Thepeerage titleEarl of Kent has been created seven times in thePeerage of England and once in thePeerage of the United Kingdom. In fiction, the Earl of Kent is also known as a prominent supporting character in William Shakespeare's tragedyKing Lear.
AfterWilliam, Duke of Normandy conquered England, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, his half-brother, was awarded the Earldom of Kent, the first creation. In 1076, Odo was found guilty of defrauding the crown, and most of his properties were forfeited to the crown, but he was not executed. In 1082, he was arrested for planning a military campaign toRome and in 1088 his titles were forfeited. He died in 1097 atPalermo, on his way to join theFirst Crusade.
William of Ypres was the principal lieutenant ofKing Stephen and was thus rewarded the Earldom of Kent. He was deprived of the title in 1155, byKing Henry II.
Hubert de Burgh was a loyal supporter ofKing John and in 1227 was created Earl of Kent by John's son and successor,King Henry III of England. He died in 1243, his Earldom becoming extinct, as the king had his issue from his first marriage disinherited.
Edmund of Woodstock was sixth son ofEdward I of England. He was created Earl of Kent in 1321. Following his execution for high treason, his sonEdmund became Earl of Kent. Edmund died the following year and the Earldom of Kent was inherited by his younger brotherJohn, 3rd Earl of Kent. John died aged 22 and all his land was passed to his sisterJoan, Countess of Kent. The Earldom of Kent, as a royal earldom, became extinct. Joan marriedSir Thomas Holland, who was created Earl of Kent in his own right, in what is considered a separate creation of the Earldom of Kent (see below).
The earls of Kent of this creation usedBaron Holand (1353) as a subsidiary title; it becameabeyant 1408. The first earl of Kent by this creation was the husband ofJoan of Kent of the fifth creation.
The line of the earls of Kent became extinct with the death of Edmund, the fourth earl.
The Greys were a baronial family with substantial property inBedfordshire andBuckinghamshire, and later aroundRuthin in Wales. They rose to greater prominence during theWars of the Roses. Edmund Grey, Lord Grey of Ruthin, started out a Lancastrian, but switched to the Yorkist side at theBattle of Northampton. He was a member ofEdward IV's council, became Lord Treasurer in 1463/4, was created Earl of Kent in 1465 and was keeper of theTower of London in 1470. He remained loyal throughRichard III's accession, taking part in his coronation (1483).
Edmund's son George, the 2nd Earl, had continued as a Yorkist, marrying Anne Woodville, a sister of Edward IV's queenElizabeth Woodville. (He was half-first cousin - both being grandsons of Reynold 3rd Lord Grey of Ruthin - to Queen Elizabeth's first husband,Sir John Grey of Groby.) He later married Catherine Herbert, daughter ofWilliam Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke.
The third earl, Richard, was the son of the second earl and Anne Woodville. He wound up heavily in debt, probably through gambling, and was forced to alienate most of his property. A good part ended up in the crown's hands; historians disagree regarding what this says aboutHenry VII's relationship with the aristocracy.
He was succeeded as earl by his half-brother Henry, son of the second earl and Catherine Herbert. Henry tried, with little success, to reacquire the property Richard had sold, and had to live as a modest gentleman, never formally taking title as earl.