| Earldom of Wilton | |
|---|---|
Arms: Quarterly: 1st, Azure, a Garb Or (Grosvenor); 2nd, Argent, a Lion rampant Gules, between three Pheons ponts downwards Sable (Egerton); 3rd, Barry of six Argent and Azure, a Label of five points Gules (Grey de Wilton); 4th, Argent, a Mullet Sable, pierced Argent (Assheton).Crest: A Talbot statant Or.Supporters: On either side a Talbot reguardant Or, collared and charged on the shoulder with a Mullet Azure. | |
| Creation date | 26 June 1801 |
| Created by | KingGeorge III |
| Peerage | Peerage of the United Kingdom |
| First holder | Thomas Egerton, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton |
| Present holder | Francis Grosvenor, 8th Earl of Wilton |
| Heir apparent | Julian Grosvenor, Viscount Grey de Wilton |
| Subsidiary titles | Viscount Grey de Wilton Baron Ebury |
| Status | Extant |
| Motto | VIRTUS NON STEMMA (Virtue, not ancestry) |
Earl of Wilton, ofWilton Castle in theCounty of Herefordshire, is a title in thePeerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1801 forThomas Egerton, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton, along with thesubsidiary title ofViscount Grey de Wilton, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Both titles were created with remainder to the second and all younger sons successively of his daughter Eleanor, wife ofRobert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster.[1]



The1st Earl of Wilton was a member of theEgerton family and the eldest son of Sir Thomas Grey Egerton,6th Baronet of Egerton and Oulton. He had earlier resided atHeaton Hall nearManchester and representedLancashire in Parliament.
He was a descendant of Sir Roland Egerton, 1st Baronet, who had married Bridget Grey, sister and co-heir ofThomas Grey, 15th Baron Grey de Wilton, who wasattainted in 1603 and forfeited his title. In 1756,Thomas Egerton succeeded his father as 7th Baronet and in 1784 was createdBaron Grey de Wilton, ofWilton Castle in the County Hereford, in thePeerage of Great Britain, with remainder to the heirs male of his body.[2]
When the 1st Earl of Wilton died in 1814, theGrey de Wilton barony became extinct as he had no male heirs, while theGrey Egerton baronetcy passed to his kinsmanJohn Grey Egerton, who became the 8th Baronet. The titles ofEarl of Wilton andViscount Grey de Wilton passed, according to the special remainder, to the 1st Earl's grandsonThomas Grosvenor, who adopted the surname of Egerton and became the 2nd Earl. He was the second son of Lady Eleanor Egerton (and her husband, the1st Marquess of Westminster), the younger brother ofRichard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster, and the elder brother ofLord Robert Grosvenor, who was createdBaron Ebury in 1857. The 2nd Earl notably served asLord Steward of the Household in 1835, in theTory administration ofSir Robert Peel.
His eldest son, who became the 3rd Earl of Wilton, had representedWeymouth andBath in Parliament as aConservative. In 1875, seven years before the 3rd Earl had succeeded his father, he was raised to the peerage asBaron Grey de Radcliffe, in the County Palatine of Lancaster. However, the 3rd Earl was childless, and on his death in 1885, this barony became extinct. He was succeeded in his other titles by his younger brother, who became the 4th Earl of Wilton.
On the death in 1999 of his great-grandson, the 7th Earl of Wilton, the line of the 2nd Earl failed. He was succeeded according to thespecial remainder by his kinsmanFrancis Egerton Grosvenor, 6th Baron Ebury (a great-great-grandson ofRobert Grosvenor, 1st Baron Ebury, younger brother of the second Earl), who became the 8th Earl of Wilton.
Theheir apparent is the present holder's only son, Julian Francis Martin Grosvenor, Viscount Grey de Wilton (b. 1959).
| Grosvenor and Grey family tree:Dukes of Westminster,Marquesses of Westminster Earls:Grosvenor,Sussex (5th creation), andof Wilton Viscounts:Belgrave,Grey de Wilton, andde Longueville and Barons:Grey de Wilton,Grey of Ruthin (Ruthyn),Grey de Radcliffe,Ebury,Grosvenor, andStalbridge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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