Earl Granville

"Lord Granville" redirects here. Not to be confused with Lord Grenville.

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. It is now held by members of the Leveson-Gower family.

Earldom of Granville
Blazon Arms: Quarterly: 1st & 4th, Barry of eight Argent and Gules, a Cross-Flory Sable (Gower); 2nd, Azure, three Laurel-Leaves Or (Leveson); 3rd, Gules, three Clarions Or (Granville), in the centre fess point a Crescent for difference. Crest: A Wolf passant Argent, collared and lined Or. Supporters: On either side a Wolf Argent, plain collared with a line reflexed over the back Gold, charged on the shoulder with an Escutcheon Gules, charged with a Clarion Or.
Creation date	10 May 1833
Creation	Second
Created by	William IV
Peerage	Peerage of the United Kingdom
First holder	Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville
Present holder	Fergus Leveson-Gower, 6th Earl Granville
Heir apparent	Granville Leveson-Gower, Lord Leveson
Subsidiary titles	Viscount Granville Baron Leveson
Status	Extant
Motto	FRANGAS NON FLECTES (You may break, but you will not bend me)

First creation

The first creation came in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1715 when Grace Carteret, Lady Carteret, was made Countess Granville and Viscountess Carteret. She was the daughter of John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath, and the widow of George Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret. The Carteret family descended from the celebrated royalist statesman George Carteret, who had been created a baronet, of Melesches, Jersey, in 1645. It was later intended that he should be elevated to the peerage but he died before the title could be granted. As his eldest son, Philip, predeceased him, the peerage was eventually bestowed on his namesake grandson, George, who was made Baron Carteret, of Hawnes in the County of Bedford, in 1681, with remainder to his brothers.

Lord Carteret and Lady Granville were both succeeded by their son, the second Earl. He was a prominent statesman, mainly known under the title Lord Carteret. The titles became extinct in 1776 on the death of his son, the third Earl, without heirs. The Carteret estates were passed on to the late Earl's first cousin, the Hon. Henry Frederick Thynne, second son of Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth, and his wife Lady Louisa Carteret, daughter of the second Earl Granville. He assumed the surname of Carteret and was created Baron Carteret in 1784.

Second creation

Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville, by Thomas Lawrence

The second creation came in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1833 when the noted diplomat Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Viscount Granville, was made Earl Granville and Baron Leveson, of Stone Park in the County of Stafford. He had already been created Viscount Granville, of Stone Park in the County of Stafford, in 1815. Leveson-Gower was the son of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, by his third wife, Susanna. He was the younger half-brother of George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland, and the uncle of Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere. He was also a great-great-nephew of the aforementioned Grace Carteret, 1st Countess Granville. Hence, the 1833 creation of the earldom of Granville was a revival of the title created in 1715.

Lord Granville was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He was a prominent Liberal politician and served three times as Foreign Secretary. His son, the third Earl, was also a diplomat and notably served as Ambassador to Belgium from 1928 to 1933. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the fourth Earl. He was a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy and also served as Governor of Northern Ireland from 1945 to 1952. Lord Granville married Lady Rose Constance Bowes-Lyon, second surviving daughter of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and elder sister of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, wife of George VI.

As of 2017, the titles are held by his grandson, the sixth Earl, who succeeded his father in 1996.

The Hon. Frederick Leveson-Gower, younger son of the first Earl, was Member of Parliament for Derby, Stoke-upon-Trent and Bodmin. His son George Leveson-Gower was also a Member of Parliament.

The family seat is Callernish House, near Lochmaddy, North Uist.

Carteret baronets, of Melesches (1645)

• Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet (c. 1610–1680)
  • Sir Philip Carteret (died 1672)
• Sir George Carteret, 2nd Baronet (1669–1695) (created Baron Carteret in 1681)

Barons Carteret (1681)

• George Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret (1667–1695)
• John Carteret, 2nd Baron Carteret (1690–1763) (succeeded as Earl Granville in 1744)

Earls Granville, first creation (1715)

• Grace Carteret, 1st Countess Granville (1654–1744)
• John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville (1690–1763)
• Robert Carteret, 3rd Earl Granville (1721–1776)

Earls Granville, second creation (1833)

• Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville (1773–1846)
• Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (1815–1891)
• Granville George Leveson-Gower, 3rd Earl Granville (1872–1939)
• William Spencer Leveson-Gower, 4th Earl Granville (1880–1953)
• Granville James Leveson-Gower, 5th Earl Granville (1918–1996)
• (Granville George) Fergus Leveson-Gower, 6th Earl Granville (born 1959)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son, Granville George James Leveson-Gower, Lord Leveson (born 1999).

Family tree

Gordon, Leveson-Gower, and Egerton family trees: Earls Gower, Marquesses of Stafford, Earls and Dukes of Sutherland and subsidiary titles

Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver, 1228 or 1231 William de Moravia a.k.a. Sutherland c. 1210–1248 1st Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver William de Moravia a.k.a. Sutherland c. 1235–1307 2nd Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver William de Moravia a.k.a. Sutherland (fl. Early 14th century) 3rd Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver Kenneth de Moravia a.k.a. Sutherland d. 1333 4th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver William de Moravia a.k.a. Sutherland d. 1370 5th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver Robert Sutherland d. 1444 6th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver John Sutherland d. 1460 7th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver Alex Sutherland d. 1456 Master of Sutherland John Sutherland d. 1508 8th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver John Sutherland d. 1514 9th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver Elizabeth Sutherland d. 1535 10th Countess of Sutherland and Lady Strathnaver Earldom of Sutherland resigned, 1527 Alexander Gordon c. 1505-1530 Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver, 1527 John Gordon 1525–1567 11th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver Alexander Gordon d. 1594 12th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver John Gordon 1576–1615 13th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver John Gordon 1609–1679 14th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver George Gordon 1633–1703 15th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver John Gordon 1661–1733 16th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver Baron Gower of Sittenham in the County of York, 1703 William Gordon 1683–1720 Lord Strathnaver John Leveson-Gower 1675–1709 1st Baron Gower, 5th Baronet Earl Gower and Viscount Trentham of Trentham in the County of Stafford, 1746 William Sutherland 1708–1750 17th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver John Leveson-Gower 1694–1754 1st Earl Gower, Viscount Trentham, 2nd Baron Gower Marquess of Stafford, 1786 William Sutherland 1735–1766 18th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver Granville Leveson-Gower 1721–1803 1st Marquess of Stafford, 2nd Earl Gower, Viscount Trentham, 3rd Baron Gower Duke of Sutherland, 1833 Viscount Granville, of Stone Park in the County of Stafford, 1815 Earl Granville (2nd creation) and Baron Leveson of Stone Park in the County of Stafford, 1833 Lady Elizabeth Sutherland 1765–1839 19th Countess of Sutherland and Lady Strathnaver suo jure George Granville Leveson-Gower 1758–1833 1st Duke of Sutherland, 2nd Marquess of Stafford, 3rd Earl Gower and Viscount Trentham, 4th Baron Gower Granville Leveson-Gower 1773–1846 1st Earl Granville, Viscount Granville, and Baron Leveson Earl of Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley of Brackley in the County of Northampton, 1846 George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower 1786–1861 2nd Duke of Sutherland, 3rd Marquess of Stafford, 20th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver, 4th Earl Gower and Viscount Trentham, 5th Baron Gower Francis Egerton 1800–1857 1st Earl of Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower 1828–1892 3rd Duke of Sutherland, 4th Marquess of Stafford, 21st Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver, 5th Earl Gower and Viscount Trentham, 6th Baron Gower George Granville Francis Egerton 1823–1862 2nd Earl of Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley Granville George Leveson-Gower 1815–1891 2nd Earl Granville, Viscount Granville, and Baron Leveson George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower 1850–1858 Earl Gower Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower 1851–1913 4th Duke of Sutherland, 5th Marquess of Stafford, 22nd Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver, 6th Earl Gower and Viscount Trentham, 7th Baron Gower Francis Charles Granville Egerton 1847–1914 3rd Earl of Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower 1888–1963 5th Duke of Sutherland, 6th Marquess of Stafford, 23rd Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver, 7th Earl Gower and Viscount Trentham, 8th Baron Gower Lord Alastair St Clair 1890–1921 Sutherland-Leveson-Gower John Francis Granville Scrope Egerton 1872–1944 4th Earl of Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley Thomas Henry Frederick Egerton 1876–1953 Granville George Leveson-Gower 1872–1939 3rd Earl Granville, Viscount Granville, and Baron Leveson William Spencer Leveson-Gower 1880–1953 4th Earl Granville, Viscount Granville, and Baron Leveson Elizabeth Millicent Sutherland 1921–2019 24th Countess of Sutherland and Lady Strathnaver suo jure John Sutherland Egerton 1915–2000 6th Duke of Sutherland, 7th Marquess of Stafford, 5th Earl of Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley, 8th Earl Gower and Viscount Trentham, 9th Baron Gower Reginald Cyril Egerton 1905–1992 Granville James Leveson-Gower 1918–1996 5th Earl Granville, Viscount Granville, and Baron Leveson Alastair Charles St Clair Sutherland b. 1947 25th Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver Francis Ronald Egerton b. 1940 7th Duke of Sutherland, 8th Marquess of Stafford, 6th Earl of Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley, 9th Earl Gower and Viscount Trentham, 10th Baron Gower (Granville George) Fergus Leveson-Gower b. 1959 6th Earl Granville, Viscount Granville, and Baron Leveson Rachel Elizabeth Sutherland b. 1970 styled Mistress of Sutherland Alexander Charles Robert Sutherland 1981–2022 styled Lord Strathnaver James Granville Egerton b. 1975 styled Marquess of Stafford George James Leveson-Gower b. 1999 Heir presumptive to the Earldom of Sutherland Heir apparent to the Dukedom of Sutherland and Earldom of Ellesmere Heir apparent to the Earldom of Granville

See also

• Earl of Bath (1661 creation)
• Baron Carteret
• Duke of Sutherland
• Countess of Sutherland
• Earl of Ellesmere
• Earl of Cromartie

References

Sources

• Hesilrige, Arthur G. M. (1921). Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy. London, UK: Dean & Son. p. 418.
• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages

External links

• Cracroft's Peerage page
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Granville James Leveson-Gower, 5th Earl Granville
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by (Granville George) Fergus Leveson-Gower, 6th Earl Granville