Earldom of Albemarle | |
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![]() ![]() Arms of Keppel, Earl of Albemarle:Gules, three escallops argent | |
Creation date | 10 February 1697 |
Created by | William III |
Peerage | Peerage of England |
First holder | Arnold Joost van Keppel |
Present holder | Rufus Keppel, 10th Earl of Albemarle |
Heir apparent | Augustus Keppel, Viscount Bury |
Remainder to | the 1st Earl'sheirs maleof the body lawfully begotten. |
Subsidiary titles | Viscount Bury Baron Ashford |
Former seat(s) | Elveden Hall |
Earl of Albemarle is a title created several times from Norman times onwards. The wordAlbemarle is derived from theLatinised form of the French county ofAumale inNormandy (Latin:Alba Marla meaning "White Marl",marl being a type of fertile soil), other forms beingAubemarle andAumerle. It is described in thepatent of nobility granted in 1697 byWilliam III toArnold Joost van Keppel as "a town and territory in theDukedom ofNormandy."[1]
The family seat is Hurst Barns Farm, nearEast Chiltington,East Sussex.
Aumale was raised byWilliam the Conqueror into acounty for his half-sister,Adelaide, and in England translated to an earldom for her husband and their descendants. The earldom became extinct with the death ofAveline, daughter ofthe 4th earl, in 1274. The title was twice raised to a dukedom, in 1385 and in 1397, before being recreated as an earldom in 1412 forThomas, 2nd son ofHenry IV.
In 1660 the title, anglicized as Albemarle, was revived in the peerage by KingCharles II for GeneralGeorge Monck, who becameDuke of Albemarle. The title became extinct in 1688, on the death of Christopher, 2nd Duke of Albemarle.[1]
In 1697,King William III created his Dutch favouriteArnold Joost van KeppelEarl of Albemarle in the Peerage of England. He was madeBaron Ashford, of Ashford in the County of Kent, andViscount Bury, in the County of Lancaster, at the same time.[1] The motive for choosing this title was probably that, apart from its traditions, it avoided the difficulty created by the fact that the Keppels had as yet no territorial possessions in the British Islands. Lord Albemarle was succeeded by his only son, the second Earl. He was a general in the army and also served as titularGovernor of Virginia and asAmbassador to France.Albemarle County in Virginia is named in his honour, even though he never set foot in North America (but, instead, saw plenty of "North Britain" after the Battle of Culloden in 1746). He marriedLady Anne Lennox, daughter ofCharles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, illegitimate son ofKing Charles II.
His eldest son, the third Earl, was also a successful military commander, best known as the commander-in-chief of theinvasion and occupation of Havana and west Cuba in 1762. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Earl. He served asMaster of the Buckhounds and asMaster of the Horse. His second but eldest surviving son, the fifth Earl, was also a soldier and fought at theBattle of Waterloo at an early age. He later representedArundel in theHouse of Commons. He was childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, the sixth Earl[2] who lived on his estate at Drumsna in County Leitrim, Ireland, for much of his life. He also fought at Waterloo in early life and was later promoted to general. Albemarle also sat asMember of Parliament forEast Norfolk andLymington.[3]
His only son, the seventh Earl,[4] was a soldier and politician. At first aLiberal, he held minor office underLord Palmerston andLord Russell from 1859 to 1866. In 1876, he was summoned to theHouse of Lords through awrit of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Ashford. He had previously joined theConservative Party and served underBenjamin Disraeli andLord Salisbury asUnder-Secretary of State for War. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the eighth Earl. He was a colonel in the army and also briefly representedBirkenhead in Parliament.
As of 2017[update] the titles are held by his great-grandson, the tenth Earl, who succeeded his grandfather in 1979. Lord Albemarle is also in remainder to the ancientbarony of de Clifford as the great-great-great-great-grandson of Elizabeth Southwell, daughter of Edward Southwell, 20th Baron de Clifford, and wife of the fourth Earl of Albemarle.
Several other members of the Keppel family have also gained distinction.Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, second son of the second Earl, was a prominent naval commander, when he passed his homeElveden Hall to his nephew the 1st Earl Albemarle, who sold it.[5]William Keppel, third son of the second Earl, was alieutenant-general in the army.Frederick Keppel, fourth son of the second Earl, wasBishop of Exeter.Sir Henry Keppel, fourth son of the fourth Earl, was anadmiral in theRoyal Navy.Sir Derek Keppel, second son of the seventh Earl, was a soldier and prominent member of the Royal household.George Keppel, third son of the seventh Earl, was the husband ofAlice Edmondstone, one of the many mistresses ofKing Edward VII, and the father (although his paternity has been questioned) of the writer and socialiteViolet Trefusis and of Mrs. Sonia Cubitt. The latter was the grandmother ofQueen Camilla.
The heraldic blazon for the coat of arms of the Keppel family is:Gules, three escallops argent.
Theheir apparent is the present holder's son, Augustus Sergei Darius Keppel, Viscount Bury (born 2003).
Title succession chart, Earls of Albemarle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Earls of Albemarle line of succession |
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