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RICHMOND, EARLS AND DUKES OF

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Originally appearing in Volume V23, Page 307 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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RICHMOND, EARLS AND See also:DUKES OF . The See also:title See also:earl of Richmond appears to have been in existence in See also:England a considerable See also:time before it was held in accordance with any strict legal principle. Alan, surnamed " Le Roux," and his See also:brother Alan (c. 1040-1089), surnamed " Le Noir," relatives of See also:Geoffrey, See also:count of See also:Brittany, and kinsman of See also:William the Conqueror, took See also:part in the latter's invasion of England; and Le Roux obtained grants of See also:land in various parts of England, including manors formerly held by Earl See also:Edwin in See also:Yorkshire, on one of which he built the See also:castle of Richmond, his possessions there being formed into the See also:honour of Richmond, to which his brother Alan Le Noir, or Alan See also:Niger (c. 1045–1093), succeeded in 1089. The latter was in turn succeeded as See also:lord of the honour of Richmond by See also:Stephen (d. 1137), count of Penthievre, who was either his son or another brother. These See also:Breton See also:counts, being territorial barons of See also:great importance in England, and lords of the honour of Richmond where their castle was situated, are often reckoned as earls of Richmond, though they were not so in the strict and later sense. The same should perhaps be said of Stephen's son Alan Niger II. (c. 1116–1146), though he was styled earl of Richmond by See also:John of See also:Hexham. This Alan married Bertha, daughter and heiress of Conan, reigning count of Brittany; and his son Conan (c.

1138–1171), who married See also:

Margaret, See also:sister of See also:Malcolm IV. of See also:Scotland, asserted his right to Brittany, and transferred it in his lifetime to his daughter See also:Constance (c. 1162–1201). As he See also:left no sons the honour of Richmond and his other See also:English possessions passed to the See also:king in 1171, though Constance is also loosely spoken of as countess of Richmond in her own right. Constance was three times married, and each of her husbands in turn assumed the title of earl of Richmond, in See also:conjunction with that of count, or See also:duke of Brittany. They were: Geoffrey See also:Plantagenet (1158–1 r86), son of See also:Henry II., king of England; See also:Randolph de Blundevill, earl of See also:Chester (c. 1172–1232), the See also:marriage with whom Constance treated as null on the ground of See also:consanguinity; and See also:Guy de See also:Thouars (d. 1213), who survived his wife for twelveyears. The only son of the first marriage, See also:Arthur of Brittany (1187-1203), was styled earl of Richmond in his See also:mother's lifetime, and on his See also:murder at the hands of his See also:uncle, King John, the earldom was resumed by the See also:crown. By her third See also:husband Constance had two daughters, the See also:elder of whom, Alice, was given in marriage by See also:Philip See also:Augustus, king of See also:France, to See also:Peter de Braine in 1213, after which date Peter was styled duke of Brittany and earl of Richmond till about 1235, when he renounced his See also:allegiance to the king of England and thereupon suffered See also:forfeiture of his English earldom. In 1241 Henry III. granted the honour of Richmond to Peter of See also:Savoy (1203–1268), uncle of See also:Queen Eleanor, who was thereafter described as earl of Richmond by contemporary chroniclers, though how far he was strictly entitled to the designation has been disputed. By his will he left the honour of Richmond to his niece, the queen See also:consort, who transferred it to the crown. In the same See also:year (1268) Henry III. granted the earldom specifically to John, duke of Brittany (1217–86), son of Peter de Braine, in whose See also:family the title continued—though it frequently was forfeited or reverted to the crown and was re-granted to the next See also:heir—till 1342, when it was apparently resumed by See also:Edward III. and granted by that See also:sovereign to his son John of Gaunt, who surrendered it in 1372.

It was then given to John de See also:

Montfort, duke of Brittany, but on his See also:death without heirs in 1399, or possibly at an earlier date through forfeiture, it reverted to the crown. The earldom now became finally separated from the duchy of Brittany, with which it had been loosely conjoined since the See also:Conquest, although the dukes of Brittany continued to assume the title till a much later date. From 1414 to 1435 the earldom of Richmond was held by John Plantagenet, duke of See also:Bedford, and in 1453 it was conferred on See also:Edmund Tudor, uterine brother to King Henry VI., whose wife, Margaret See also:Beaufort, was the foundress of St John's See also:College, See also:Cambridge, and of the " See also:Lady Margaret " professorships of divinity at See also:Oxford ancj Cambridge (see RICHMOND AND See also:DERBY, MARGARET, COUNTESS OF). When Edmund Tudor's son Henry ascended the See also:throne as Henry VII. in 1485, the earldom of Richmond merged in the crown, and for the next See also:forty years there was no further See also:grant of the title; but in 1525 Henry See also:Fitzroy, natural son of Henry VIII. by See also:Elizabeth Blound, was created duke of Richmond and See also:Somerset and earl of See also:Nottingham, all these titles becoming See also:extinct at his death without See also:children in 1536. Ludovic See also:Stuart, 2nd duke of See also:Lennox (1574–1624), who also held other titles in the See also:peerage of Scotland, was created earl of Richmond in 1613 and duke of Richmond in 1623. These became extinct at his death in 1624, but his Scottish honours devolved on his brother Esme, who was already earl of See also:March in the peerage of England (see MARCH, EARLS OF; and LENNOX). Esme's son, See also:James, 4th duke of Lennox (1612–1655), was created duke of Richmond in 1641, the two dukedoms as well as the lesser English and Scottish titles thus becoming again See also:united. In 1672, on the death of his See also:nephew See also:Charles, 3rd duke of Richmond and 6th duke of Lennox, whose wife was the celebrated beauty called " La Belle Stuart " at the See also:court of Charles II. (see RICHMOND AND LENNOX, FRANCES TERESA, DUCHESS OF), his titles became extinct. In 1675 Charles II. created his illegitimate son Charles duke of Richmond, earl of March and See also:baron Settrington, and a few See also:weeks later duke of Lennox, earl of See also:Darnley and baron Torboltoun. This Charles (1672–1723), on whom his See also:father the king bestowed the surname of Lennox, was the son of the celebrated See also:Louise de Keroualle, duchess of See also:Portsmouth. His son Charles, 2nd duke (1701–1750), added`to the titles he inherited from his father that of duke of Aubigny in France, to which he succeeded in 1734 on the death of his grandmother the duchess of Ports-mouth; and all these honours are still held by his descendant the See also:present duke of Richmond.

The seven dukes of Richmond of the Lennox See also:

line have all See also:borne the See also:Christian name of Charles. The 2nd duke, by his marriage with Sarah, daughter of the 1st Earl See also:Cadogan, was father of Lady See also:Caroline Lennox, who eloped with Henry See also:Fox, and was the mother of Charles James Fox, and of the beautiful Lady Sarah Lennox (1745-1826) with whom See also:George III. See also:fell in love and 'contemplated marriage, and who afterwards married, first, See also:Sir See also:Thomas See also:Bunbury, from whom she was divorced, and secondly, George See also:Napier, by whom she was the mother of Generals Sir Charles and Sir William Napier. Charles, 3rd duke of Richmond (1735–1806), was one of the most remarkable men of the 18th See also:century, being chiefly famous for his advanced views on the question of See also:parliamentary reform. Having succeeded to the peerage in 1750, he was appointed See also:British See also:ambassador extraordinary in See also:Paris in 1765, and in the following year he became a secretary of See also:state in the See also:Rockingham See also:administration, resigning See also:office on the See also:accession to See also:power of the earl of See also:Chatham. In the debates on the policy that led to the See also:War of See also:American See also:Independence Richmond was a See also:firm supporter of the colonists; and he initiated the debate in 1778 calling for the removal of the troops from See also:America, during which Chatham was seized by his fatal illness. He also advocated a policy of concession in See also:Ireland, with reference to which he originated the phrase " a See also:union of See also:hearts " which See also:long afterwards became famous when his use of it had been forgotten. In 1779 the duke brought forward a See also:motion for See also:retrenchment of the See also:civil See also:list; and in 178o he embodied in a See also:bill his proposals for parliamentary reform, which included manhood See also:suffrage, See also:annual parliaments and equal electoral areas. Richmond sat in Rockingham's second See also:cabinet as See also:master-See also:general of See also:ordnance; and in 1784 he joined the See also:ministry of William See also:Pitt. He now See also:developed strongly tory opinions, and his alleged See also:desertion of the cause of reform led to a violent attack on him by See also:Lauderdale in 1792, which nearly led to a See also:duel between the two noblemen. Richmond died in See also:December 18o6, and, leaving no legitimate children, he was succeeded in the peerage by his nephew Charles, son of his brother, General Lord George Henry Lennox. The 4th duke (1764–1819) and his wife See also:Charlotte, daughter of the 4th duke of See also:Gordon, were the givers of the famous See also:ball at See also:Brussels on the See also:night before the See also:battle of Quatre See also:Bras, immortalized in See also:Byron's Childe Harold. Their son, the 5th duke (1791–186o), while still known by the See also:courtesy title of earl of March, served on See also:Wellington's See also:staff in the See also:Peninsula, being at the same time member of See also:parliament for See also:Chichester.

He was afterwards a vehement opponent in the See also:

House of Lords of See also:Roman See also:Catholic emancipation, and at a later date a See also:leader of the opposition to See also:Peel's See also:free See also:trade policy. In 1836, on inheriting the estates of his maternal uncle, the 5th and last duke of Gordon, he assumed the name of Gordon before that of Lennox. On his death in 186o he was succeeded in his titles by his son Charles Henry, 6th duke of Richmond (1818–1903), a statesman who held various cabinet offices in the Conservative administrations of Lord Derby, Disraeli and the See also:marquess of See also:Salisbury; and who in 1876 was created earl of Kinrara and duke of Gordon. These honours in addition to the numerous family titles of more See also:ancient creation passed on his death in 1903 to his son Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox (b. 1845), 7th duke of Richmond and Lennox and 2nd duke of Gordon. See Sir See also:Robert See also:Douglas, The Peerage of Scotland, edited by Sir J. B. See also:Paul; G. E. C., See also:Complete Peerage, vol. vi. (See also:London, 1895) Lady Elizabeth Cust, Some See also:Account of the Stuarts of Aubigny in France (London, 1891). For the dukes of the creation of 1675 see also, See also:Anthony See also:Hamilton, See also:Memoirs of See also:Grammont, edited by Sir W.

See also:

Scott, new edition (2 vols., London, 1885) ; See also:Horace See also:Walpole, Letters, edited by P. See also:Cunningham (9 vols., London, 1891), and Memoirs of the Reign of George III., edited by G. F. R. See also:Barker (4 vols., London, 1894) ; the earl of See also:Albemarle, Memoirs of Rockingham and his Contemporaries (2 vols., London, 1852); The See also:Grenville Papers, edited by W. J. See also:Smith (4 vols., London, 1852) ; Earl See also:Stanhope, See also:Life of William Pitt (4 vols., London, 1861); Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice, Life of William Earl of Shelburne (3 vols., London, 1875) the duke of Richmond, The Right of the See also:People to Universal Suffrage and Annual Parliaments (London, 1817), being an edition of the 3rd duke's famous " See also:Letter to Lieut.-See also:Colonel Sharman," originally published in 1783; Lord William Pitt Lennox, Memoir of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond (London, 1862). (R. J.

End of Article: RICHMOND, EARLS AND DUKES OF

Additional information and Comments

John IV of Brittany (d. 1399) did not die 'without heirs' (he had four sons and four daughters!), but in the turmoil surrounding the deposition of Richard II, the accession of Henry IV and the opportune death of John IV, the earldom of Richmond was too useful to Henry IV to permit a minor, John V to succeed, and the king used its resources to reward his supporters,not least Ralph Neville, earl of Westmorland. Thereafter the ducal family of Brittany were never able to possess it despite many diplomatic efforts to reclaim it. Ironically Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, who acceeded in 1485 as Henry VII, had spent 12 years in exile with Francis II, duke of Brittany, also styled earl of Richmond.
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