Earl of Lytton
Quarterly: 1st and 4th, Ermine on a chief dancettée azure two ducal coronets or a canton argent charged with a rose gules barbed and seeded proper (Lytton); 2nd and 3rd, gules on a chevron argent between three eagles regardant or, as many cinquefoils sable (Bulwer)
Creation date	28 April 1880[1]
Created by	Queen Victoria
Peerage	Peerage of the United Kingdom
First holder	Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Baron Lytton
Present holder	John Lytton, 5th Earl of Lytton
Heir apparent	Philip Lytton, Viscount Knebworth
Remainder to	1st Earl's heirs male lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles	Viscount Knebworth Baron Wentworth Baron Lytton Baronet (of Knebworth)
Seat(s)	Newbuildings Place
Former seat(s)	Knebworth House
Motto	Hoc Virtutis Opus ("This is the work of virtue")[2]

Earl of Lytton, in theCounty of Derby, is a title in thePeerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for the diplomat and poetRobert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Baron Lytton.^[3] He wasViceroy of India from 1876 to 1880 andBritish Ambassador to France from 1887 to 1891. He was madeViscount Knebworth, ofKnebworth in theCounty of Hertford, at the same time he was given the earldom, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

Robert Bulwer-Lytton was the son of the poet, novelist and politicianEdward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, and his wife, the novelistRosina Doyle Wheeler. Edward was the author of numerous popular novels, poems and dramas and also served asSecretary of State for the Colonies under theEarl of Derby between 1858 and 1859. Born Edward Bulwer, he was the third and youngest son of General William Earle Bulwer and his wifeElizabeth Barbara Lytton, daughter ofRichard Warburton Lytton ofKnebworth House,Hertfordshire (through which marriage the Knebworth estate came into the Bulwer family). He was created aBaronet, of Knebworth House in the County of Hertford, in theBaronetage of the United Kingdom, in 1838,^[4] and in 1866, he was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom asBaron Lytton, of Knebworth in the County of Hertford.^[5][1] In 1844, he also assumed by Royal licence theadditional surname and arms of Lytton.^[6]

The first Earl of Lytton was succeeded by his son,the second Earl. He was also a politician and served asUnder-Secretary of State for India from 1920 to 1922 and asGovernor of Bengal from 1922 to 1927. Lord Lytton married Pamela Plowden, remembered as the first great love ofWinston Churchill. Their two sons,Antony Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth, and Alexander Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth, both predeceased them, Antony killed in a plane crash in 1933 and Alexander killed in action in World War II. Their daughter,Lady Hermione Lytton, marriedCameron Cobbold, 1st Baron Cobbold, and through this marriage Knebworth House passed to theCobbold family (see theBaron Cobbold).

Lord Lytton was succeeded by his younger brother, the third Earl.^[7] He was a portrait and landscape painter. In 1899 he marriedJudith Blunt, 16th Baroness Wentworth, the renowned horse breeder who devoted her life to theCrabbet Arabian Stud. The stud had been created by her parents, the poetWilfrid Scawen Blunt and his wifeAnne Blunt, 15th Baroness Wentworth, granddaughter ofLord Byron through his daughterAda Lovelace (see theBaron Wentworth for earlier history of this title). They were divorced in 1923.^[8]

Lord Lytton and Lady Wentworth were succeeded, respectively, in 1951 and 1957 by their sonNoel Lytton, 4th Earl of Lytton; as a consequence the titleBaron Wentworth, in thePeerage of England, became subsidiary to the Earldom of Lytton. He assumed bydeed poll the additional surname of Milbanke in 1925,^[9] but discontinued by deed poll the use of this surname in 1951.^[10] As of 2017^[update] the titles are held by his eldest son, the fifth Earl, who succeeded in 1985.

Another member of the family was theLiberal politician, diplomat and writerHenry Bulwer, 1st Baron Dalling and Bulwer. He was the elder brother of the first Baron Lytton.

Thefamily seat isNewbuildings Place, nearShipley, West Sussex.

• Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baronet (1803–1873) (createdBaron Lytton in 1866)

• Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–1873)
• (Edward) Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Baron Lytton (1831–1891) (createdEarl of Lytton in 1880)

• (Edward) Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton (1831–1891)
  • Edward Roland John Bulwer-Lytton (1865–1871)
  • Hon. Henry Meredith Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1872–1874)
• Victor Alexander George Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton (1876–1947)
  • (Edward) Antony James Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth (1903–1933)
  • Alexander Edward John Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth (1910–1942)
• Neville Stephen Bulwer-Lytton, 3rd Earl of Lytton (1879–1951)
• Noel Anthony Scawen Lytton, 4th Earl of Lytton (1900–1985)
• John Peter Michael Scawen Lytton, 5th Earl of Lytton (born 1950)

Theheir apparent is the present holder's son, Philip Anthony Scawen Lytton, Viscount Knebworth (born 1989)

• Baron Wentworth

• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors).Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.

Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Herschel baronets	Lytton baronets of Knebworth House July 1838	Succeeded by Smith baronets

• Earls of Lytton
• 1880 establishments in the United Kingdom
• Earldoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
• Noble titles created in 1880

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2017
• All articles containing potentially dated statements