Earl Spencer (peerage)

Earldom of Spencer
Quarterly Argent and Gules in the 2nd and 3rd quarters a Fret Or over all on a Bend Sable three Escallops of the first.
Creation date 1 November 1765
Monarch George III
Peerage Peerage of Great Britain
First holder John Spencer
Present holder Charles Spencer, 9th Earl
Heir apparent Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp
Remainder to the 1st Earl's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles Viscount Althorp
Viscount Spencer
Baron Spencer of Althorp
Seat(s) Althorp
Spencer House

Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer.[1][2] He was a member of the prominent Spencer family and a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Previously, he had been created Viscount Spencer, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, and Baron Spencer of Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, on 3 April 1761.[3][2]

The future 6th Earl Spencer was created Viscount Althorp, of Great Brington in the County of Northampton, on 19 December 1905 in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[4] Diana, Princess of Wales, was the youngest of three daughters of the 8th Earl Spencer. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex are grandsons of the 8th Earl Spencer.

Land holdings

The family seat is Althorp in Northamptonshire.[2] Their estate includes significant land holdings in other parts of the country, including the village of North Creake in Norfolk. The family also holds the Spencer House in London.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the family is as follows: Quarterly argent and gules, in the second and third quarters a fret or, over all on a bend sable, three escallops of the first. The crest, emerging from the coronet, is a griffin's head argent, gorged with a bar gemelle gules between two wings expanded of the second. The supporters are: Dexter, a griffin per fess ermine and erminois, gorged with a collar sable, the edges flory-counter-flory, and chained of the last, on the collar, three escallops argent; sinister, a wyvern erect on his tail ermine, collared and chained as the griffin. The motto is Dieu defend le droit (French: God protect the right).[5]

Earls Spencer (1765)

John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer,
by Thomas Gainsborough

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Louis Frederick John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (b. 1994).

Line of succession

  1. Louis Frederick John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (born 14 March 1994), only son of the 9th Earl by his first wife.
  2. The Hon. Edmund Charles Spencer (born 6 October 2003),[6] only son of the 9th Earl by his second wife.

Arms

See also

References

  1. ↑ "No. 10562". The London Gazette. 5 October 1765. p. 1.
  2. 1 2 3 Burke, John (1833). A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. London: H. Colburn and R. Bentley. p. 466.
  3. ↑ "No. 10092". The London Gazette. 4 April 1761. p. 1.
  4. ↑ "No. 27868". The London Gazette. 29 December 1905. p. 9319.
  5. ↑ Townend, Peter (ed.). Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage (103rd Edition). Burke's Peerage Limited. p. 2282.
  6. ↑ "Prince Edward and Countess of Wessex watch their children on horseback".


Further reading

  • Battiscombe, Georgina (1984) The Spencers of Althorp. London: Constable. ISBN 978-0-09-465700-7
  • Spencer, Charles (1999) Althorp: the story of an English house. London: Viking. ISBN 978-0-312-20833-2
  • Spencer, Charles (2000) The Spencers: a personal history of an English family. New York: St. Martin’s Press ISBN 978-0-312-26649-3
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