PEERAGES
Last updated 05/07/2018 (1 Mar 2024)
Date	Rank	Order	Name	Born	Died	Age
DESBOROUGH
30 Dec 1905 to     9 Jan 1945	B	1	William Henry Grenfell Created Baron Desborough 30 Dec 1905 MP for Salisbury 1880‑1882 and 1885‑1886, Hereford 1892‑1893 and Wycombe 1900‑1905; KG 1928 Peerage extinct on his death For information regarding Lord Desborough's premature obituary, see the note at the foot of this page	30 Oct 1855	9 Jan 1945	89
DESMOND
7 Nov 1259	B[I]	1	John Fitz-Thomas Fitzgerald Created Lord of Desmond 7 Nov 1259		1261
1261		2	Thomas Fitz-Maurice Fitzgerald		c 1298
c 1298		3	Thomas Fitz-Thomas Fitzgerald	1290	c 1307
c 1307 22 Aug 1329	E[I]	4 1	Maurice Fitz-Thomas Fitzgerald Created Earl of Desmond 22 Aug 1329		25 Jan 1356
25 Jan 1356		2	Maurice Fitz-Maurice Fitzgerald	31 Jul 1336	May 1358	21
May 1358		3	Nicholas Fitz-Maurice Fitzgerald	c 1338	1367
1367		4	Gerald Fitz-Maurice Fitzgerald		1398
1398		5	John Fitz-Gerald Fitzgerald		4 Mar 1399
4 Mar 1399		6	Thomas Fitz-John Fitzgerald		10 Aug 1420
10 Aug 1420		7	James Fitz-Gerald Fitzgerald		1462
1462		8	Thomas Fitz-James Fitzgerald		15 Feb 1468
15 Feb 1468		9	James Fitz-Thomas Fitzgerald	1459	7 Dec 1487	28
7 Dec 1487		10	Maurice Fitz-Thomas Fitzgerald		1520
1520		11	James Fitz-Maurice Fitzgerald		18 Jun 1529
18 Jun 1529		12	Thomas Fitz-Thomas Fitzgerald	1454	1534	80
1534		13	James Fitz-Maurice Fitzgerald		19 Mar 1540
19 Mar 1540		14	James Fitz-John Fitzgerald		14 Oct 1558
14 Oct 1558 to     1582		15	Gerald Fitz-James Fitzgerald He was attainted and the peerage forfeited in 1582		11 Nov 1583
1 Oct 1600 to     7 Nov 1601	E[I]	1	James Fitzgerald Created Baron Inchiquin and Earl of Desmond 1 Oct 1600 Peerages extinct on his death	c 1571	7 Nov 1601
11 Jul 1619 to     28 Oct 1628	E[I]	1	Richard Preston, 1st Lord Dingwall Created Baron Dunmore and Earl of Desmond 11 Jul 1619 Peerages extinct on his death		28 Oct 1628
28 Oct 1628	E[I]	1	George Feilding Created Earl of Desmond 28 Oct 1628		31 Jan 1666
31 Jan 1666		2	William Feilding He succeeded to the Earldom of Denbigh in 1675 with which title this peerage then merged and with which it still remains united	29 Dec 1640	23 Aug 1685	44
DESPENCER
14 Dec 1264	B	1	Hugh le Despencer Summoned to Parliament as Lord Despencer 14 Dec 1264	by 1223	4 Aug 1265
4 Aug 1265 to     27 Oct 1326		2	Hugh le Despencer He was executed and the peerage forfeited	1 Mar 1261	27 Oct 1326	65
29 Jul 1314 to     24 Nov 1326	B	1	Hugh le Despencer Summoned to Parliament as Lord Despencer 29 Jul 1314 Created Earl of Winchester 10 May 1322 He was executed and the peerages forfeited	c 1286	24 Nov 1326
15 Jun 1338 to     8 Feb 1349	B	1	Hugh le Despencer Summoned to Parliament as Lord Despencer 15 Jun 1338 Peerage extinct on his death	1308	8 Feb 1349	40
17 Dec 1387	B	1	Philip le Despencer Summoned to Parliament as Lord Despencer 17 Dec 1387	18 Oct 1342	4 Aug 1401	58
4 Aug 1401 to     30 Jun 1424		2	Philip le Despencer Peerage extinct on his death	1365	30 Jun 1424	58
15 Dec 1357	B	1	Edward le Despencer Summoned to Parliament as Lord Despencer 15 Dec 1357 KG c 1361	1336	11 Nov 1375	39
11 Nov 1375 to     17 Jan 1400		2	Thomas le Despencer Created Earl of Gloucester 1397 He was attainted and the peerages forfeited	22 Sep 1373	17 Jan 1400	26
[17 Jan 1400]			[Richard le Despencer]		14 Oct 1414
[14 Oct 1414]			[Isabel Beauchamp]		Jan 1440
[Jan 1440]			[Henry Beauchamp] He was created Duke of Warwick 1445	1424	11 Jun 1445	20
[11 Jun 1445]			[Anne Beauchamp] On her death the peerage, subject to the attainder, fell into abeyance		3 Jun 1449
25 May 1604		7	Mary Fane Attainder and abeyance terminated in her favour 1604	1554	28 Jun 1626	71
28 Jun 1626		8	Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland	Feb 1580	23 Mar 1629	49
23 Mar 1629		9	Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland	24 Jan 1602	12 Feb 1666	64
12 Feb 1666		10	Charles Fane, 3rd Earl of Westmorland	6 Jan 1635	18 Sep 1691	56
Sep 1691		11	Vere Fane, 4th Earl of Westmorland	13 Feb 1645	29 Dec 1693	48
29 Dec 1693		12	Vere Fane, 5th Earl of Westmorland	13 Apr 1678	19 May 1699	21
19 May 1699		13	Thomas Fane, 6th Earl of Westmorland	3 Oct 1683	4 Jun 1736	52
4 Jun 1736 to     26 Aug 1762		14	John Fane, 7th Earl of Westmorland On his death the peerage fell into abeyance	24 Mar 1686	26 Aug 1762	76
19 Apr 1763 to     11 Dec 1781		15	Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd baronet Abeyance terminated in his favour 1763 MP for New Romney 1741‑1761 and Weymouth & Melcombe Regis 1761‑1763; Chancellor of the Exchequer 1762‑1763; Postmaster General 1770‑1781; Lord Lieutenant Buckinghamshire 1763‑1781; PC 1761 On his death the peerage again fell into abeyance	Dec 1708	11 Dec 1781	73
15 May 1788		16	Thomas Stapleton Abeyance terminated in his favour 1788	10 Nov 1766	31 Oct 1831	64
31 Oct 1831		17	Mary Frances Elizabeth Boscawen	24 Mar 1822	20 Nov 1891	69
20 Nov 1891		18	Evelyn Edward Thomas Boscawen He had succeeded to the Viscountcy of Falmouth in 1889 with which title this peerage then merged and still remains so	24 Jul 1847	1 Oct 1918	71
DE TABLEY
10 Jul 1826	B	1	Sir John Fleming Leicester, 5th baronet Created Baron de Tabley 10 Jul 1826 MP for Yarmouth 1791‑1796, Heytesbury 1796‑1802 and Stockbridge 1807	4 Apr 1762	18 Jun 1827	65
18 Jun 1827		2	George Fleming Warren PC 1869	28 Oct 1811	19 Oct 1887	75
19 Oct 1887 to     22 Nov 1895		3	John Byrne Leicester Warren Peerage extinct on his death	26 Apr 1835	22 Nov 1895	60
DEVEREUX (or DEVEROSE)
6 Feb 1299	B	1	William Devereux Summoned to Parliament as Lord Devereux 6 Feb 1299		after 1300
after 1300		2	John Devereux		c Mar 1316
c Mar 1316		3	William Devereux		c Mar 1337
c Mar 1337		4	William Devereux		after 1371
after 1371		5	William Devereux Nothing further is known of this peerage		by Oct 1385
28 Sep 1384	B	1	Sir John Devereux Summoned to Parliament as Lord Devereux 28 Sep 1384 Warden of the Cinque Ports 1387; KG 1388		22 Feb 1393
22 Feb 1393		2	John Devereux	c 1376	13 Nov 1396
13 Nov 1396		3	Joan Devereux She married Walter FitzWalter, 5th Lord FitzWalter, but nothing further is known of this peerage		May 1409
DE VESCI
19 Jul 1776	V[I]	1	Thomas Vesey, 2nd Baron Knapton Created Viscount de Vesci of Abbeyliex 19 Jul 1776		13 Oct 1804
13 Oct 1804		2	John Vesey MP [I] for Maryborough 1796‑1798; Lord Lieutenant Queens County 1831‑1855	15 Feb 1771	19 Oct 1855	84
19 Oct 1855		3	Thomas Vesey MP for Queens County 1835‑1837 and 1841‑1852	21 Sep 1803	23 Dec 1875	72
23 Dec 1875 8 Nov 1884 to     6 Jul 1903	B	4 1	John Robert William Vesey Created Baron de Vesci [UK] 8 Nov 1884 Lord Lieutenant Queens County 1883‑1900 On his death the Barony of 1884 became extinct whilst the Viscountcy passed to -	21 May 1844	6 Jul 1903	59
6 Jul 1903		5	Yvo Richard Vesey	16 Dec 1881	16 Aug 1958	76
16 Aug 1958		6	John Eustace Vesey	25 Feb 1919	13 Oct 1983	64
13 Oct 1983		7	Thomas Eustace Vesey	8 Oct 1955
DE VILLIERS
21 Sep 1910	B	1	John Henry de Villiers Created Baron de Villiers 21 Sep 1910 Chief Justice of the Cape Colony 1874‑1910 and South Africa 1910‑1914; PC 1897	15 Jun 1842	2 Sep 1914	72
2 Sep 1914		2	Charles Percy de Villiers	24 Nov 1871	10 Feb 1934	62
10 Feb 1934		3	Arthur Percy de Villiers	17 Dec 1911	23 Mar 2001	89
23 Mar 2001		4	Alexander Charles de Villiers	29 Dec 1940
DEVLIN
11 Oct 1961 to     9 Aug 1992	B[L]		Sir Patrick Arthur Devlin Created Baron Devlin for life 11 Oct 1961 Lord Justice of Appeal 1960‑1961; Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 1961‑1964; PC 1960 Peerage extinct on his death	25 Nov 1905	9 Aug 1992	86
DEVON
c 1100	E	1	Richard de Redvers Created Earl of Devon c 1100		1107
1107		2	Baldwin de Redvers		4 Jun 1155
4 Jun 1155		3	Richard de Redvers	c 1120	1162
1162		4	Baldwin de Redvers		c 1180
c 1180		5	Richard de Redvers		1184
1184		6	William de Redvers		14 Sep 1216
14 Sep 1216		7	Baldwin de Redvers		15 Feb 1245
15 Feb 1245		8	Baldwin de Redvers	2 Jan 1235	Jul 1262	27
Jul 1262		9	Isabel de Fortz	1237	9 Nov 1293	56
9 Nov 1293		10	Hugh Courtenay Summoned to Parliament as Lord Courtenay 6 Feb 1299	1274	1340	66
1340		11	Hugh Courtenay	12 Jul 1303	2 May 1377	73
2 May 1377		12	Edward Courtenay	c 1357	5 Dec 1419
5 Dec 1419		13	Hugh Courtenay	1389	16 Jun 1422	32
16 Jun 1422		14	Thomas Courtenay	1414	3 Feb 1458	43
3 Feb 1458 to     3 Apr 1461		15	Thomas Courtenay He was attainted and executed when the peerages were forfeited	1432	3 Apr 1461	28
9 Oct 1470 to     14 Apr 1471		16	John Courtenay Restored to the peerage 1470, but peerage again forfeited 14 Apr 1471		4 May 1471
17 May 1469 to     17 Aug 1469	E	1	Humphrey Stafford Created Earl of Devon 17 May 1469 He was attainted and executed when the peerage was forfeited	1439	17 Aug 1469	30
26 Oct 1485 to     28 May 1509	E	1	Edward Courtenay Created Earl of Devon 26 Oct 1485 KG 1489 Peerage extinct on his death		28 May 1509
10 May 1511	E	1	William Courtenay Created Earl of Devon 10 May 1511		9 Jun 1511
9 Jun 1511 to     9 Jan 1539		2	Henry Courtenay KG 1521 Created Marquess of Exeter 18 Jun 1525 He was attainted and executed when the peerage was forfeited	c 1498	9 Jan 1539
3 Sep 1553	E	1	Edward Courtenay Created Earl of Devon 3 Sep 1553 On his death in 1556, the peerage was generally thought to have become extinct. However, in 1831, William Courtenay, 3rd Viscount Courtenay, was declared to be entitled to the Earldom of Devon. The descent during this period is shown below:-	1526	18 Sep 1556	30
18 Sep 1556		2	William Courtenay		18 Aug 1557
18 Aug 1557		3	William Courtenay	1553	24 Jun 1630	76
24 Jun 1630		4	Francis Courtenay		Mar 1638
Mar 1638		5	William Courtenay MP for Devon 1679‑1685	7 Sep 1628	4 Aug 1702	73
4 Aug 1702		6	William Courtenay MP for Devon 1701‑1710 and 1712‑1735; Lord Lieutenant Devon 1715	11 Mar 1676	6 Oct 1735	59
6 Oct 1735		7	William Courtenay MP for Honiton 1734‑1741 and Devonshire 1741‑1762 Created Viscount Courtenay 6 May 1762	11 Feb 1710	16 May 1762	52
16 May 1762		8	William Courtenay	30 Oct 1742	14 Oct 1788	45
14 Oct 1788		9	William Courtenay, 3rd Viscount Courtenay He was confirmed as Earl of Devon 14 May 1831 For information on this successful claim, see the note at the foot of this page	30 Jul 1768	26 May 1835	66
26 May 1835		10	William Courtenay MP for Exeter 1812‑1826	19 Jun 1777	19 Mar 1859	81
19 Mar 1859		11	William Reginald Courtenay MP for Devon South 1841‑1849; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1866‑1867; President of the Poor Law Board 1867‑1868; PC 1866	14 Apr 1807	18 Nov 1888	81
18 Nov 1888		12	Edward Baldwin Courtenay MP for Exeter 1864‑1868 and Devon East 1868‑1870	7 May 1836	15 Jan 1891	54
15 Jan 1891		13	Henry Hugh Courtenay	15 Jul 1811	29 Jan 1904	92
29 Jan 1904		14	Charles Pepys Courtenay	14 Jul 1870	4 Feb 1927	56
4 Feb 1927		15	Henry Hugh Courtenay	1 Aug 1872	8 Feb 1935	62
8 Feb 1935		16	Frederick Leslie Courtenay	31 Aug 1875	19 Jun 1935	59
19 Jun 1935		17	Charles Christopher Courtenay Courtenay	13 Jul 1916	19 Nov 1998	82
19 Nov 1998		18	Hugh Rupert Courtenay	5 May 1942	18 Aug 2015	73
18 Aug 2015		19	Charles Peregrine Courtenay [Elected hereditary peer 2018-]	14 Aug 1975
DEVONPORT
15 Jul 1910 22 Jun 1917	B V	1 1	Sir Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, 1st baronet Created Baron Devonport 15 Jul 1910 and Viscount Devonport 22 Jun 1917 MP for Devonport 1892‑1910; PC 1909	1 Sep 1856	5 Sep 1934	78
5 Sep 1934		2	Gerald Chester Kearley	16 Sep 1890	29 Mar 1973	82
29 Mar 1973		3	Terence Kearley	29 Aug 1944
DEVONSHIRE
21 Jul 1603 to     3 Apr 1606	E	1	Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy Created Earl of Devonshire 21 Jul 1603 Peerage extinct on his death	1563	3 Apr 1606	42
7 Aug 1618	E	1	William Cavendish Created Baron Cavendish of Hardwick 4 May 1605 and Earl of Devonshire 7 Aug 1618 MP for Newport 1588; Lord Lieutenant Derbyshire 1619‑1626	27 Dec 1552	3 Mar 1626	73
3 Mar 1626		2	William Cavendish MP for Derbyshire 1621‑1626; Lord Lieutenant Derbyshire 1619‑1628	1590	20 Jun 1628	37
20 Jun 1628		3	William Cavendish Lord Lieutenant Derbyshire 1638‑1642 and 1660‑1684	10 Oct 1617	23 Nov 1684	67
23 Nov 1684 12 May 1694	D	4 1	William Cavendish Created Marquess of Hartington and Duke of Devonshire 12 May 1694 MP for Derbyshire 1661‑1681; Lord Lieutenant Derbyshire 1689‑1707, Somerset 1690‑1691 and Nottingham 1692‑1694; PC 1679; KG 1689	25 Jan 1641	18 Aug 1707	66
18 Aug 1707		2	William Cavendish MP for Derbyshire 1695‑1701, Castle Rising 1702 and Yorkshire 1702‑1707; Lord President of the Council 1716‑1717 and 1725‑1727; Lord Lieutenant Derbyshire 1707‑1710 and 1714‑1729; PC 1707; KG 1710	1672	4 Jun 1729	56
4 Jun 1729		3	William Cavendish MP for Lostwithiel 1721-1722, Grampound 1722-1727 and Huntingdonshire 1727‑1729; Lord Lieutenant Derbyshire 1729‑1755; Lord Privy Seal 1731‑1733; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1737‑1745; PC 1731; KG 1733	1698	5 Dec 1755	57
5 Dec 1755		4	William Cavendish MP for Derbyshire 1741‑1751; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1755‑1756; Lord Lieutenant Derbyshire 1756‑1764; Prime Minister 1756‑1757; PC 1751; KG 1756; PC [I] 1761 He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Cavendish of Hardwick 13 Jun 1751	1720	2 Oct 1764	44
2 Oct 1764		5	William Cavendish He had previously [1754] succeeded as 7th Lord Clifford Lord Lieutenant Derbyshire 1782‑1811; KG 1782	14 Dec 1748	29 Jul 1811	62
29 Jul 1811		6	William George Spencer Cavendish Lord Lieutenant Derbyshire 1811‑1858; PC 1827; KG 1827	21 May 1790	18 Jan 1858	67
18 Jan 1858		7	William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Burlington MP for Cambridge University 1829‑1831, Malton 1831, Derbyshire 1831‑1832 and Derbyshire North 1832‑1834; Lord Lieutenant Lancashire 1857‑1858 and Derbyshire 1858‑1891; KG 1858; PC 1878	27 Apr 1808	21 Dec 1891	83
21 Dec 1891		8	Spencer Compton Cavendish MP for Lancashire North 1857‑1868, Radnor 1869‑1880, Lancashire North East 1880‑1885 and Rossendale 1885‑1891; Lord Lieutenant Derbyshire 1858‑1891 and Waterford 1895‑1908; Secretary of State for War 1866; Postmaster General 1868‑1870; Chief Secretary for Ireland 1870‑1874; Secretary of State for India 1880‑1882; Secretary of State for War 1882‑1885; Lord President of the Council 1895‑1903; PC 1866; KG 1892; PC [I] 1871	23 Jul 1833	24 Mar 1908	74
24 Mar 1908		9	Victor Christian William Cavendish MP for Derbyshire West 1891‑1908; Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1903‑1905; Governor General of Canada 1916‑1921; Secretary of State for Colonies 1922‑1924; Lord Lieutenant Derbyshire 1908‑1938; PC 1905; KG 1916	31 May 1868	6 May 1938	69
6 May 1938		10	Edward William Spencer Cavendish MP for Derbyshire West 1923‑1938; Lord Lieutenant Devonshire 1938‑1950; KG 1941 For further information on the death of this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	6 May 1895	26 Nov 1950	55
26 Nov 1950		11	Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations 1962‑1964; PC 1964; KG 1996 For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	2 Jan 1920	3 May 2004	84
3 May 2004		12	Peregrine Andrew Morny Cavendish	27 Apr 1944
DEWAR
20 May 1919 to     11 Apr 1930	B	1	Sir Thomas Robert Dewar, 1st baronet Created Baron Dewar 20 May 1919 MP for St. Georges, Tower Hamlets 1900‑1906 Peerage extinct on his death	6 Jan 1864	11 Apr 1930	66
DHOLAKIA
24 Oct 1997	B[L]		Navnit Dholakia Created Baron Dholakia for life 24 Oct 1997 PC 2010	4 Mar 1937
DIAMOND
25 Sep 1970 to     3 Apr 2004	B[L]		John Diamond Created Baron Diamond for life 25 Sep 1970 MP for Blackley 1945‑1951 and Gloucester 1957‑1970; Chief Secretary to the Treasury 1964‑1970; PC 1965	30 Apr 1907	3 Apr 2004	96
DICKINSON
18 Jan 1930	B	1	Willoughby Hyett Dickinson Created Baron Dickinson 18 Jan 1930 MP for St. Pancras North 1906‑1918; PC 1914	9 Apr 1859	31 May 1943	84
31 May 1943		2	Richard Clavering Hyett Dickinson	2 Mar 1926	28 Nov 2019	93
28 Nov 2019		3	Martin Hyett Dickinson	29 Jan 1961
DIGBY
29 Jul 1620	B[I]	1	Robert Digby Created Baron Digby 29 Jul 1620		6 Jun 1642
6 Jun 1642		2	Kildare Digby	c 1631	11 Jul 1661
11 Jul 1661		3	Robert Digby MP for Warwick 1677	30 Apr 1654	29 Dec 1677	23
29 Dec 1677		4	Simon Digby MP for Warwick 1685‑1686	18 Jul 1657	19 Jan 1686	28
19 Jan 1686		5	William Digby MP for Warwick 1689‑1698	20 Feb 1661	27 Nov 1752	91
27 Nov 1752		6	Edward Digby MP for Malmesbury 1751‑1754 and Wells 1754‑1757	5 Jul 1730	30 Nov 1757	27
30 Nov 1757 19 Aug 1765 1 Nov 1790	B E	7 1 1	Henry Digby Created Baron Digby [GB] 19 Aug 1765 and Viscount Coleshill and Earl Digby 1 Nov 1790 The creation of 1765 contained a special remainder failing his issue male, to the issue male of his father MP for Ludgershall 1755‑1761 and Wells 1761‑1765; Lord Lieutenant Dorset 1771‑1793	21 Jul 1731	25 Sep 1793	62
25 Sep 1793 to     12 May 1856		8	Edward Digby Lord Lieutenant Dorset 1808‑1856 On his death the Earldom became extinct whilst the Baronies passed to -	6 Jan 1773	12 May 1856	83
12 May 1856		9	Edward St. Vincent Digby	21 Jun 1809	16 Oct 1889	80
16 Oct 1889		10	Edward Henry Trafalgar Digby MP for Dorset 1876‑1885	21 Oct 1846	11 May 1920	73
11 May 1920		11	Edward Kenelm Digby Lord Lieutenant Dorset 1952‑1964; KG 1960	1 Aug 1894	29 Jan 1964	69
29 Jan 1964		12	Edward Henry Kenelm Digby Lord Lieutenant Dorset 1984‑1999	24 Jul 1924	1 Apr 2018	93
1 Apr 2018		13	Henry Noel Kenelm Digby	6 Jan 1954
DIGBY OF SHERBORNE
25 Nov 1618	B	1	John Digby Created Baron Digby of Sherborne 25 Nov 1618 and Earl of Bristol 15 Sep 1622 See "Bristol"	Feb 1586	21 Jan 1653	66
9 Jun 1641			George Digby He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Digby of Sherborne 9 Jun 1641 He succeeded as Earl of Bristol in 1653	Oct 1612	20 Mar 1677	64
DILHORNE
17 Jul 1962 7 Dec 1964	B V	1 1	Sir Reginald Edward Manningham‑Buller, 4th baronet Created Baron Dilhorne 17 Jul 1962 and Viscount Dilhorne 7 Dec 1964 MP for Daventry 1943‑1950 and Northamptonshire South 1950‑1962; Solicitor General 1951‑1954; Attorney General 1954‑1962; Lord Chancellor 1962‑1964; Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 1969‑1980; PC 1954	1 Aug 1905	7 Sep 1980	75
7 Sep 1980		2	John Mervyn Manningham‑Buller	28 Feb 1932	25 Jun 2022
25 Jun 2022		3	James Edward Manningham‑Buller	20 Aug 1956
DILLON
24 Jan 1619	B[I]	1	James Dillon Created Baron Dillon 24 Jan 1619 and Earl of Roscommon 5 Aug 1622 See "Roscommon"		Mar 1642
16 Mar 1622	V[I]	1	Sir Theobald Dillon Created Viscount Dillon 16 Mar 1622		15 Mar 1624
15 Mar 1624		2	Lucas Dillon	Mar 1610	13 Apr 1629	19
13 Apr 1629		3	Theobald Dillon	Jan 1629	13 May 1630	1
13 May 1630		4	Thomas Dillon	1615	1672	57
1672		5	Thomas Dillon		1674
1674		6	Lucas Dillon		Oct 1682
Oct 1682		7	Theobald Dillon		12 Jul 1691
12 Jul 1691		8	Henry Dillon Lord Lieutenant Roscommon		13 Jan 1714
13 Jan 1714		9	Richard Dillon	1688	Feb 1737	48
Feb 1737		10	Charles Dillon		24 Oct 1741
24 Oct 1741		11	Henry Dillon		25 Sep 1787
25 Sep 1787		12	Charles Dillon‑Lee MP for Westbury 1770‑1774; KP 1798; PC [I] 1786	6 Nov 1745	9 Nov 1813	68
9 Nov 1813		13	Henry Augustus Dillon‑Lee MP for Harwich 1799‑1802 and Mayo 1802‑1813	28 Oct 1777	24 Jul 1832	54
24 Jul 1832		14	Charles Henry Dillon‑Lee	20 Apr 1810	18 Nov 1865	55
18 Nov 1865		15	Theobald Dominick Geoffrey Dillon‑Lee	5 Apr 1811	30 Nov 1879	68
30 Nov 1879		16	Arthur Edmund Denis Dillon‑Lee	10 Apr 1812	12 Jan 1892	79
12 Jan 1892		17	Harold Arthur Dillon CH 1921	24 Jan 1844	18 Dec 1932	88
18 Dec 1932		18	Arthur Henry Dillon	5 Jan 1875	25 May 1934	59
25 May 1934		19	Eric Fitzgerald Dillon	4 Apr 1881	6 Apr 1946	65
6 Apr 1946		20	Michael Eric Dillon	13 Aug 1911	30 Nov 1979	68
30 Nov 1979		21	Charles Henry Robert Dillon	18 Jan 1945	15 Sep 1982	37
15 Sep 1982		22	Henry Benedict Charles Dillon	6 Jan 1973
DINAN
23 Jun 1295	B	1	Oliver Dinan Summoned to Parliament as Lord Dinan 23 Jun 1295	1234	26 Feb 1299	64
26 Feb 1299		2	Josce Dinan	1273	30 Mar 1301	27
30 Mar 1301		3	John Dinan	14 Sep 1295	14 Apr 1332	36
14 Apr 1332		4	John Dinan	c 1318	7 Jan 1383
7 Jan 1383		5	John Dinan	c 1360	25 Dec 1428
25 Dec 1428		6	John Dinan	c 1405	25 Jan 1458
25 Jan 1458 to     28 Jan 1501		7	John Dinan KG 1487 On his death the peerage is presumed to have become extinct	c 1432	28 Jan 1501
DINGWALL
15 Mar 1584 to     c 1606	B[S]	1	Andrew Keith Created Lord Dingwall 15 Mar 1584 On his death the peerage is presumed to have become extinct		c 1606
1609	B[S]	1	Sir Richard Preston Created Lord Dingwall 1609 and Baron Dunmore and Earl of Desmond 11 Jul 1619		28 Oct 1628
28 Oct 1628		2	Elizabeth Butler Wife of the 1st Duke of Ormonde	25 Jul 1615	21 Jul 1684	68
21 Jul 1684 to     1715		3	James Butler, later [1688] 2nd Duke of Ormonde He was attainted and the peerage forfeited in 1715	29 Apr 1665	16 Nov 1745	80
[16 Nov 1745]		4	[Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran]	1671	17 Dec 1758	87
[17 Dec 1758]		5	[Frances Elliott]		5 Apr 1772
[5 Apr 1772]		6	[George Nassau Clavering-Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper]	26 Aug 1738	22 Dec 1789	51
[22 Dec 1789]		7	[George Augustus Clavering-Cowper, 4th Earl Cowper]	9 Aug 1776	12 Feb 1799	22
[12 Feb 1799]		8	[Peter Leopold Clavering-Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper]	8 May 1788	21 Jul 1837	49
[21 Jul 1837]		9	[George Augustus Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper]	26 Jun 1806	15 Apr 1856	49
[15 Apr 1856] 31 Jul 1871		10	Francis Thomas de Grey Cowper, 7th Earl Cowper He obtained a reversal of the attainder in 1871	11 Jun 1834	18 Jul 1905	71
18 Jul 1905		11	Auberon Thomas Herbert He succeeded to the Barony of Lucas of Crudwell with which title this peerage continues to be merged	25 May 1876	3 Nov 1916	40
DINORBEN
10 Sep 1831	B	1	William Lewis Hughes Created Baron Dinorben 10 Sep 1831 MP for Wallingford 1802‑1831	10 Nov 1767	10 Feb 1852	84
10 Feb 1852 to     6 Oct 1852		2	William Lewis Hughes Peerage extinct on his death For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	9 Nov 1821	6 Oct 1852	30
DIPLOCK
30 Sep 1968 to     14 Oct 1985	B[L]		Sir (William John) Kenneth Diplock Created Baron Diplock for life 30 Sep 1968 Lord Justice of Appeal 1961‑1968; Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 1968‑1985; PC 1961 Peerage extinct on his death	8 Dec 1907	14 Oct 1985	77
DIRLETOUN
c 1441	B[S]	1	Sir Walter Halyburton Created Lord Dirletoun c 1441		1449
1449		2	John Halyburton		1451
1451		3	Patrick Halyburton		c 1470
c 1470		4	George Halyburton		c 1491
c 1491		5	James Halyburton		c 1500
c 1500		6	Patrick Halyburton		1506
1506		7	Janet Ruthven		1560
1560		8	Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven	c 1520	18 Jun 1566
18 Jun 1566		9	William Ruthven, later [1581] 1st Earl of Gowrie		28 May 1584
28 May 1584		10	James Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie	25 Sep 1575	1588	12
1588 to     5 Aug 1600		11	John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie He was attainted and the peerages forfeited	c 1576	5 Aug 1600
8 Jul 1604	B[S]	1	Thomas Erskine Created Lord Dirletoun 8 Jul 1604, Viscount Fentoun 18 Mar 1606 and Earl of Kellie 12 Mar 1619 See "Kellie"	1566	12 Jun 1639	72
1646 to     19 Apr 1650	E[S]	1	Sir James Maxwell Created Lord Elbottle and Earl of Dirletoun 1646 Peerages extinct on his death		19 Apr 1650
DIXON
9 Jun 1997 to     19 Feb 2017	B[L]		Donald Dixon Created Baron Dixon for life 9 Jun 1997 MP for Jarrow 1979‑1997; PC 1996 Peerage extinct on his death	6 Mar 1929	19 Feb 2017	87
DIXON-SMITH
11 Oct 1993	B[L]		Robert William Dixon-Smith Created Baron Dixon-Smith for life 11 Oct 1993	30 Sep 1934
DOBBS
18 Dec 2010	B[L]		Michael John Dobbs Created Baron Dobbs for life 18 Dec 2010	14 Nov 1948
DOCKWRA
15 May 1621	B[I]	1	Henry Dockwra Created Baron Dockwra 15 May 1621	c 1568	18 Apr 1631
18 Apr 1631 to     c 1647		2	Theodore Dockwra Peerage extinct on his death	c 1609	c 1647
DODDS OF DUNCAIRN
18 Sep 2020	B[L]		Nigel Alexander Dodds Created Baron Dodds of Duncairn for life 18 Sep 2020 MP for Belfast North 2001‑2019	20 Aug 1958
DONAGHY
26 Jun 2010	B[L]		Rita Margaret Donaghy Created Baroness Donaghy for life 26 Jun 2010	9 Oct 1944
DONALDSON OF KINGSBRIDGE
20 Nov 1967 to     8 Mar 1998	B[L]		John George Stuart Donaldson Created Baron Donaldson of Kingsbridge for life 20 Nov 1967 Peerage extinct on his death	9 Oct 1907	8 Mar 1998	90
DONALDSON OF LYMINGTON
15 Feb 1988 to     31 Aug 2005	B[L]		Sir John Francis Donaldson Created Baron Donaldson of Lymington for life 15 Feb 1988 Lord Justice of Appeal 1979‑1982; Master of the Rolls 1982‑1992; PC 1979 Peerage extinct on his death	6 Oct 1920	31 Aug 2005	84
DONCASTER
5 Jul 1618	V	1	James Hay, 1st Baron Hay of Sawley Created Viscount Doncaster 5 Jul 1618 He was subsequently created Earl of Carlisle in 1622	c 1580	25 Apr 1636
14 Feb 1663 to     15 Jul 1685	E	1	James Scott Created Baron Scott of Tyndale, Earl of Doncaster and Duke of Monmouth 14 Feb 1663 Illegitimate son of Charles II; Lord Lieutenant East Riding Yorkshire 1673‑1679 and Staffordshire 1677‑1679; KG 1663; PC 1670 He was attainted and the peerages forfeited but on 21 Mar 1743 the Barony and Earldom were restored to the 2nd Duke of Buccleuch with which title these peerages remain merged	9 Apr 1649	15 Jul 1685	36
DONEGALL
27 Sep 1603 to     30 Jul 1608	E[I]	1	Roderick O'Donnell Created Baron Donegall and Earl of Tyrconnel 27 Sep 1603 He was attainted and the peerages forfeited	1575	30 Jul 1608	33
30 Mar 1647	E[I]	1	Arthur Chichester Created Earl of Donegall 30 Mar 1647 PC [I] 1660	16 Jun 1606	18 Mar 1675	68
18 Mar 1675		2	Arthur Chichester PC [I] 1672		26 Oct 1678
26 Oct 1678		3	Arthur Chichester	1666	10 Apr 1706	40
10 Apr 1706		4	Arthur Chichester	28 Mar 1695	30 Sep 1757	62
30 Sep 1757 27 Jun 1791	M[I]	5 1	Arthur Chichester Created Baron Fisherwick 3 Jul 1790, and Earl of Belfast and Marquess of Donegall 27 Jun 1791 MP for Malmesbury 1768‑1774; PC [I] 1768	13 Jun 1739	5 Jan 1799	59
5 Jan 1799		2	George Augustus Chichester MP [I] for Carrickfergus 1798‑1799; Lord Lieutenant Donegal 1831‑1844; PC [I] 1803; KP 1821	14 Aug 1769	5 Oct 1844	75
5 Oct 1844		3	George Hamilton Chichester, 1st Baron Ennishowen & Carrickfergus MP for Carrickfergus 1818‑1820, Belfast 1820‑1830 and 1837‑1838 and Antrim 1830‑1837; Lord Lieutenant Antrim 1841‑1883; PC 1830; KP 1857	10 Feb 1797	20 Oct 1883	86
20 Oct 1883		4	Edward Chichester	11 Jun 1799	20 Jan 1889	89
20 Jan 1889		5	George Augustus Hamilton Chichester For information on this peer's marriages, see the note at the foot of this page	27 Jun 1822	13 May 1904	81
13 May 1904		6	Edward Arthur Donald St. George Hamilton Chichester	7 Oct 1903	24 May 1975	71
24 May 1975		7	Dermot Richard Claude Chichester, 5th Baron Templemore	18 Apr 1916	19 Apr 2007	91
19 Apr 2007		8	Arthur Patrick Chichester	9 May 1952
DONERAILE
23 Jun 1703	V[I]	1	Arthur St. Leger Created Baron Kilmayden and Viscount Doneraile 23 Jun 1703 MP [I] for Doneraile 1692‑1693; PC [I] 1715 For further information on Elizabeth, daughter of the 1st Viscount, see the note at the foot of this page	1657	7 Jul 1727	70
7 Jul 1727		2	Arthur St. Leger MP [I] for Doneraile 1715‑1727	1695	13 Mar 1734	38
13 Mar 1734		3	Arthur Mohun St. Leger MP for Winchilsea 1741‑1747 and Old Sarum 1747‑1750	7 Aug 1718	Aug 1750	32
Aug 1750 to     16 Apr 1767		4	Hayes St. Leger MP [I] for Doneraile 1728‑1751; PC [I] 1751 Peerage extinct on his death	1 Jan 1702	16 Apr 1767	65
2 Jul 1776 22 Jun 1785	B[I] V[I]	1 1	St. Leger St. Leger Created Baron Doneraile 2 Jul 1776 and Viscount Doneraile 22 Jun 1785 MP [I] for Doneraile 1761‑1777	c 1715	15 May 1787
15 May 1787		2	Hayes St. Leger MP [I] for Doneraile 1776‑1788	9 Mar 1755	8 Nov 1819	64
8 Nov 1819		3	Hayes St. Leger	9 May 1786	27 Mar 1854	67
27 Mar 1854		4	Hayes St. Leger For further information on the death of this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	1 Oct 1818	26 Aug 1887	68
26 Aug 1887		5	Richard Arthur St. Leger	22 Feb 1825	1 Jan 1891	65
1 Jan 1891		6	Edward St. Leger	6 Oct 1866	7 Sep 1941	74
7 Sep 1941		7	Hugh St. Leger St. Leger	6 Aug 1869	18 Dec 1956	87
18 Dec 1956		8	Algernon Edward St. Leger	10 Jun 1878	18 Nov 1957	79
18 Nov 1957		9	Richard St. John St. Leger	29 Oct 1923	22 Oct 1983	59
22 Oct 1983		10	Richard Allen St. Leger	17 Aug 1946
DONINGTON
4 May 1880	B	1	Charles Frederick Abney‑Hastings Created Baron Donington 4 May 1880	17 Jun 1822	24 Jul 1895	73
24 Jul 1895		2	Charles Edward Rawdon‑Hastings, 11th Earl of Loudoun	5 Jan 1855	17 May 1920	65
17 May 1920 to     31 May 1927		3	Gilbert Theophilus Clifton Clifton‑Hastings‑Campbell Peerage extinct on his death	29 May 1859	31 May 1927	68
DONNET OF BALGAY
19 May 1978 to     14 May 1985	B[L]		Alexander Mitchell Donnet Created Baron Donnet of Balgay for life 19 May 1978 Peerage extinct on his death	6 Jun 1916	14 May 1985	68
DONOUGHMORE
16 Oct 1783	B[I]	1	Christiana Hely-Hutchinson Created Baroness Donoughmore 16 Oct 1783	24 Feb 1732	24 Jun 1788	56
24 Jun 1788 20 Nov 1797 31 Dec 1800	V[I] E[I]	2 1 1	Richard Hely-Hutchinson Created Viscount Donoughmore 20 Nov 1797, Earl of Donoughmore 31 Dec 1800 and Viscount Hutchinson of Knocklofty [UK] 14 Jul 1821 For details of the special remainder included in the creation of the Earldom of 1800, see the note at the foot of this page For details of the special remainder included in the creation of the UK Viscountcy, see the note at the foot of the page containing details of that peerage MP [I] for Sligo Borough 1776‑1783 and Taghmon 1783‑1788; PC [I] 1796; PC 1806	29 Jan 1756	22 Aug 1825	69
22 Aug 1825		2	John Hely-Hutchinson Created Baron Hutchinson of Alexandria and Knocklofty [UK] 16 Dec 1801 MP [I] for Lanesborough 1776‑1783, Taghmon 1789‑1790 and Cork City 1790‑1800; Lord Lieutenant Tipperary 1831‑1832	15 May 1757	29 Jun 1832	75
29 Jun 1832		3	John Hely-Hutchinson MP for Tipperary 1826‑1830 and 1831‑1832; Lord Lieutenant Tipperary 1832‑1851; KP 1834; PC [I] 1834	1787	14 Sep 1851	64
14 Sep 1851		4	Richard John Hely‑Hutchinson Vice President of the Board of Trade 1858; President of the Board of Trade 1859; PC 1858	4 Apr 1823	22 Feb 1866	42
22 Feb 1866		5	John Luke George Hely‑Hutchinson	2 Mar 1848	5 Dec 1900	52
5 Dec 1900		6	Richard Walter Hely‑Hutchinson KP 1916; PC 1918	2 Mar 1875	19 Oct 1948	73
19 Oct 1948		7	John Michael Henry Hely‑Hutchinson MP for Peterborough 1943‑1945	12 Nov 1902	12 Aug 1981	78
12 Aug 1981		8	Richard Michael John Hely‑Hutchinson	8 Aug 1927
DONOUGHUE
21 May 1985	B[L]		Bernard Donoughue Created Baron Donoughue for life 21 May 1985	8 Sep 1934
DONOVAN
11 Jan 1964 to     12 Dec 1971	B[L]		Sir Terence Norbert Donovan Created Baron Donovan for life 11 Jan 1964 MP for Leicester East 1945‑1950 and Leicester North East 1950; Lord Justice of Appeal 1960‑1964; Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 1964‑1971; PC 1960 Peerage extinct on his death	13 Jun 1898	12 Dec 1971	73
DOOCEY
21 Dec 2010	B[L]		Elizabeth Diedre Doocey Created Baroness Doocey for life 21 Dec 2010	2 May 1948
DORCHESTER (co. Dorset)
25 Mar 1645 to     1 Dec 1680	M	1	Henry Pierrepont, 2nd Earl of Kingston upon Hull Created Marquess of Dorchester 25 Mar 1645 Peerage extinct on his death	Mar 1607	1 Dec 1680	73
20 Jan 1686 to     26 Oct 1717	E[L]		Catherine Sedley Created Baroness Darlington and Countess of Dorchester for life 20 Jan 1686 Mistress of James II Peerages extinct on her death For further information on this peeress, see the note at the foot of this page	21 Dec 1657	26 Oct 1717	59
23 Dec 1706	M	1	Evelyn Pierrepont, 5th Earl of Kingston‑upon‑Hull Created Marquess of Dorchester 23 Dec 1706 and Duke of Kingston upon Hull 10 Aug 1715 See "Kingston upon Hull"	27 Feb 1667	5 Mar 1726	59
18 May 1792	E	1	Joseph Damer Created Baron Milton 3 Jun 1753 and 10 May 1762, and Viscount Milton of Milton Abbey and Earl of Dorchester 18 May 1792 MP for Weymouth & Melcombe Regis 1741‑1747, Bramber 1747‑1754 and Dorchester 1754‑1762; PC [I] 1753	12 Mar 1718	12 Jan 1798	79
12 Jan 1798 to     7 Mar 1808		2	George Damer MP [I] for Naas 1795‑1798; MP for Cricklade 1768‑1774, Anstruther Easter Burghs 1778‑1780, Dorchester 1780‑1791 and Malton 1792‑1798; Lord Lieutenant Dorset 1803‑1808; PC 1794; PC [I] 1795 Peerage extinct on his death	28 Mar 1746	7 Mar 1808	61
DORCHESTER (co. Oxford)
25 Jul 1628 to     15 Feb 1632	V	1	Sir Dudley Carleton Created Baron Carleton 22 May 1626 and Viscount Dorchester 25 Jul 1628 Peerages extinct on his death	10 Mar 1574	15 Feb 1632	57
21 Aug 1786	B	1	Guy Carleton Created Baron Dorchester 21 Aug 1786	3 Sep 1724	10 Nov 1808	84
10 Nov 1808		2	Arthur Henry Carleton	20 Feb 1805	3 Jun 1826	21
3 Jun 1826		3	Guy Carleton	25 Oct 1811	3 Dec 1875	64
3 Dec 1875 to     13 Nov 1897		4	Dudley Wilmot Carleton Peerage extinct on his death	12 Nov 1822	13 Nov 1897	75
2 Aug 1899	B	1	Henrietta Anne Carleton Created Baroness Dorchester 2 Aug 1899		2 Mar 1925
2 Mar 1925 to     20 Jan 1963		2	Dudley Massey Pigott Carleton Peerage extinct on his death	28 Feb 1876	20 Jan 1963	86

	William Henry Grenfell, 1st and only Baron Desborough
	On 2 December 1920, The Times reported the death of Lord Desborough, and in the same issue, included a lengthy obituary which described Lord Desborough's contributions to sport and public affairs. To its embarrassment, the newspaper the next day published the following retraction:-
	We beg to tender our sincere apologies to Lord Desborough for having been misled into publishing, in part of our edition of yesterday, a report which reached us from Birmingham of his death there the evening before. Happily for Lord Desborough's friends, the report was promptly contradicted yesterday morning. An obituary of Lord Bessborough, whose death gave rise to the error, will be found on page 16.
	The successful claim to the Earldom of Devon made in 1831
	The following two articles describe the successful claim made by William, Viscount Courtenay, to the Earldom of Devon in 1831:-
	The Times of 5 February 1831-
	A petition has been presented to His Majesty by William Viscount Courtenay, claiming the title and dignity of "Earl of Devon". His Majesty, as is the course with such applications, had it forwarded for the purpose of being considered by the Committee of Privileges of the House of Lords. The case is now prepared, and will be heard by the aforesaid Committee. The claim is of so peculiar a character, that, as we have the case before us, some of its leading outlines may not be unworthy of brief description: besides, the real claimants are not unknown, the direct claimant being Lord Courtenay, and the presumptive heir being Mr. Courtenay, late member for Exeter, and now Chief Clerk of the House of Lords, succeeding Mr. Cowper, who retired from that situation on a pension. The following are the points of the case :-
	In the first year of the reign of Queen Mary, Sir Edward Courtenay, Knight, (son and heir of Henry, Marquis of Exeter and Earl of Devon, who was executed and attainted in the 31st Henry VIII [1539]) was created Earl of Devon, to hold "to him and his heirs male for ever", by a patent which the case quotes. Upon this patent the claimant's pretensions to the earldom of Devon, as heir male of the grantee, are grounded; but it may be advisable to state briefly the history of the earldom of Devon in the Courtenay family, previously to the grant of it by Queen Mary.
	Edward III, in the 9th year of his reign, authorized Hugh, Baron Courtenay, to assume the title of Earl of Devon, in consequence of his having inherited the lands, and being the heir of of Redvers, Earls of Devon. The title was enjoyed by the heirs male for six generations, and was forfeited by the attainder of Thomas, the sixth Earl of Devon, in the first year of Edward IV, 1461, for having adhered to the King de facto, as well as de jure, Henry VI. By that act, which was declared by the statute of the 1st of Henry VII to have been "against all righteousness, honour, and nature" and "inordinate, seditious, and slanderous", Henry VI, the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and 14 Peers were attainted; but the heir to each of those peers, who would have succeeded to the title were it not for the forfeiture, was restored to it, "excepting the heir of the Earl of Devon"; the cause of which is fully explained in the petition to His Majesty, and the case founded thereupon. It thence appears, that on the accession of Henry VII, Sir Edward Courtenay, of Boconnoc, who had been attainted by Richard III, was the "heir male", but not the heir general, of the last Earl of Devon; and in the first of Henry VII his attainder by Richard III was reversed. He was created Earl of Devon, to hold to him and the heirs male of his body, by a patent dated October 26, 1 Henry VII 1485; the considerations for granting which were, "that he was the descendant of Hugh Courtenay, sometime Earl of Devon, and of Margaret, his wife, the grand-daughter of Edward I, and that he was the heir male of the said Hugh". Sir William Courtenay, Knight, the son and heir of the said Edward, Earl of Devon, having been attainted in the 19th year of Henry VII, did not inherit the earldom created to his father; but having married the lady Katherine Plantagenet, daughter, and co-heiress of Edward IV, and sister of the Queen Consort, he was created Earl of Devon, on the 10th of May, 3 Henry VIII, 1511, to hold to him and the heirs male of his body, by a charter, which recited, as the considerations for granting it, that "he was the husband of the Lady Katherine, the King's Aunt, daughter of Edward IV, and the son of Edward Courtenay, late Earl of Devon, the descendant of Hugh Courtenay, sometime Earl of Devon, and of Margaret his wife, daughter of Elizabeth, daughter of Edward I, and was the heir male of the said Hugh". Henry Courtenay, who succeeded to the earldom of Devon, created by the charter of 3rd Henry VII, and as he obtained the reversal of his father's attainder in the 4th Henry VIII, he also became Earl of Devon under the patent, 1st Henry VII, to his grandfather. He was created Marquis of Exeter, on the 18th of June, 11 Henry VIII, 1525, to hold to him and the heirs male of his body. The Marquis, from his near-connexion with the blood royal, became the object of Henry VIII's jealousy, and was attainted of high treason, and beheaded in January, 31 Henry VIII (1538‑9), which attainder has never been reversed, but as his son and heir, Sir Edward Courtenay, was fully restored in blood, a pedigree can be traced through the Marquis for honours which, the case contends, were not forfeited by his attainder.
	Sir Edward Courtenay, it is then narrated, continued an object of suspicion during the whole of the reign of Edward VI, and was confined to the Tower; but immediately, on the accession of Queen Mary, a patent, tested at Richmond, 3rd of September, 1st Mary, 1553, was issued, creating him Earl of Devon. The words of this patent are avowedly unusual, but, it is represented, were adapted to the particular circumstances of the case; they were as follows:-
	"In consideration of the nobility of his birth, and his proximity in blood to the Queen, she was pleased to create him Earl of Devon, with all pre-eminences, honours, etc., thereunto belonging, to hold the title and dignity of Earl of Devon, with the said honours and pre-eminences thereunto belonging, to the aforesaid Edward and his heirs male for ever";
	and the patent proceeds thus -
	"And further, of our abundant grace, we will, and by these presents do grant to the aforesaid now Earl, that he and his heirs male may have, hold, enjoy, and possess, in all Parliaments and other places, the same pre-eminence as any of the ancestors of the said Earl, being heretofore Earls of Devon, had held or enjoyed."
	In October following he was fully restored in blood; but as the attainder of his father was never reversed, he did not succeed to the earldom of Devon, created in the 1st Henry VII, or to the Marquisate of Exeter; and becoming, like his father, from his Royal descent and personal merits, an object of jealousy to his Sovereign he was imprisoned; but being soon afterwards released, he went abroad, and died at Padua, Sept. 18, 1556, unmarried. The issue of his great aunts (Isabel Mohun, Maud Arundel, Elizabeth Trethurffe, and Florence Trelawney), sisters of Edward, who was created Earl of Devon in the 1st Henry VII, were to be his next heirs; but his heir male was Sir William Courtenay, of Powderham, the next lineal descendant and heir male of Sir Philip Courtenay, a younger son of Hugh, the second Earl of Devon, and the ancestor of the claimant.
	Having noticed the early history of the earldom of Devon, which details are above detailed briefly, the case reverts to the earldom granted to Sir Edward Courtenay in 1553, arguing, that by the limitation "to hold to him and his heirs male for ever", the dignity was granted to his "heirs male collateral", in the event of the heirs male of the body failing; and that as the claimant is the heir male of the said earl, he is entitled to the earldom of Devon, which was created by that instrument; but having described the grounds of the claim, the arguments in support of it will more properly appear after they have been urged before the Committee of Privileges.
	The Morning Chronicle of 15 March 1831-
	The House [of Lords] sat yesterday to hear the Lord Chancellor's judgment in the Devon Peerage case, the Earldom of Devon being claimed by Viscount Courtenay. The Lords present were the Earls of Shaftesbury, Radnor and Rosslyn; Lords Arden, Wynford, Bexley, King, Strangford, and the Bishop of Exeter.
	The Lord Chancellor [Lord Brougham and Vaux] addressed the Committee at considerable length in pronouncing his opinion. The question was one, he said, of great importance both to the parties and to the House. The question here was, whether the dignity of an Earl granted to the original grantee was to be considered in the same light as a Barony in fee, and whether it descended to the heirs general of the body as well as to the heirs male. The Noble and Learned Lord then proceeded to show, that in Scotland, honours were entailed in a different manner, in many instances, from what they were in England. He then alluded to the creation of nine Peers in the reign of Richard the Second, and particularly to the Earldom of Wiltshire conferred upon Scrope, his favourite; and said that the arguments deduced from these instances against the present claim bore, in fact, quite the other way. The real question for their Lordships to decide was, whether by law a dignity granted to a man and his heirs male for ever, "heredibus suis masculis imperpetuum", carried to what in law would be called his cousins, that is, to his collateral heirs. The Lord Chancellor then proceeded to show that the law, as it affected the descent of property, did not bear upon that of honours and dignity. He then came to the principal case relied upon by the Attorney-General for the Crown - that of de Vere, Earl of Oxford. It appeared from the preamble to the patent in that case, that the King intended the Earldom to descend to the collateral as well as the heirs male of the body, as the words made use of were, "tam de corpore quam de latere": it was, therefore, important to see how the lawyers had, in the body of the patent, given effect to the King's intentions; and the words made use of were - "heredibus suis masculis", the very words used in the patent of Queen Mary confirming the Earldom of Devon on the original grantee; this therefore was conclusive of her intention that the dignity should descend to the heirs general. Upon these grounds his Lordship should move the Committee, that the claimant had clearly made out his right to the Earldom of Devon as heir general to the original grantee, for on all hands it was admitted that a clearer claim of pedigree had never been established.
	The Committee then resolved that the Petitioner had fully made out his claim to the Earldom of Devon.
	Edward William Spencer Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire
	The 10th Duke died of a heart attack in Eastbourne on 26 November 1950. While this is by no means remarkable when considered in isolation, the fact that that he died in the presence of his doctor, Dr. John Bodkin Adams, became, in hindsight, rather suspicious.
	Although never proven, there are grave suspicions that Adams was a precursor of the later mass murderer, Dr. Harold Shipman. The best book on the career of Dr. Adams is that by Pamela Cullen ["Stranger in Blood: the Case Files of Dr. John Bodkin Adams" Elliott & Thompson, London 2006]. According to Cullen, between the years 1946‑1956, more than 160 of Adams' patients died in suspicious circumstances, and more than 130 of these left money or goods to Adams in their wills. More readily available, perhaps, is part 40 of the magazine Murder Casebook, published in weekly parts by Marshall Cavendish in the early 1990s.
	While it must be emphasized that no proper police investigation was ever held into the Duke's death, it is significant that, despite the fact that the Duke had not been attended by a doctor in the fortnight prior to his death, Adams signed the death certificate but neglected to advise the Coroner of the matter, as he was bound to do by law.
	At the time of his death, the Duke was Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England and thus the leading freemason in England. Cullen speculates that Adams, whose family background included membership of the austere and fundamentalist Plymouth Brethren sect, would have viewed the Duke as 'Satan incarnate' and while not necessarily killing him, would perhaps have been not strongly motivated to provide all necessary treatment.
	Adams was charged with murder and stood trial in 1957, but was found not guilty. Notwithstanding this verdict, many still believe him to be guilty of mass murder.
	Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire
	Devonshire was said to exemplify the finest characteristics of the English aristocracy. He had a reputation for looking constantly dishevelled, possibly because of his habit of wearing a new suit only after his head gardener had broken it in for him.
	His forgetfulness was legendary. According to Anthony Powell, the critic Cyril Connolly was dining one night with Lady Cunard, with Devonshire being another guest. After dinner, Devonshire said to Connolly, 'come to a club I belong to'. Off they went to Pratts, where Devonshire said 'You're just the sort of chap we'd like as a member. Would you care to join?' 'Yes', said Connolly. Devonshire approached old So-and-So. 'Do you know Cyril Connolly?' 'No.' 'Would you all the same second him for membership?' 'By all means,' said old So-and-So. Connolly heard nothing more. Two years later, Connolly he dined again with Lady Cunard and this time old So-and-So was a guest. After dinner, old So-and-So said to Connolly, 'Come to a club I belong to'. When they arrived at Pratts, old So-and-So said, 'You're just the sort of chap we'd like as a member. Would you care to join?' 'Yes,' said Connolly. Old So-and-So approached Devonshire, who happened to be in the club at the time. 'Do you know Cyril Connolly?' 'No,' said Devonshire. 'Would you all the same second him for membership?' 'By all means,' said Devonshire. Once again, Connolly never heard anything again.
	In her book Counting My Chickens (Long Barn Books, Ebrington, Gloucestershire 2001), the Duchess, who was the youngest of the legendary Mitford sisters, revealed that her grandmother 'used to preserve the family furniture by banging it with a mallet to give concussion to the woodworm'. In an earlier work, The British Goat Society Yearbook for 1972, there is an account of the Duchess travelling with her goat from Mull in Scotland to London by train at the outbreak of World War II. 'At Stirling, in the middle of the night, I milked the goat in the first-class waiting room, which I should not have done as I only had a third-class ticket'.
	William Lewis Hughes, 2nd Baron Dinorben
	The 2nd Baron succeeded his father in February 1852, but was almost immediately afterwards declared insane, as reported in the Daily News of 18 April 1852:-
	The commission directed to inquire into and ascertain the alleged lunacy of William Lewis, Baron Dinorben, of Kinmel Park, Denbighshire, was opened by Francis Barlow, Esq., one of her Majesty's Commissioners in Lunacy, at Kinmel, on Wednesday last. A highly respectable jury was sworn, of which John Heaton, Esq., of Plas Heaton, was foreman. The Commissioner briefly explained to the jury the painful duty that devolved upon them, and concluded by informing them that he should have to ask them to give an answer by their verdict to the following questions:- Was Lord Dinorben of unsound mind, and incapable of managing and governing himself and his property; and if so, from what date did that unsoundness of mind commence? The only witnesses examined were Dr. Phillips Jones and Dr. Llewellyn Jones, of Chester, and Dr. Stubbs, of St. Asaph. The first named gentleman had known Lord Dinorben and attended him professionally from his infancy, but never remembered the time when he was capable of any act requiring the exercise of reason and sagacity. He attributed his unsoundness of mind to extensive inflammation of the brain when an infant, but could not fix the specific dates. Dr. Llewellyn Jones had not seen Lord Dinorben professionally, but from an observation made on a social visit had had sufficient opportunity of satisfying himself of the unsoundness of Lord Dinorben's mind. Dr. Stubbs had attended Lord Dinorben since the 27th of January, 1846, and seen him daily. The effect of his evidence was the same as that of the other medical men. The Commissioner intimated that the evidence most satisfactory to the jury would perhaps be that of personal observation; and in the course of the inquiry his lordship was introduced, when the accuracy of the medical testimony was placed beyond doubt. As it was not necessary for the purposes of the inquiry that his lordship's state of lunacy should be dated from an early period of life, and as Dr. Stubbs was the only medical man who had fixed a particular date, the jury found by their verdict that Lord Dinorben had been of unsound mind since the 27th of January, 1846, and incapable of managing himself and his property.
	If this was not sufficient tragedy for this family, worse was to come. The 2nd Lord Dinorben also had two sisters, and both of them were also found to be of unsound mind, as reported in the North Wales Chronicle on 28 May 1852, little more than a month after their brother was found to be in a similar state:-
	On Saturday last a commission de lunatico inquirendo was executed before Mr. Commissioner Barlow and sixteen special jurors, at the King's Arms Inn, Kensington, Middlesex, respecting the mental condition of the Hon. Mary Martha Hughes, spinster, aged 39, daughter of the late Lord Dinorben (who died 10th February last), and now residing at No. 47, Brompton-crescent. This lady's case was taken first, and commenced at eleven o'clock precisely, by the learned Commissioner charging the jury.
	Thomas Mayho, Esq., M.D., No. 56 Wimpole-street, deposed that he had made his first and only visit to the unfortunate lady on the 30th of April last, and remained with her about three-quarters of an hour; found her in a state of perfect imbecility, with symptoms of paralysis, and quite incapable of understanding any kind of questions or answering them.
	Dr. Mayho stated, in answer to a juror, the case was so clear and decided that he did not think another visit necessary, or he would have made it.
	Catherine Frydy deposed, she had been attendant to Miss Hughes about 8 years; first joined her April 3, 1844, at Madame Pochis', near Paris, and found her unable to dress or undress herself, incapable of even using a pocket handkerchief, could not cut her food or feed herself properly; had no knowledge of money or of letters, or writing, or books; her only amusement sometimes to play with coins, but without any idea of their being of the least value. She had been with her night and day, up to the present time, and she remained without variation in the same state of mind and action.
	By a juror - Her health had been good; had only two medical visits in France.
	By another juror - She did not know persons.
	Maria Henty, housemaid to Madame Pochis, deposed she had known Miss Hughes three years; saw her first at Madame Pochis', had been with her every day since, and had always found her in the same insensible and imbecile state as exhibited this day. Had been waiting maid since the 3rd of April.
	The jury immediately returned a verdict, dating her unsoundness of mind from April, 1844.
	At twelve o'clock the case of the sister was commenced, before the same learned Commissioner and eighteen special jurors.
	The Hon. Emily Hughes, spinster, also residing at 47, Brompton-crescent. This case, strange to say, was precisely the same as the other in all its features and phases, supported by the same witnesses and evidence.
	The unfortunate lady, on being asked who she was in mourning for, could not tell; but in answer to the question as to the colour of her dress, said it was pink.
	The jury returned a similar verdict as in the case of her sister, and dating her unsoundness of mind from April, 1844.
	Both ladies were introduced to the jury. It was impossible to make either of them understand anything, and their appearance altogether excited the utmost sympathy among the jury, and all present.
	Lord Dinorben died six months after being declared a lunatic, as reported in the Royal Cornwall Gazette of 15 October 1852:-
	Death of Lord Dinorben - This unfortunate nobleman breathed his last at his ancestral mansion, Kinmel Park, on the evening of Wednesday last. He had long suffered severely from epileptic fits, and was attacked in an alarming manner on the Sunday previous, from which attack his lordship never rallied.
	George Augustus Hamilton Chichester, 5th Marquess of Donegall
	Peerage reference works such as Burke's and Debrett's state that the 5th Marquess of Donegall was married twice; firstly, in 1865 to Mary Cobb, who died in 1901 [see the foot of this note], and secondly, in 1902, to Violet Twining, by whom, at the age of 81, he fathered the 6th Marquess. No mention is made, however, of the Marquess's real first marriage, which took place in 1859. Perhaps the reason for this omission is that this marriage was subsequently annulled.
	In January 1863, George Chichester, as he was then known, petitioned the Divorce Court, praying that the court pronounce a decree of nullity of the marriage contracted with the respondent, on the grounds that such marriage was invalid. The respondent, Lucy Virginia Elizabeth Chichester, had been divorced from her first husband, Mr. William Mure, the British Consul at New Orleans, by reason of her adultery with George Chichester. This divorce was granted on 1 July 1859, and a little over a month later, on 9 August 1859, she was again married, under her maiden name of Oliver, to George Chichester.
	Prior to 1857, the only way of achieving a complete divorce in England was to arrange for a private Act of Parliament. Between 1539 and 1973, around 11,000 Private Acts (also known as Personal Acts) were passed by Parliament, this number including those Acts which allowed married couples to divorce prior to 1857, the naturalization of foreigners, and to allow people to change their names. As a result, divorce proceedings were, generally speaking, available only to those who could afford it, given the cost involved in the obtaining of a Private Act of Parliament, or the cost of the lengthy process of marriage annulment which was administered by the ecclesiastical courts.
	All of this changed in 1857 following the passing of the Matrimonial Causes Act, which modernised the law on divorce, moving the procedure to be followed from the ecclesiastical courts (or the necessity to obtain a Private Act of Parliament) to the civil courts. The new law viewed marriages as being a contract rather than a sacrament, and made divorce proceedings available more widely than merely to the very wealthy. But even then, the Act was extremely biased towards the husband - a man could divorce his wife on the grounds of adultery, but a wife, in order to obtain a divorce from her husband, had to prove adultery aggravated by desertion (for at least two years), cruelty, rape, sodomy, buggery or incest. In addition, the husband could claim damages against the adulterous third party, but the wife could not. There was no provision in the Act for consensual divorce. The rights of husbands and wives and the allowable grounds for divorces were not made equal until 1923. It should also be noted that the Act did not apply to Ireland (due to its large Catholic population), where the prohibition on divorce was lifted only in 1997, although it is still far more difficult to obtain a divorce in Ireland than in most other countries.
	As mentioned above, Chichester was divorced on 1 July 1859 and a little over a month later he married the lady of whose divorce he had been the cause. The problem was, however, that the decree pronounced by the judge had been a decree nisi. Such decrees are non-absolute rulings that do not have any force until such time that particular conditions are met. Typically, these conditions are that no new evidence is forthcoming, or that no further petitions which have a bearing upon the case are introduced into the court. The Matrimonial Causes Act had prescribed that a period of three months were required to elapse after the granting of a decree nisi before such a decree became absolute. During that period, the parties who were undergoing the divorce were still considered to be man and wife, and remained so until the decree became absolute, since during the intervening period the initial decree was subject to reversal - for example, by the reconciliation of the parties.
	The judges in this matter took the view that, since the three months had not elapsed at the time of Chichester's marriage in August, that marriage was invalid, since at the time Mrs. Mure was still legally the wife of Mr. Mure. Consequently, the judges unanimously pronounced the August marriage to be null and void.
	Chichester's second marriage, to Mary Cobb, also ended badly. She left him in 1873, and in March 1889 she unsuccessfully petitioned the courts for a divorce. She subsequently appears to have fallen into destitution, as is illustrated by the following report which appeared in Freeman's Journal [Dublin] on 22 December 1898:-
	There seems to be little doubt that the lady who is at present an inmate of the Holloway Workhouse, at Islington, is the Marchioness of Donegall. On Tuesday morning she drove up in a cab to the Great Northern Hospital, in Holloway road, and with some difficulty made her way to the door for the reception of the patients, and asked to be admitted. She was attired in a dressing gown, and carried a Bible and some religious tracts in her hands. The house surgeon was called. She said she was unwell, and that she was Lady Donegall. It was observed that she was suffering from debility, and the officials decided to send her to the St. Mary's Union, Islington Workhouse, in St. John's road, Highgate. There she repeated her story. She said her name was "Mary Hamilton", that she was Lady Donegall, and that the Marquess of Donegall was at present living in Vauxhall, and suffering acutely from pneumonia. It will be remembered that some time ago Lady Donegall was admitted to the Charing Cross Hospital in connection with an accident in one of the hotels in that neighbourhood. When she drove to the Great Northern Hospital she was miserably clad, and was apparently in a state of destitution. She informed the officials that she had been since 1873 living apart from her husband, whom she married in 1865. In 1889 she instituted a suit for judicial separation. In the same year the Marquis of Donegall was bankrupt, and the proceedings which his wife instituted for maintenance failed. Since then little was heard of her ladyship till the news came of her strange admission to the workhouse.
	Elizabeth St. Léger, later Aldworth (1693/95-1773/75), daughter of the 1st  Viscount Doneraile of the first creation
	Although the website of the Library and Museum of Freemasonry in London states that the first female Freemason was a Frenchwoman initiated in 1882, there is a long-standing story that the first female Freemason was actually Elizabeth St. Leger, 17-year old daughter of the 1st Viscount Doneraile. According to this story, Elizabeth concealed herself in a tall clock in the room where a lodge meeting was taking place at Doneraile Court. There she remained while the initiation ceremony of a new member was in progress, in the process overhearing some of the secrets of the fraternity. When she was discovered, the lodge decided that the best way of keeping their secrets was to enrol her as a member.
	Hayes St. Leger, 4th Viscount Doneraile of the 2nd creation
	Lord Doneraile died from rabies, seven months after being bitten by his pet fox. The following report appeared in The Leeds Mercury of 24 January 1887:-
	Particulars of an unprecedented case of rabies, occurring at Doneraile, co. Cork, reached Mallow yesterday. Lord Doneraile, of Doneraile Court, had a pet fox, a vixen, which he had domesticated six years ago. On Friday, the 14th inst., his Lordship went for a drive, and was accompanied by the fox. Suddenly the animal made a snap at his Lordship's hand, and pierced the flesh through the glove. It also bit the coachman in the hand and foot. On the following Sunday the animal died, and an examination by a veterinary surgeon showed that it was affected with rabies. Lord Doneraile and the coachman proceeded on Saturday to Paris for treatment by M. Pasteur, as it is feared the virus has entered the system.
	Unfortunately for Lord Doneraile, his treatment in Paris failed to save his life. This report is from Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser published in Dublin on 27 August 1887:-
	Viscount Doneraile has died from an attack of hydrophobia. Seven months ago he and his coachman were bitten by a tame fox that got rabid, and both went to Paris, and were treated by M. Pasteur, returning home in a month apparently cured. On Monday last his lordship was attacked with illness, and on Wednesday hydrophobia symptoms manifested themselves, and afterwards increased in intensity. Doctors Hobart, of Cork, and Riordan, of Doneraile, attended on the sufferer. His son-on-law, Lord Castletown, arrived yesterday, and was in constant attendance at the bedside of his father-in-law, whose death took place at nine o'clock this morning. His lordship was not alone a kind friend and benefactor, but he was a good landlord. The sad end of his lordship is deeply regretted by all who knew him, and much sympathy is expressed for his daughter and son-in-law, Lady and Lord Castletown, who were in the sick chamber when his lordship died in great agony. Paroxysms of madness were not so violent as usual, because of the inoculatory processes of M. Pasteur, but they were sufficiently strong to cause distress to all who witnessed them. The spasms were very much kept in check by the application of morphia and chloral under the superintendence of Drs. Hobart and Riordan.
	On a brighter note, various newspaper reports state that the coachman showed no ill-effects of the fox's bite and appears to have made a full recovery. For another instance of death caused by the bite of a rabid fox, see the note regarding the 4th Duke of Richmond.
	The special remainder to the Earldom of Donoughmore
	From the London Gazette of 6 January 1801 (issue 15326, page 40):-
	His Majesty has been pleased to grant the Dignity of a Baron of this Kingdom [Ireland] to the several Gentlemen hereafter mentioned, and the Heirs Male of their respective Bodies lawfully begotten, viz … To Richard Hely Hutchinson Viscount Donoughmore, the Dignity of Earl Donoughmore, of Knocklofty, in the County of Tipperary, with Remainder to the Heirs Male of the Body of Christian Hely Baroness Donoughmore, deceased, (Mother of the said Richard Hely Hutchinson Viscount Donoughmore,) by the Right Honorable John Hely Hutchinson, Principal Secretary of State for Ireland and Keeper of his Majesty's Signet or Privy Seal in this Kingdom, also deceased.
	Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester in her own right
	The following biography of Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, and mistress of King James II, is taken from the October 1969 issue of the Australian monthly magazine Parade:-
	On a summer's evening in 1715 the prattle of the fashionable throng in the Assembly Room at Bath was suddenly pierced by a cackle of laughter and a shrill, feminine voice exclaiming: "Fancy we three old whores meeting here like this!" Heads turned in scandalised astonishment to identify the ladies so vividly described. They were indeed a picturesque trio. The most antique of them was Her Grace the Duchess of Portsmouth, once mistress to King Charles II. Another was the faded beauty Elizabeth Villiers, who had enlivened the private life of the late, dour William III. The third, at whom the pair were glaring with viperish fury, was Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, whose favours had been bestowed on yet another monarch, King James II. It was Catherine whose hearty greeting had so devastatingly shattered the decorum of the polite assemblage.
	The incident was typical of the shameless impudence that certainly made her one of the most colourful royal trollops in English history. She was one of the plainest. In fact, James's infatuation for her skinny body and sharp, shrewish features was a perpetual mystery to the courtiers of Whitehall. When the then Duke of York made her his mistress, his brother, Charles II, sardonically suggested that Catherine must have been imposed on the duke as a penance by his Catholic confessor. Catherine herself pretended to be amazed at her lover's passion when he selected her from among many far more seductive maids-of-honour in his wife's retinue. "It cannot be for my beauty because I have none", she said, "and it cannot be for my wit because he has not enough wit himself to know that I have any". The probable explanation was that James - normally gloomy, reserved and pious by nature - was fascinated by her sheer immorality just as Samson was ensnared by the wiles of Delilah.
	Catherine's upbringing provided a highly suitable education for the career of a courtesan in Restoration England. She was a child of three when Charles II returned to the throne in 1660 to inaugurate the gayest, wittiest and wickedest era the court at Whitehall had ever seen. Her father, Sir Charles Sedley, poet, gambler, friend of Dryden, Buckingham, and the infamous Earl of Rochester, was described as "one of the lewdest fellows of the age".
	Reared in his dissolute household Catherine was not yet 15 when the diarist John Evelyn noted that she had a sharp tongue and a roving eye but was singularly lacking in virtue. When she was 18 her father tried to arrange a match for her with handsome young John Churchill, then just launching on the brilliant career that would one day make him Britain's hero as the great Duke of Marlborough. Since Churchill's sister, Arabella, was already mistress of the Duke of York, Sedley hoped that the royal connection would restore his declining fortunes. However, the plan fell through. Another scheme to wed the girl to Sir Edward Hungerford also lapsed when the suitor became alarmed by stories of her precociously amorous disposition. It was 1678 before Sedley, after several rebuffs, obtained for his daughter a post as maid-of-honour to Mary of Modena, second wife of the Duke of York.
	This was the turning point in Catherine's career, for she arrived at a moment when James was tiring of Arabella's tantrums and the priests of his wife's household were urging him to get rid of his mistress. Arabella was dismissed and King Charles laughingly remarked that his brother's confessor would now have a much duller time with no interesting sins to listen to.
	Catherine Sedley was then 21, a thin little figure with a sallow complexion and flat chest and, on appearance, a most unlikely successor as a royal favourite. She had a caustic tongue, a bawdy wit and a gift for outrageous mimicry that made her feared by even the most hardened rakes at King Charles's court. But if her physical charms were not apparent to the outward eye Catherine was an expert in all the arts necessary to stir the imagination of the dullest lover. James was fascinated by her. In a few months his good resolutions went overboard and by 1679 Catherine Sedley was openly recognised as the Duke of York's mistress.
	Arabella Churchill was bundled out of the mansion in St. James's Square which the duke had bought for her, and Catherine was installed in even greater splendour in her place. James's infatuation was the sensation of Whitehall, for his choice was in such striking contrast to the round-limbed beauties such as Nell Gwynne, Louise de Keroualle and the many others whose favours were enjoyed by King Charles. Lord Dorset brutally attacked Catherine's plain face and love of finery in his ballads. Other wits made her the target of epigrams which they posted up in taverns and coffee houses. Most of Catherine's enemies, however, lived to repent of their sneers. Those she could not charm she soon humiliated with shafts at least as savage and licentious as their own.
	Meanwhile, "the little yellow-faced vixen" maintained her hold over the Duke of York and the king was delighted by the spectacle of his gloomy brother following her about like a dog. Gossips whispered that the duke's wife, Mary of Modena, often locked herself for days in her palace apartments, refusing to eat or speak in a passion of mingled grief and rage.
	As it became evident that the Catholic James would almost certainly succeed Charles on the throne, Catherine found herself also embroiled in devious political intrigues. The "exclusionists" hoped to bar James's succession altogether. Failing that, the more fanatical of them were determined to see that he had a Protestant mistress to offset the influence of his Italian Catholic queen. Catherine cared nothing for either politics or religion, but she was ready to lavish promises on the intriguers in exchange for their costly presents.
	Then, amid plots and counter-plots, the peaceful accession of King James II in 1685 brought a crisis in Catherine's power over her royal lover. Urged on by the Queen and his religious advisers, James made a desperate effort to break forever with his bewitching mistress. Catherine was forbidden to appear at court though the King insisted on granting her a pension of 4000 guineas a year and allowed her to keep the great house in St. James's Square.
	For a while it seemed that James had conquered his passion and the town buzzed with rumours that Colonel [James] Graham, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, had taken over the privileges formerly enjoyed by his master. But the memory of Catherine's unique talents soon proved stronger than wifely tears or priestly exhortations. Within a few months Graham had vanished from the scene and another coach, containing a tall figure in the garb of a court gentleman, was paying nightly visits to St. James's Square.
	The secret could not be kept for long. In January 1686 Catherine Sedley, newly created Countess of Dorchester, reappeared with more brazen pride than ever at the palace of Whitehall. When she gave birth to a child [a daughter, Lady Catherine Darnley, who married the 3rd Earl of Anglesey and, after his death, the 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby], James accepted it as his own, though scandalmongers asserted that its paternity was equally likely to belong to Colonel Graham.
	"My Lady Dorchester", said one contemporary, "is so entirely without shame that she makes no concealment of her lovers even in the presence of her sovereign and protector". Weeping with frustrated fury, Queen Mary again went into self-imposed imprisonment swearing she would flee to a convent in France unless James abandoned his insatiable mistress. When the King insisted on entering his wife's chamber, she and her whole household of priests and ladies "fell upon their knees and pleaded with him in bitter lamentations".
	Once more James was stricken with remorse. He fasted, prayed and scourged himself with a leather whip - which Mary kept for the rest of her life as a treasured relic of her husband's piety. At last the king nerved himself to issue his edict. This time Catherine was not only banished from court but was ordered to leave England forever. Offered a choice between Ireland and Flanders as a place of exile, she decided on Ireland where an old friend, the Earl Clarendon, was viceroy in Dublin Castle. Convinced that she was now finally disgraced Clarendon turned a deaf ear to her blandishments and Catherine soon found aristocratic Dublin society intolerably odious.
	Slighted on all sides she returned secretly to London late in 1686 and bribed the Keeper of the King's Closet, William Chiffinch, to plead her case with James. Chiffinch was an old hand at amorous royal intrigues and with the aid of his procurer's tongue, Catherine succeeded beyond her most extravagant hopes. James agreed to see her. In a week he was as infatuated as ever and Whitehall was staggered to learn that the Countess of Dorchester again reigned in St. James's Square. Her pension was doubled. She was loaded with jewels, plate and furnishings. Not even her brazen parade of lovers could shake the King's devotion.
	However, the next two years saw the sunset glory of Catherine Sedley's power as the rising tide of political and religious opposition beat against the throne of King James II. The revolution came in November 1688 when James's son-in-law, William of Orange, landed in Tor Bay and within a few weeks was recognised as William III of England. Catherine followed her royal lover to France but speedily found there was no place for her in the impoverished little exiled court at Saint‑Germain.
	Back in England she contrived to extort a modest income from James's daughter and William's wife, Queen Mary, on her promise to retire discreetly into private life. The London mansion was surrendered. Her retinue of servants was dismissed and the new court of William and Mary knew the disgraceful Countess of Dorchester no more.
	In 1696 Catherine appeared to settle down into peaceful domesticity as the wife of an obscure baronet, Sir David Colyear [later 1st Earl of Portmore], but her reformation did not last long. She spent most of her declining years in the fashionable spa town of Bath - a shrunken, rouged, painted and bewigged little figure like a ghost from the gay Restoration past. In her forties she was reputed to be still ensnaring lovers, usually rich and impressionable young bucks willing to provide for her upkeep on a handsome scale. Her wit was as savage and her impudence as unrestrained as in the days of her youthful triumphs. There were few mourners when the tough, unrepentant, 60-year-old Countess of Dorchester died at last in Bath on October 26, 1717.

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