, was Member of Parliament for Calne but predeceased his father, without male issue. Lord Lansdowne was therefore succeeded by his second son, the fourth Marquess. He had already in 1856 been summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration
Writ of acceleration
A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, was a type of writ of summons to the British House of Lords that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with multiple peerage titles to attend the British House of Lords or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father's...
in his father's junior title of Baron Wycombe and served under Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1856 to 1858. He married as his second wife Emily Jane Mercer-Elphinstone-de Flahault, 8th Lady Nairne (see the Lord Nairne
Lord Nairne
Lord Nairne is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, which since 1995 is held by the Viscount Mersey. It was created in 1681 for the Scottish lawyer Sir Robert Nairne, with remainder to his son-in-law Lord William Murray, fourth son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. Nairne notably served as a...
), eldest daughter of the French general and statesman Charles Joseph, comte de Flahaut
Charles Joseph, comte de Flahaut
Auguste Charles Joseph de Flahaut de La Billarderie, Comte de Flahaut de La Billarderie was a French general and statesman...
, and his wife Margaret Nairne, 7th Lady Nairne.
He was succeeded by his eldest son from his second marriage, the fifth Marquess. Like his grandfather he was a prominent statesman and had an equally long ministerial career. Lord Lansdowne was Governor-General of Canada from 1883 to 1888, Viceroy of India from 1888 to 1894, Secretary of State for War
Secretary of State for War
The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
from 1895 to 1900, Foreign Secretary from 1900 to 1905, Co-Leader of the Conservative Party from 1911 to 1916 and also served in the war-time coalition government as Minister without Portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
from 1915 to 1916. In 1895 he succeeded his mother as ninth Lord Nairne. His eldest son, the sixth Marquess, sat as Unionist
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire
West Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency)
West Derbyshire was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1885 until it was replaced by the Derbyshire Dales constituency in the 2010 General Election, it elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system.It...
from 1908 to 1918 and was a Senator of the Irish Free State
Seanad Éireann (Irish Free State)
Seanad Éireann was the upper house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State from 1922–1936. It has also been known simply as the Senate, or as the First Seanad. The Senate was established under the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State but a number of constitutional amendments were...
in 1922.
On his death in 1936 he was succeeded by his second but eldest surviving son, the seventh Marquess, who was killed in action in 1944 during the Second World War, unmarried. As the third and youngest brother, Lord Edward Norman Petty-Fitzmaurice, had been killed in action only a week before, the Scottish lordship of Nairne was passed on to their eldest sister Katherine (see Lord Nairne for later history of this title). Lord Lansdowne was survived in the remaining titles by his first cousin, the eighth Marquess. He was the son of Major Lord Charles George Francis Mercer Nairne Petty-Fitzmaurice (1874–1914), second son of the fifth Marquess. Born George John Charles Mercer Nairne, he assumed by Decree of the Lord Lyon the additional surnames of Petty-Fitzmaurice in 1947. Lord Lansdowne sat on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords and served as Joint Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1958 to 1962 and as Minister of State for Colonial Affairs from 1962 to 1964. As of 2007 the titles are held by his eldest son, the ninth Marquess, who succeeded in 1999.
The courtesy title for the Lord Lansdowne's eldest son and heir apparent alternates between Earl of Kerry and Earl of Shelburne. The family seat is Bowood House
Bowood House
Bowood is a grade I listed Georgian country house with interiors by Robert Adam and a garden designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown. It is adjacent to the village of Derry Hill, halfway between Calne and Chippenham in Wiltshire, England...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. The family's former London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
residence was Lansdowne House
Lansdowne House
Lansdowne House is a building to the southwest of Berkeley Square in central London, England. It was designed by Robert Adam as a private house and for most of its time as a residence it belonged to the Petty family, Marquesses of Lansdowne. Since 1935, it has been the home of the Lansdowne Club....
in Berkeley Square
Berkeley Square
Berkeley Square is a town square in the West End of London, England, in the City of Westminster. It was originally laid out in the mid 18th century by architect William Kent...
.
Earls of Shelburne (1753)
- John Petty, 1st Earl of ShelburneJohn Petty, 1st Earl of ShelburneJohn Petty, 1st Earl of Shelburne PC , known as John FitzMaurice until 1751 and as The Viscount FitzMaurice between 1751 and 1753, was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician...
(1706–1761) - William Petty, 2nd Earl of ShelburneWilliam Petty, 2nd Earl of ShelburneWilliam Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC , known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782–1783 during the final...
(1737–1805) (created Marquess of Lansdowne in 1784)
Marquesses of Lansdowne (1784)
- William Petty, 1st Marquess of LansdowneWilliam Petty, 2nd Earl of ShelburneWilliam Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC , known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782–1783 during the final...
(1737–1805) - John Henry Petty, 2nd Marquess of LansdowneJohn Petty, 2nd Marquess of LansdowneJohn Henry Petty, 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne was the eldest son of the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, William Petty-FitzMaurice, 2nd Earl of Shelburne and 1st Marquis of Lansdowne, by his first wife, Lady Sophia Carteret.John Henry Petty-FitzMaurice travelled widely desipte his ill health,...
(1765–1809) - Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of LansdowneHenry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of LansdowneHenry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne KG, PC, FRS , known as Lord Henry Petty from 1784 to 1809 and then as The Earl of Kerry to 1818, was a British statesman...
(1780–1863)- William Thomas Petty-FitzMaurice, Earl of KerryWilliam Petty-FitzMaurice, Earl of KerryWilliam Thomas Petty-FitzMaurice, Earl of Kerry , styled Earl of Wycombe between 1811 and 1818, was a British Whig politician.-Background:...
(1811–1836)
- William Thomas Petty-FitzMaurice, Earl of Kerry
- Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of LansdowneHenry Petty-FitzMaurice, 4th Marquess of LansdowneHenry Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne KG , styled Lord Henry Petty-FitzMaurice until 1836 and Earl of Shelburne between 1836 and 1863, was a British politician.-Background and education:...
(1816–1866) - Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of LansdowneHenry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of LansdowneHenry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC was a British politician and Irish peer who served successively as the fifth Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs...
(1845–1927) - Henry William Edmund Petty-FitzMaurice, 6th Marquess of LansdowneHenry Petty-FitzMaurice, 6th Marquess of LansdowneLieutenant-Colonel Henry William Edmund Petty-Fitzmaurice, 6th Marquess of Lansdowne DSO MVO , styled Earl of Kerry until 1927, was a British soldier and politician.-Background:...
(1872–1936)- Henry Maurice John Petty-Fitzmaurice, Earl of Kerry (1913–1933)
- Charles Hope Petty-FitzMaurice, 7th Marquess of LansdowneCharles Petty-FitzMaurice, 7th Marquess of LansdowneCharles Hope Petty-Fitzmaurice, 7th Marquess of Lansdowne was the son of Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 6th Marquess of Lansdowne.He died in 1944, aged 27 in Italy, killed in action during the Second World War...
(1917–1944) - George John Charles Mercer Nairne Petty-FitzMaurice, 8th Marquess of LansdowneGeorge Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of LansdowneGeorge John Charles Mercer Nairne Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne DL , known as George Petty-Fitzmaurice until 1944, was a British peer and Conservative politician.-Background:...
(1912–1999) - Charles Maurice Petty-FitzMaurice, 9th Marquess of LansdowneCharles Petty-FitzMaurice, 9th Marquess of LansdowneCharles Maurice Petty-FitzMaurice, 9th Marquess of Lansdowne LVO DL , styled Earl of Shelburne between 1944 and 1997, is a British peer.-Early life:...
(b. 1941)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's elder son Simon Henry George Petty-Fitzmaurice, Earl of Kerry (b. 1970).
Line of succession
- Simon Henry George Petty-Fitzmaurice, Earl of Kerry (b. 1970) (elder son of the 9th Marquess)
- Lord William Nicholas Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice (b. 1973) (younger son of the 9th Marquess)
- Lord Robert Harold Mercer Nairne (b. 1947) (younger son of the 8th Marquess)
- Samuel George Mercer Nairne (b. 1976) (elder son of Lord Robert)
- George Yvan Mercer Nairne (b. 2009) (elder son of Samuel)
- Harold Charles Mercer Nairne (b. 2011) (younger son of Samuel)
- Joseph Douglas Mercer Nairne (b. 1980) (younger son of Lord Robert)
- Fergus Grey Mercer Nairne (b. 2009) (only son of Joseph)
See also
- Earl of KerryEarl of KerryBaron Kerry is an ancient title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created circa 1223 for Thomas Fitzmaurice.In 1325, Maurice FitzMaurice, 4th Baron of Kerry, murdered Diarmaid Óg MacCarthy in the courtroom at Tralee...
- Edmond Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Baron FitzMauriceEdmond Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Baron FitzMauriceEdmond George Petty-Fitzmaurice, 1st Baron Fitzmaurice PC , styled Lord Edmond FitzMaurice from 1863 to 1906, was a British Liberal politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1883 to 1885 and again from 1905 to 1908, when he entered the cabinet as Chancellor of the...
- Lord NairneLord NairneLord Nairne is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, which since 1995 is held by the Viscount Mersey. It was created in 1681 for the Scottish lawyer Sir Robert Nairne, with remainder to his son-in-law Lord William Murray, fourth son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. Nairne notably served as a...
- Baron Lansdowne