Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield
Edward Henry Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield (4 February 1663 – 14 July 1716) was an English peer. He was a staunch Tory and followed James II to Rochester, Kent after the king's escape from Whitehall in December 1688.[1] His subsidiary titles were Viscount Quarendon and Baron Spelsbury.
Contents
Biography
Lee was the son of Sir Francis Henry Lee, 4th Baronet of Quarendon and his wife Lady Elizabeth Pope, daughter of Thomas Pope, 2nd Earl of Downe, who was later third wife of Robert Bertie, 3rd Earl of Lindsey. His great grandfather, Henry Lee, was the cousin and heir of Henry Lee of Ditchley. His father's half-brother was the libertine-poet the Earl of Rochester.
Lee was created Earl of Lichfield in 1674 at the age of ten, a result of his betrothal to the daughter of King Charles II. The Lady Charlotte Fitzroy was the fourth of six children born to the king's mistress, the Duchess of Cleveland. Sweet-natured and strikingly beautiful, Charlotte was adored by her father the king. She was contracted at the age of ten to Lee, who was one year older than his bride-to-be. Three years later, having reached puberty, the twelve- and thirteen-year-olds were married on 6 February 1677. He died two years before his wife, aged 53.
From 1687 to 1689, Lichfield served as Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire. He commanded Lichfield's Regiment, an infantry regiment in the English Army until his dismissal for Jacobite sympathies following the Glorious Revolution. It later played prominent part in the Williamite War in Ireland (1689-1691), going through a succession of new Colonels including Henry Wharton and Richard Brewer.
Issue
Lady Lichfield bore him at least eleven children, probably more.
- Charles, d. in infancy.
- Edward, d. unmarried.
- James, m. Sarah, daughter of John Bagshaw, and d. in 1711.
- Charles, d. unmarried.
- George-Henry, successor to his father.
- Fitzroy-Henry, d. s. p. in 1750.
- Robert, who succeeded his nephew.
- Charlotte Lee, Lady Baltimore, m. first, to Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore, and secondly, to Christopher Crow, Consul at Livorno.
- Anne.
- Barbara, m. first, to Colonel Lee, and secondly, to Sir George Browne, bart.; by the latter she had a daughter,
- Barbara Browne, heir of her father, who m. Sir Edward Mostyn, bart. of Talacre.
- Elizabeth, m. first, to Francis Lee, and secondly, to Edward Young.
Ancestry
| Edward Henry Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield | Father: Sir Francis Henry Lee of Ditchley, 4th Baronet of Quarendon |
Paternal Grandfather: Sir Francis Henry Lee of Ditchley and of Quarendon |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley, 1st Baronet of Quarendon |
| Paternal Great-grandmother: Eleanor Wortley of Wortley |
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| Paternal Grandmother: Anne St John, Countess of Rochester |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Sir John St John, 1st Baronet, of Lydiard Tregoze |
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| Paternal Great-grandmother: Anne Leighton of Feckenham |
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| Mother: Lady Elizabeth Pope |
Maternal Grandfather: Thomas Pope, 2nd Earl of Downe, Ireland |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Sir William Pope, Knight (1596–1624) |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Elizabeth Watson of Halstead |
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| Maternal Grandmother: Lucy Dutton |
Maternal Great-grandfather: John Dutton of Sherborne |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Elizabeth Baynton of Wilts |
References
- ↑ K. Laughton, ‘Lee, Fitzroy Henry (1699–1750)’, rev. Philip Carter, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Colonel of the Earl of Lichfield's Regiment of Foot 1686–1688 |
Succeeded by The Lord Hunsdon |
| Preceded by | Colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards 1688 |
Succeeded by The Duke of Grafton |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire 1687–1689 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Abingdon |
| Peerage of England | ||
| New creation | Earl of Lichfield 1673–1716 |
Succeeded by George Lee |
| Baronetage of England | ||
| Preceded by | Baronet (of Quarendon) 1667–1716 |
Succeeded by George Lee |
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