Earl of Lytton

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Earldom 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 date28 April 1880[1]
Created byQueen Victoria
PeeragePeerage of the United Kingdom
First holderRobert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Baron Lytton
Present holderJohn Lytton, 5th Earl of Lytton
Heir apparentPhilip Lytton, Viscount Knebworth
Remainder to1st Earl's heirs male lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titlesViscount Knebworth
Baron Wentworth
Baron Lytton
Baronet 'of Knebworth'
Seat(s)Newbuildings Place
Former seat(s)Knebworth House
MottoHoc Virtutis Opus ("This is the work of virtue")[2]
Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton

Earl of Lytton, in the

County of Hertford
, at the same time he was given the earldom, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

History

Robert Bulwer-Lytton was the son of the poet, novelist and politician

Baronetage of the United Kingdom, in 1838,[4] and in 1866, he was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom as Baron Lytton, of Knebworth in the County of Hertford.[5][1] In 1844, he also assumed by Royal licence the additional surname and arms of Lytton.[6]

The first Earl of Lytton was succeeded by his son,

Governor of Bengal from 1922 to 1927. Lord Lytton married Pamela Plowden, remembered as the first great love of Winston 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, married Cameron Cobbold, 1st Baron Cobbold, and through this marriage Knebworth House passed to the Cobbold family (see the Baron Cobbold
).

Lord Lytton was succeeded by his younger brother, the third Earl.[7] He was a portrait and landscape painter. In 1899 he married Judith Blunt, 16th Baroness Wentworth, the renowned horse breeder who devoted her life to the Crabbet Arabian Stud. The stud had been created by her parents, the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and his wife Anne Blunt, 15th Baroness Wentworth, granddaughter of Lord Byron through his daughter Ada Lovelace (see the Baron 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 son Noel Lytton, 4th Earl of Lytton; as a consequence the title Baron Wentworth, in the Peerage of England, became subsidiary to the Earldom of Lytton. He assumed by deed 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 the titles are held by his eldest son, the fifth Earl, who succeeded in 1985.

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

The family seat is Newbuildings Place, near Shipley, West Sussex.

Lytton baronets, of Knebworth House (1838)

Baron Lytton (1866)

Earl of Lytton (1880)

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

Title succession chart

Title succession chart, Lytton baronets, Barons Lytton and Earls of Lytton
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
1st Baron Lytton

1st Baronet
1803–1873
Earl of Lytton
Robert Bulwer-Lytton
1st Earl of Lytton
2nd Baron Lytton

2nd Baronet
1831–1891
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
1865–1871
Hon.
Henry Bulwer-Lytton
1872–1874
Victor Bulwer-Lytton
2nd Earl of Lytton

1876–1947
Neville Bulwer-Lytton
3rd Earl of Lytton

1879–1951
Antony Bulwer-Lytton
Viscount Knebworth

1903–1933
Alexander Bulwer-Lytton
Viscount Knebworth
1910–1942
Noel Lytton
4th Earl of Lytton
17th Baron Wentworth

1900–1985
John Lytton
5th Earl of Lytton
18th Baron Wentworth

born 1950
Philip Lytton
Viscount Knebworth
born 1989

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sir Sidney (1893). Dictionary of National Biography. p. 390. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  2. . Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  3. ^ "No. 24838". The London Gazette. 27 April 1880. p. 2725.
  4. ^ "No. 19631". The London Gazette. 3 July 1838. p. 1488.
  5. ^ "No. 23137". The London Gazette. 13 July 1866. p. 3984.
  6. ^ "No. 20318". The London Gazette. 20 February 1844. p. 580.
  7. ^ "Obituary: Lord Lytton". The Times. 27 October 1947. p. 6.
  8. ^ "Death of Lord Lytton: Painter, Soldier and Sportsman". The Times. 12 February 1951. p. 6.
  9. ^ "No. 33026". The London Gazette. 3 March 1925. p. 1572.
  10. ^ "No. 39225". The London Gazette. 11 May 1951. p. 2669.
Additional source
  • Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.