PEERAGES
Last updated 16/09/2017 (11 Jul 2024)
Date	Rank	Order	Name	Born	Died	Age
WELLESLEY
2 Oct 1760	V[I]	1	Garret Wesley, 2nd Baron Mornington Created Viscount Wellesley and Earl of Mornington 2 Oct 1760 See "Mornington"	19 Jul 1735	22 May 1784	48
20 Oct 1797 2 Dec 1799	B[I] M[I]	1 1	Richard Colley Wellesley Created Baron Wellesley 20 Oct 1797 and Marquess Wellesley 2 Dec 1799 See "Mornington" - peerages extinct on his death	20 Jun 1760	26 Sep 1842	82
WELLINGTON
4 Sep 1809 28 Feb 1812 3 Oct 1812 11 May 1814	V E M D	1 1 1 1	Arthur Wellesley Created Baron Douro and Viscount Wellington 4 Sep 1809, Earl of Wellington 28 Feb 1812, Marquess of Wellington 3 Oct 1812 and Marquess of Douro and Duke of Wellington 11 May 1814 MP [I] for Trim 1790‑1797; MP for Rye 1806, St. Michaels 1807 and Newport 1807‑1809; Chief Secretary for Ireland 1807‑1809; Field Marshal 1813; Lord Lieutenant Hampshire 1820-1852 and Tower Hamlets 1826‑1852; Commander in Chief 1827 and 1842‑1852; Prime Minister 1828‑1830; Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1829‑1852; Foreign Secretary 1834‑1835; Lord Lieutenant Hampshire 1820‑1852 and Tower Hamlets 1826‑1852; PC 1807; PC [I] 1807; KG 1813	1 May 1769	14 Sep 1852	83
14 Sep 1852		2	Arthur Richard Wellesley MP for Aldeburgh 1829‑1832 and Norwich 1837‑1852; Lord Lieutenant Middlesex 1868‑1884; PC 1853; KG 1858	3 Feb 1807	13 Aug 1884	77
13 Aug 1884		3	Henry Wellesley MP for Andover 1874‑1880	5 Apr 1846	8 Jun 1900	54
8 Jun 1900		4	Arthur Charles Wellesley KG 1902	15 Mar 1849	18 Jun 1934	85
18 Jun 1934		5	Arthur Charles Wellesley	9 Jun 1876	11 Dec 1941	65
11 Dec 1941		6	Henry Valerian George Wellesley	14 Jul 1912	16 Sep 1943	31
16 Sep 1943		7	Gerald Wellesley Lord Lieutenant London 1944‑1949 and Hampshire 1949‑1960; KG 1951	21 Aug 1885	4 Jan 1972	86
4 Jan 1972		8	Arthur Valerian Wellesley KG 1990	2 Jul 1915	31 Dec 2014	99
31 Dec 2014		9	Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley MEP for Surrey 1979‑1984 and Surrey West 1984‑1989 [Elected hereditary peer 2015-]	19 Aug 1945
WELLS-PESTELL
10 May 1965 to     17 Jan 1991	B[L]		Reginald Alfred Wells‑Pestell Created Baron Wells-Pestell for life 10 May 1965 Peerage extinct on his death	27 Jan 1910	17 Jan 1991	80
WEMYSS
1 Apr 1628 25 Jun 1633	B[S] E[S]	1 1	Sir John Wemyss, 1st baronet Created Lord Wemyss 1 Apr 1628 and Lord Elcho & Methell and Earl of Wemyss 25 Jun 1633	1586	22 Nov 1649	63
22 Nov 1649		2	David Wemyss	6 Sep 1610	Jul 1679	68
Jul 1679		3	Margaret Mackenzie	1 Jan 1659	11 Mar 1705	46
11 Mar 1705		4	David Wemyss	29 Apr 1678	15 Mar 1720	41
15 Mar 1720		5	James Wemyss On his death the next heir was under attainder and the peerage was therefore forfeited	30 Aug 1699	21 Mar 1756	56
[21 Mar 1756]		[6]	David Wemyss	30 Jul 1721	29 Apr 1787	65
[29 Apr 1787]		[7]	Francis Charteris	21 Oct 1723	24 Aug 1808	84
[24 Aug 1808] 1826 17 Jul 1821	B	8 1	Francis Charteris-Wemyss-Douglas Created Baron Wemyss [UK] 17 Jul 1821 He succeeded as 4th Earl of March 23 Dec 1810 He obtained a reversal of the attainder in 1826 Lord Lieutenant Peebles 1821‑1853	15 Apr 1772	28 Jun 1853	81
28 Jun 1853		9	Francis Wemyss-Charteris-Douglas (also 5th Earl of March) Lord Lieutenant Peebles 1853‑1880	14 Aug 1795	1 Jan 1883	87
1 Jan 1883		10	Francis Charteris (also 6th Earl of March) MP for Gloucestershire East 1841‑1846 and Haddingtonshire 1847‑1883	4 Aug 1818	30 Jun 1914	95
30 Jun 1914		11	Hugo Richard Wemyss Charteris (also 7th Earl of March) MP for Haddingtonshire 1883‑1885 and Ipswich 1886‑1895; Lord Lieutenant Haddington 1918‑1937	25 Aug 1857	12 Jul 1937	79
12 Jul 1937		12	Francis David Charteris (also 8th Earl of March) Lord Lieutenant East Lothian 1967‑1987; KT 1966	19 Jan 1912	12 Dec 2008	96
12 Dec 2008		13	James Donald Charteris (also 9th Earl of March)	22 Jun 1948
WENDOVER
16 Jul 1895 to     13 Jun 1928	V	1	Charles Robert Carington Created Viscount Wendover and Earl Carrington 16 Jul 1895 and Marquess of Lincolnshire 26 Feb 1912 See "Lincolnshire" - These creations extinct on his death	16 May 1843	13 Jun 1928	85
WENLOCK
26 Jul 1461 to     4 May 1471	B	1	John Wenlock Summoned to Parliament as Lord Wenlock 26 Jul 1461 KG 1461 Peerage extinct on his death		4 May 1471
10 Sep 1831 to     10 Apr 1834	B	1	Sir Robert Lawley, 6th baronet Created Baron Wenlock 10 Sep 1831 MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme 1802‑1806 Peerage extinct on his death	1768	10 Apr 1834	65
13 May 1839	B	1	Paul Beilby Lawley-Thompson Created Baron Wenlock 13 May 1839 MP for Wenlock 1826‑1832 and East Riding of Yorkshire 1832‑1837; Lord Lieutenant East Riding Yorkshire 1840‑1847	1 Jul 1784	9 May 1852	67
9 May 1852		2	Beilby Richard Lawley MP for Pontefract 1851‑1852; Lord Lieutenant East Riding Yorkshire 1864‑1880	21 Apr 1818	6 Nov 1880	62
6 Nov 1880		3	Beilby Lawley MP for Chester 1880; Governor of Madras 1891‑1895; PC 1901	12 May 1849	15 Jan 1912	62
15 Jan 1912		4	Richard Thompson Lawley	21 Aug 1856	25 Jul 1918	61
25 Jul 1918		5	Algernon George Lawley	25 Dec 1857	14 Jun 1931	73
14 Jun 1931 to     14 Jun 1932		6	Arthur Lawley Governor of Western Australia 1901‑1902, Transvaal 1902‑1905 and Madras 1906‑1911 Peerage extinct on his death	12 Nov 1860	14 Jun 1932	71
			For information on the last four peers, see the note at the foot of this page
WENMAN
30 Jul 1628	V[I]	1	Sir Richard Wenman Created Baron and Viscount Wenman 30 Jul 1628	1573	3 Apr 1640	66
3 Apr 1640		2	Thomas Wenman MP for Brackley 1621‑1622, 1624‑1625 and Oxfordshire 1626, 1640‑1648 and 1660	1596	25 Jan 1665	68
25 Jan 1665		3	Philip Wenman In 1683, he obtained letters patent which stated that, in the event of his dying without male issue, the titles would be granted to his nearest relative, his great-nephew, Sir Richard Wenman. Some peerage references treat this as being a fresh grant of the peerage and commence a new numbering sequence; I have shown both sequence numbers below	17 Aug 1610	20 Apr 1686	75
20 Apr 1686		4 or 1	Sir Richard Wenman, 2nd baronet MP for Brackley 1679‑1690	1657	1 Mar 1690	32
1 Mar 1690		5 or 2	Richard Wenman	29 Jan 1688	28 Nov 1729	41
28 Nov 1729		6 or 3	Philip Wenman MP for Oxford 1749‑1754 and Oxfordshire 1754‑1755	23 Nov 1719	16 Aug 1760	40
16 Aug 1760		7 or 4	Philip Wenman MP for Oxfordshire 1768‑1796 Peerages extinct on his death	18 Apr 1742	26 Mar 1800	57
3 Jun 1834 to     9 Aug 1870	B	1	Sophia Elizabeth Wykeham Created Baroness Wenman 3 Jun 1834 Peerage extinct on her death	10 Jun 1790	9 Aug 1870	80
WENSLEYDALE
16 Jan 1856 23 Jul 1856 to     25 Feb 1868	B[L] B	1	Sir James Parke Created Baron Wensleydale for life 16 Jan 1856 and again, as an hereditary peerage, 23 Jul 1856 PC 1833 Peerage extinct on his death	22 Mar 1782	25 Feb 1868	85
19 Dec 1900	B	1	Sir Matthew White Ridley, 5th baronet Created Baron Wensleydale and Viscount Ridley 19 Dec 1900 See "Ridley"	25 Jul 1842	28 Nov 1904	62
WENTWORTH
2 Dec 1529	B	1	Sir Thomas Wentworth Summoned to Parliament as Lord Wentworth 2 Dec 1529	1501	3 Mar 1551	49
3 Mar 1551		2	Thomas Wentworth MP for Suffolk 1547‑1551	1525	13 Jan 1584	58
13 Jan 1584		3	Henry Wentworth	1558	16 Aug 1593	35
16 Aug 1593		4	Thomas Wentworth Created Earl of Cleveland 5 Feb 1626	1591	25 Mar 1667	75
Oct 1640		5	Thomas Wentworth He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Wentworth Oct 1640	2 Feb 1613	1 Mar 1665	52
1 Mar 1665		6	Henrietta Maria Wentworth	11 Aug 1660	23 Apr 1686	25
23 Apr 1686		7	Anne Lovelace	29 Jul 1623	7 May 1697	73
7 May 1697		8	Martha Johnson	c 1667	18 Jul 1745
18 Jul 1745 5 May 1762	V	9 1	Sir Edward Noel, 6th baronet Created Viscount Wentworth 5 May 1762	30 Aug 1715	31 Oct 1774	59
31 Oct 1774 to     17 Apr 1815		10 2	Thomas Noel On his death the Viscountcy became extinct whilst the Barony fell into abeyance	18 Nov 1745	17 Apr 1815	69
19 Nov 1856		11	Anne Isabella Byron Abeyance terminated in her favour 1856	17 May 1792	26 May 1860	68
26 May 1860		12	Byron Noel King-Noel For further information of this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	12 May 1836	1 Sep 1862	26
1 Sep 1862		13	Ralph Gordon Noel King‑Noel, later [1893] 2nd Earl of Lovelace For information on this peer's successful claim to this title, see the note at the foot of this page	2 Jul 1829	28 Aug 1906	77
28 Aug 1906		14	Ada Mary King‑Milbanke	26 Feb 1871	18 Jun 1917	46
18 Jun 1917		15	Anne Isabella King	22 Sep 1837	15 Dec 1917	80
15 Dec 1917		16	Judith Anne Dorothea Blunt‑Lytton	6 Feb 1873	8 Aug 1957	84
8 Aug 1957		17	Noel Anthony Scawen Lytton, 4th Earl of Lytton He had previously succeeded to the Earldom of Lytton in 1951 with which title this peerage then merged and so remains	7 Apr 1900	18 Jan 1985	84
22 Jul 1628 13 Dec 1628 to     12 May 1641	B V	1 1	Thomas Wentworth Created Baron Wentworth and Baron of Newmarch & Oversley 22 Jul 1628, Viscount Wentworth 13 Dec 1628 and Baron Raby and Earl of Strafford 12 Jan 1640 See "Strafford"	13 Apr 1593	12 May 1641	48
29 Jun 1711	V	1	Thomas Wentworth, 3rd Baron Raby Created Viscount Wentworth and Earl of Strafford 29 Jun 1711 See "Strafford"	17 Sep 1672	15 Nov 1739	67
WESSEX
19 Jun 1999	E	1	HRH Prince Edward Antony Richard Louis Created Viscount Severn and Earl of Wessex 19 Jun 1999, Earl of Forfar 10 Mar 2019 and Duke of Edinburgh for life 10 Mar 2023 See "Edinburgh"	10 Mar 1964
WEST
21 Jun 1402	B	1	Sir Thomas West Summoned to Parliament as Lord West 21 Jun 1402	1365	17 Apr 1405	39
17 Apr 1405		2	Thomas West	1392	30 Sep 1415	23
30 Sep 1415		3	Reginald West, 6th Lord de la Warr	7 Sep 1395	27 Aug 1450	54
27 Aug 1450		4	Richard West, 7th Lord de la Warr	28 Oct 1430	10 Mar 1476	45
10 Mar 1476		5	Thomas West, 8th Lord de la Warr	c 1455	11 Oct 1525
11 Oct 1525 to     25 Sep 1554		6	Thomas West, 9th Lord de la Warr On his death the peerage fell into abeyance		25 Sep 1554
WEST OF SPITHEAD
9 Jul 2007	B[L]		Sir Alan William John West Created Baron West of Spithead for life 9 Jul 2007 PC 2010	21 Apr 1948
WESTBURY
27 Jun 1861	B	1	Sir Richard Bethell Created Baron Westbury 27 Jun 1861 MP for Aylesbury 1851‑1859 and Wolverhampton 1859‑1861; Solicitor General 1852‑1856; Attorney General 1856‑1858 and 1859‑1861; Lord Chancellor 1861‑1865; PC 1861 For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	30 Jun 1800	20 Jul 1873	73
20 Jul 1873		2	Richard Augustus Bethell	11 Mar 1830	28 Mar 1875	45
28 Mar 1875		3	Richard Luttrell Pilkington Bethell For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	25 Apr 1852	21 Feb 1930	77
21 Feb 1930		4	Richard Morland Tollemache Bethell	9 Oct 1914	26 Jun 1961	46
26 Jun 1961		5	David Allan Bethell	16 Jul 1922	12 Oct 2001	79
12 Oct 2001		6	Richard Nicholas Bethell	29 May 1950
WESTCOTE
29 Apr 1776	B[I]	1	William Henry Lyttelton Created Baron Westcote 29 Apr 1776 and Baron Lyttelton 13 Aug 1794 See "Lyttelton"	24 Dec 1724	14 Sep 1808	83
WESTER WEMYSS
18 Nov 1919 to     24 May 1933	B	1	Rosslyn Erskine Wemyss Created Baron Wester Wemyss 18 Nov 1919 Admiral of the Fleet 1919 Peerage extinct on his death	12 Apr 1864	24 May 1933	69
WESTERN
28 Jan 1833 to     4 Nov 1844	B	1	Charles Callis Western Created Baron Western 28 Jan 1833 MP for Maldon 1790‑1806 and 1807‑1812 and Essex 1812‑1832 Peerage extinct on his death	9 Aug 1767	4 Nov 1844	77
WESTMEATH
4 Sep 1621	E[I]	1	Richard Nugent, 7th Baron Delvin Created Earl of Westmeath 4 Sep 1621	1583	1642	59
1642		2	Richard Nugent	c 1622	Feb 1684
Feb 1684		3	Richard Nugent		Apr 1714
Apr 1714		4	Thomas Nugent	1669	30 Jun 1752	82
30 Jun 1752		5	John Nugent	1671	3 Jul 1754	83
3 Jul 1754		6	Thomas Nugent PC [I] 1758; KP 1783	Apr 1714	7 Sep 1792	78
7 Sep 1792		7	George Frederick Nugent MP [I] for Fore 1780‑1792; PC [I] 1793	18 Nov 1760	30 Dec 1814	54
30 Dec 1814 12 Jan 1822 to     5 May 1871	M[I]	8 1	George Thomas John Nugent Created Marquess of Westmeath 12 Jan 1822 Lord Lieutenant Westmeath 1831‑1871 On his death the Marquessate became extinct whilst the Earldom passed to -	17 Jul 1785	5 May 1871	85
5 May 1871		9	Anthony Francis Nugent For further information about this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	1 Nov 1805	12 May 1879	73
12 May 1879		10	William St. George Nugent	28 Nov 1832	31 May 1883	50
31 May 1883		11	Anthony Francis Nugent PC [I] 1902	11 Jan 1870	12 Dec 1933	63
12 Dec 1933		12	Gilbert Charles Nugent	9 May 1880	20 Nov 1971	91
20 Nov 1971		13	William Anthony Nugent	21 Nov 1928
WESTMINSTER
13 Sep 1831	M	1	Robert Grosvenor, 2nd Earl Grosvenor Created Marquess of Westminster 13 Sep 1831 MP for East Looe 1788‑1790 and Chester 1790‑1802; Lord Lieutenant Flint 1798‑1845; PC 1793; KG 1841	22 Mar 1767	17 Feb 1845	77
17 Feb 1845		2	Richard Grosvenor MP for Chester 1818‑1830, Cheshire 1830‑1832 and Cheshire South 1832‑1835; Lord Lieutenant Cheshire 1845‑1867; PC 1850; KG 1857	27 Jan 1795	31 Oct 1869	74
31 Oct 1869 27 Feb 1874	D	3 1	Hugh Lupus Grosvenor Created Duke of Westminster 27 Feb 1874 MP for Chester 1847‑1869; Lord Lieutenant Cheshire 1883‑1899 and London 1889‑1899; KG 1870; PC 1880	13 Oct 1825	22 Dec 1899	74
22 Dec 1899		2	Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor Lord Lieutenant Cheshire 1905‑1920 For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	19 Mar 1879	19 Jul 1953	74
19 Jul 1953		3	William Grosvenor	23 Dec 1894	22 Feb 1963	68
22 Feb 1963		4	Gerald Hugh Grosvenor PC 1964	13 Feb 1907	25 Feb 1967	60
25 Feb 1967		5	Robert George Grosvenor MP for Fermanagh & South Tyrone 1955‑1964; Lord Lieutenant Fermanagh 1977‑1979	24 Apr 1910	19 Feb 1979	68
19 Feb 1979		6	Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor KG 2003	22 Dec 1951	9 Aug 2016	64
9 Aug 2016		7	Hugh Richard Lupus Grosvenor	29 Jan 1991
WESTMORLAND
29 Sep 1397	E	1	Ralph de Nevill, 4th Lord Nevill de Raby Created Earl of Westmorland 29 Sep 1397 KG c 1403	c 1364	21 Oct 1425
21 Oct 1425		2	Ralph Nevill	c 1406	3 Nov 1484
3 Nov 1484		3	Ralph Nevill	1456	6 Feb 1499	42
6 Feb 1499		4	Ralph Nevill KG 1525	21 Feb 1498	24 Apr 1549	51
24 Apr 1549		5	Henry Nevill KG 1552	c 1525	Aug 1563
Aug 1563 to     1571		6	Charles Nevill He was attainted and the peerage forfeited	1543	16 Nov 1601	58
29 Dec 1624	E	1	Sir Francis Fane Created Baron of Burghersh and Earl of Westmorland 29 Dec 1624 MP for Kent 1601, Maidstone 1604‑1611 and 1620‑1622 and Peterborough 1624	Feb 1580	23 Mar 1629	49
23 Mar 1629		2	Mildmay Fane MP for Peterborough 1620‑1622, Kent 1625 and Peterborough 1626 and 1628‑1629; Lord Lieutenant Northampton 1660‑1666	24 Jan 1602	12 Feb 1666	64
12 Feb 1666		3	Charles Fane MP for Peterborough 1660‑1666	6 Jan 1635	18 Sep 1691	56
18 Sep 1691		4	Vere Fane MP for Peterborough 1671‑1679 and Kent 1679‑1685 and 1689‑1691; Lord Lieutenant Kent 1692-1693	13 Feb 1645	29 Dec 1693	48
29 Dec 1693		5	Vere Fane	13 Apr 1678	19 May 1699	21
19 May 1699		6	Thomas Fane President of the Board of Trade 1719‑1735; PC 1718	3 Oct 1683	4 Jul 1736	52
4 Jul 1736		7	John Fane, 1st Baron Catherlough MP for Hythe 1708‑1711, Kent 1715‑1722 and Buckingham 1727‑1734; Lord Lieutenant Northampton 1737‑1749	24 Mar 1686	26 Aug 1762	76
26 Aug 1762		8	Thomas Fane MP for Lyme Regis 1753‑1762	8 Mar 1701	25 Nov 1771	70
25 Nov 1771		9	John Fane MP for Lyme Regis 1762‑1771	5 May 1728	25 Apr 1774	45
25 Apr 1774		10	John Fane Postmaster General 1789; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1789‑1795; Lord Privy Seal 1798‑1806 and 1807‑1827; Lord Lieutenant Northampton 1828‑1841; PC 1789; KG 1793	1 Jan 1759	15 Dec 1841	82
15 Dec 1841		11	Sir John Fane MP for Lyme Regis 1806‑1816; PC 1822	2 Feb 1784	16 Oct 1859	75
16 Oct 1859		12	Francis William Henry Fane	19 Nov 1825	3 Aug 1891	65
3 Aug 1891		13	Anthony Mildmay Julian Fane	16 Aug 1859	9 Jun 1922	62
9 Jun 1922		14	Vere Anthony Francis St. Clair Fane	15 Mar 1893	12 May 1948	55
12 May 1948		15	David Anthony Thomas Fane	31 Mar 1924	8 Sep 1993	69
8 Sep 1993		16	Anthony David Francis Henry Fane	1 Aug 1951
WESTON
13 Apr 1628	B	1	Richard Weston Created Baron Weston 13 Apr 1628 and Earl of Portland 17 Feb 1633 See "Portland"	1 Mar 1577	13 Mar 1635	58
WESTON-SUPER-MARE
30 Jan 1963 to     11 Jan 1965	E	1	Albert Victor Alexander Created Viscount Alexander of Hillsborough 27 Jan 1950, and Baron Weston-super-Mare and Earl Alexander of Hillsborough 30 Jan 1963 See "Alexander of Hillsborough"	1 May 1885	11 Jan 1965	79
WESTPORT
24 Aug 1768	V[I]	1	John Browne, 1st Baron Monteagle Created Viscount Westport 24 Aug 1768 and Earl of Altamont 4 Dec 1771 See "Altamount"	1709	4 Jul 1776	67
WESTWOOD
29 Jan 1944	B	1	William Westwood Created Baron Westwood 29 Jan 1944	28 Aug 1880	13 Sep 1953	73
13 Sep 1953		2	William Westwood	25 Dec 1907	8 Nov 1991	83
8 Nov 1991		3	William Gavin Westwood	30 Jan 1944	28 Jul 2019	75
28 Jul 2019		4	William Fergus Westwood	24 Nov 1972
WEYMOUTH
11 Dec 1682	V	1	Sir Thomas Thynne, 2nd baronet Created Baron Thynne and Viscount Weymouth 11 Dec 1682 MP for Oxford University 1674‑1679 and Tamworth 1679‑1681; President of the Board of Trade 1702‑1707; PC 1702	8 Sep 1640	28 Jul 1714	73
28 Jul 1714		2	Thomas Thynne	21 Mar 1710	13 Jan 1751	40
13 Jan 1751		3	Thomas Thynne He was created Marquess of Bath in 1789 with which title this peerage then merged	13 Sep 1734	19 Nov 1796	62
WHADDON
27 Aug 1616	B	1	George Villiers Created Baron Whaddon and Viscount Villiers 27 Aug 1616, Earl of Buckingham 5 Jan 1617, Marquess of Buckingham 1 Jan 1618 and Earl of Coventry and Duke of Buckingham 18 May 1623 See "Buckingham"	28 Aug 1592	23 Aug 1628	35
26 Apr 1978 to	B[L]		John Derek Page Created Baron Whaddon for life 26 Apr 1978 MP for Kings Lynn 1964‑1970 Peerage extinct on his death	14 Aug 1927	16 Aug 2005	78
WHARNCLIFFE
12 Jul 1826	B	1	James Archibald Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie Created Baron Wharncliffe 12 Jul 1826 MP for Bossiney 1802‑1818 and Yorkshire 1818‑1826; Lord Privy Seal 1834‑1835; Lord President of the Council 1841‑1846; Lord Lieutenant West Riding Yorkshire 1841‑1845; PC 1834	6 Oct 1776	19 Dec 1845	69
19 Dec 1845		2	John Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie MP for Bossiney 1823‑1830 and 1831‑1832, Perth 1830‑1831 and Yorkshire, West Riding 1841‑1845	20 Apr 1801	22 Oct 1855	54
22 Oct 1855 15 Jan 1876	E	3 1	Edward Montagu Stuart Granville Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie Created Viscount Carlton and Earl of Wharncliffe 15 Jan 1876 For details of the special remainders included in the creation of these peerages, see the note at the foot of this page	15 Dec 1827	13 May 1899	71
13 May 1899		2	Francis John Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie	9 Jun 1856	8 May 1926	69
8 May 1926		3	Archibald Ralph Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie	17 Apr 1892	16 May 1953	61
16 May 1953		4	Alan James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	23 Mar 1935	3 Jun 1987	52
3 Jun 1987		5	Richard Alan Montagu Stuart Wortley	26 May 1953
WHARTON
c Mar 1544	B	1	Sir Thomas Wharton Created Baron Wharton c Mar 1544 MP for Appleby 1529‑1536 and Cumberland 1542‑1544	c 1495	23 Aug 1568
23 Aug 1568		2	Thomas Wharton MP for Cumberland 1545 and 1547‑1552, Hedon 1554 and Northumberland 1555‑1559	1520	14 Jun 1572	51
14 Jun 1572		3	Philip Wharton	23 Jun 1555	26 Mar 1625	69
26 Mar 1625		4	Philip Wharton	8 Apr 1613	5 Feb 1696	82
5 Feb 1696 15 Feb 1715	M	5 1	Thomas Wharton Created Viscount Winchendon and Earl of Wharton 23 Dec 1706, Baron of Trim, Earl of Rathfarnham and Marquess of Catherlough 7 Jan 1715, and Marquess of Wharton and Marquess of Malmesbury 15 Feb 1715 MP for Wendover 1673‑1679 and Buckinghamshire 1679‑1696; Lord Lieutenant Oxford 1697‑1702 and Buckingham 1702; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1708‑1710; Lord Privy Seal 1714‑1715; PC 1689	23 Oct 1648	12 Apr 1715	66
12 Apr 1715 28 Jan 1718 to     31 May 1731	D	6 1	Philip Wharton Created Duke of Wharton 28 Jan 1718 PC [I] 1717 On his death the Earldom, Marquessate and Dukedom became extinct and the Barony fell into abeyance For further information, see the note at the foot of this page	Dec 1698	31 May 1731	32
15 Feb 1916		7	Charles Theodore Halswell Kemeys‑Tynte Abeyance terminated in his favour 1916 For further information, see the note at the foot of this page	18 Sep 1876	4 Mar 1934	57
4 Mar 1934		8	Charles John Halswell Kemeys‑Tynte	12 Jan 1908	11 Jul 1969	61
11 Jul 1969 to     4 May 1974		9	Elisabeth Dorothy Vintcent On her death the peerage again fell into abeyance	4 May 1906	4 May 1974	68
1990		10	Myrtle Olive Felix Robertson Abeyance terminated in her favour [Elected hereditary peer 1999‑2000]	20 Feb 1934	15 May 2000	66
15 May 2000		11	Myles Christopher David Robertson	1 Oct 1964
WHARTON OF YARM
2 Sep 2020	B[L]		James Stephen Wharton Created Baron Wharton of Yarm for life 2 Sep 2020 MP for Stockton South 2010‑2017	15 Feb 1984
WHEATCROFT
22 Dec 2010	B[L]		Patience Jane Wheatcroft Created Baroness Wheatcroft for life 22 Dec 2010	28 Sep 1951
WHEATLEY
28 Jul 1970 to     28 Jul 1988	B[L]		John Wheatley Created Baron Wheatley for life 28 Jul 1970 MP for Edinburgh East 1947‑1954; Lord Advocate 1947‑1951; PC 1947 Peerage extinct on his death	17 Jan 1908	28 Jul 1988	80
WHEELER
20 Jun 2010	B[L]		Margaret Eileen Joyce Wheeler Created Baroness Wheeler for life 20 Jun 2010	25 Mar 1949
WHITAKER
5 Aug 1999	B[L]		Janet Alison Whitaker Created Baroness Whitaker for life 5 Aug 1999	20 Feb 1936
WHITBURGH
10 Dec 1912 to     29 Sep 1967	B	1	Sir Thomas Banks Borthwick, 2nd baronet Created Baron Whitburgh 10 Dec 1912 Peerage extinct on his death	21 Aug 1874	29 Sep 1967	93
WHITBY
10 Sep 2013	B[L]		Michael John Whitby Created Baron Whitby for life 10 Sep 2013	6 Feb 1948
WHITE
12 Oct 1970 to     23 Dec 1999	B[L]		Eirene Lloyd White Created Baroness White for life 12 Oct 1970 MP for Flintshire East 1950‑1970 Peerage extinct on her death	7 Nov 1909	23 Dec 1999	90
WHITE OF HULL
25 Jan 1991 to     23 Aug 1995	B[L]		Vincent Gordon Lindsay White Created Baron White of Hull for life 25 Jan 1991 Peerage extinct on his death	11 May 1923	23 Aug 1995	72
WHITELAW
16 Jun 1983 to     1 Jul 1999	V	1	William Stephen Ian Whitelaw Created Viscount Whitelaw 16 Jun 1983 MP for Penrith & the Border 1955‑1983; Lord President of the Council 1970‑1972 and 1983‑1988; Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1972‑1973; Secretary of State for Employment 1973‑1974; Home Secretary 1979‑1983; PC 1967; CH 1974; KT 1990 Peerage extinct on his death	28 Jun 1918	1 Jul 1999	81
WHITTY
21 Oct 1996	B[L]		John Lawrence (Larry) Whitty Created Baron Whitty for life 21 Oct 1996 PC 2005	15 Jun 1943
WHITWORTH
9 Jan 1721 to     23 Oct 1725	B[I]	1	Charles Whitworth Created Baron Whitworth 9 Jan 1721 MP for Newport (IOW) 1722‑1725 Peerage extinct on his death	14 Oct 1675	23 Oct 1725	50
21 Mar 1800 14 Jun 1813 25 Nov 1815 to     13 May 1825	B[I] V E	1 1 1	Sir Charles Whitworth Created Baron Whitworth [I] 21 Mar 1800, Viscount Whitworth 14 Jun 1813 and Earl of Whitworth 25 Nov 1815 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1813‑1817; PC 1800 Peerages extinct on his death	29 May 1752	13 May 1825	72
WICKLOW
23 Jun 1785 to     26 Jun 1789	V[I]	1	Ralph Howard Created Baron Clonmore 21 Jul 1776 and Viscount Wicklow 23 Jun 1785 MP [I] for Wicklow County 1761‑1776; PC [I] 1770	29 Aug 1727	26 Jun 1789	61
20 Dec 1793	E[I]	1	Alice Howard Created Countess of Wicklow 20 Dec 1793 Widow of the first Viscount	1736	7 Mar 1807	70
26 Jun 1789 7 Mar 1807		2 2	Robert Howard MP [I] for St. Johnstown (Donegal) 1783‑1790	7 Aug 1757	23 Oct 1815	58
23 Oct 1815		3	William Forward-Howard MP [I] for St. Johnstown (Donegal) 1783‑1800; PC [I] 1793	Jan 1761	27 Sep 1818	57
27 Sep 1818		4	William Howard Lord Lieutenant Wicklow 1831‑1869; KP 1842 For further information on the Wicklow Peerage Case of 1869‑70, see the note at the foot of this page	13 Feb 1788	22 Mar 1869	81
22 Mar 1869		5	Charles Francis Arnold Howard	5 Nov 1839	20 Jun 1881	41
20 Jun 1881		6	Cecil Ralph Howard	26 Mar 1842	24 Jul 1891	49
24 Jul 1891		7	Ralph Francis Howard	24 Dec 1877	11 Oct 1946	68
11 Oct 1946 to     8 Feb 1978		8	William Cecil James Philip John Paul Howard Peerages extinct on his death	30 Oct 1902	8 Feb 1978	75
WIDDRINGTON
2 Nov 1643	B	1	Sir William Widdrington, 1st baronet Created Baron Widdrington 2 Nov 1643	11 Jul 1610	3 Sep 1651	41
3 Sep 1651		2	William Widdrington		Dec 1675
Dec 1675		3	William Widdrington	26 Jan 1656	10 Feb 1695	39
10 Feb 1695 to     31 May 1716		4	William Widdrington He was attainted and the peerage forfeited		19 Apr 1743
WIDGERY
20 Apr 1971 to     26 Jul 1981	B[L]		Sir John Passmore Widgery Created Baron Widgery for life 20 Apr 1971 Lord Justice of Appeal 1968‑1971; Lord Chief Justice 1971‑1980; PC 1968 Peerage extinct on his death	24 Jul 1911	26 Jul 1981	70
WIGAN
5 Jul 1826	B	1	James Lindsay, 24th Earl of Crawford Created Baron Wigan 5 Jul 1826 See "Crawford"	27 Apr 1783	15 Dec 1869	86
WIGG
27 Nov 1967 to     11 Aug 1983	B[L]		George Edward Wigg Created Baron Wigg for life 27 Nov 1967 MP for Dudley 1945‑1967; Paymaster General 1964‑1967; PC 1964 Peerage extinct on his death	28 Nov 1900	11 Aug 1983	82
WIGLEY
19 Jan 2011	B[L]		Dafydd Wynne Wigley Created Baron Wigley for life 19 Jan 2011 MP for Caernarvon 1974‑1983 and Caernarfon 1983‑2001; PC 1997	1 Apr 1943
WIGMORE
1666 to     22 May 1667	E	1	Charles Stuart Designated Baron of Holdenby, Earl of Wigmore and Duke of Kendal 1666 Third son of James II Peerages extinct on his death	4 Jul 1666	22 May 1667	-
WIGODER
16 May 1974 to     12 Aug 2004	B[L]		Basil Thomas Wigoder Created Baron Wigoder for life 16 May 1974 Peerage extinct on his death	12 Feb 1921	12 Aug 2004	83
WIGRAM
25 Jun 1935	B	1	Sir Clive Wigram Created Baron Wigram 25 Jun 1935 PC 1932	5 Jul 1873	3 Sep 1960	87
3 Sep 1960		2	George Neville Clive Wigram	2 Aug 1915	23 May 2017	101
23 May 2017		3	Andrew Francis Clive Wigram	18 Mar 1949
WIGTOUN
9 Nov 1341	E[S]	1	Sir Malcolm Fleming Created Earl of Wigtoun 9 Nov 1341		c 1360
c 1360 to     1372		2	Thomas Fleming He surrendered the peerage in 1372		after 1372
19 Mar 1606	E[S]	1	John Fleming Created Lord Fleming and Cumbernauld and Earl of Wigtoun 19 Mar 1606	1567	Apr 1619	51
Apr 1619		2	John Fleming	Dec 1589	7 May 1650	60
7 May 1650		3	John Fleming		Feb 1665
Feb 1665		4	John Fleming		Apr 1668
Apr 1668		5	William Fleming		8 Apr 1681
8 Apr 1681		6	John Fleming	c 1673	10 Feb 1744
10 Feb 1744 to     22 May 1747		7	Charles Fleming On his death the peerage became either extinct or dormant	c 1675	22 May 1747
WILBERFORCE
1 Oct 1964 to     15 Feb 2003	B[L]		Sir Richard Orme Wilberforce Created Baron Wilberforce for life 1 Oct 1964 Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 1964‑1982; PC 1964 Peerage extinct on his death	11 Mar 1907	15 Feb 2003	95
WILCOX
16 Jan 1996	B[L]		Judith Ann Wilcox Created Baroness Wilcox for life 16 Jan 1996	31 Oct 1940
WILCOX OF NEWPORT
14 Oct 2019	B[L]		Deborah Ann Wilcox Created Baroness Wilcox of Newport for life 14 Oct 2019	15 Jun 1957
WILINGTON
14 Jun 1329	B	1	John de Wilington Summoned to Parliament as Lord Wilington 14 Jun 1329		Dec 1338
Dec 1338 to     14 Apr 1348		2	Ralph de Wilington Peerage extinct on his death		14 Apr 1348
WILKINS
30 Jul 1999	B[L]		Rosalie Catherine Wilkins Created Baroness Wilkins for life 30 Jul 1999	6 May 1946
WILLETTS
16 Oct 2015	B[L]		David Lindsay Willetts Created Baron Willetts for life 16 Oct 2015 MP for Havant 1992‑2015; PC 2010	9 Mar 1956
WILLIAMS
24 Jun 1948 to     18 Feb 1966	B	1	Thomas Edward Williams Created Baron Williams 24 Jun 1948 Peerage extinct on his death	26 Jul 1892	18 Feb 1966	73
WILLIAMS OF BAGLAN
23 Jul 2010 to     23 Apr 2017	B[L]		Michael Charles Williams Created Baron Williams of Baglan for life 23 Jul 2010 Peerage extinct on his death	11 Jun 1949	23 Apr 2017	67
WILLIAMS OF BARNBURGH
2 Feb 1961 to     29 Mar 1967	B[L]		Thomas Williams Created Baron Williams of Barnburgh for life 2 Feb 1961 MP for Don Valley 1922‑1959; Minister of Agriculture & Fisheries 1945‑1951; PC 1941 Peerage extinct on his death	18 Mar 1888	29 Mar 1967	79
WILLIAMS OF CROSBY
1 Feb 1993 to     12 Apr 2021	B[L]		Shirley Vivien Teresa Brittain Williams Created Baroness Williams of Crosby for life 1 Feb 1993 MP for Hitchin 1964‑1974, Hertford & Stevenage 1974‑1979 and Crosby 1981‑1983; Minister of State, Education and Science 1967‑1969; Minister of State, Home Office 1969‑1970; Secretary of State for Prices & Consumer Protection 1974‑1976; Secretary of State for Education & Science 1976‑1979; Paymaster General 1976‑1979; PC 1974; CH 2016 Peerage extinct on her death	27 Jul 1930	12 Apr 2021	90
WILLIAMS OF ELVEL
22 May 1985 to     30 Dec 2019	B[L]		Charles Cuthbert Powell Williams Created Baron Williams of Elvel for life 22 May 1985 PC 2013 Peerage extinct on his death	9 Feb 1933	30 Dec 2019	86
WILLIAMS OF MOSTYN
30 Jul 1992 to     20 Sep 2003	B[L]		Gareth Wyn Williams Created Baron Williams of Mostyn for life 30 Jul 1992 Attorney General 1999‑2001; Lord Privy Seal 2001‑2003; PC 1999 Peerage extinct on his death	5 Feb 1941	20 Sep 2003	62
WILLIAMS OF OYSTERMOUTH
8 Jan 2013	B[L]		Rowan Douglas Williams Created Baron Williams of Oystermouth for life 8 Jan 2013 Archbishop of Canterbury 2002‑2012; PC 2002	14 Jun 1950
WILLIAMS DE THAME
17 Feb 1554 to     14 Oct 1559	B	1	Sir John Williams Summoned to Parliament as Lord Williams de Thame 17 Feb 1554 Peerage extinct on his death	c 1500	14 Oct 1559
WILLIAMS OF TRAFFORD
20 Sep 2013	B[L]		Susan Frances Maria Williams Created Baroness Williams of Trafford for life 20 Sep 2013 Minister of State, Home Office 2016‑2022	16 May 1967
WILLIAMSON
15 May 1962 to     27 Feb 1983	B[L]		Sir Thomas Williamson Created Baron Williamson for life 15 May 1962 MP for Brigg 1945‑1948 Peerage extinct on his death	2 Sep 1897	27 Feb 1983	85
WILLIAMSON OF HORTON
5 Feb 1999 to     30 Aug 2015	B[L]		Sir David Francis Williamson Created Baron Williamson of Horton for life 5 Feb 1999 PC 2007 Peerage extinct on his death	8 May 1934	30 Aug 2015	81
WILLINGDON
20 Jul 1910 23 Jun 1924 20 Feb 1931 26 May 1936	B V E M	1 1 1 1	Freeman Freeman-Thomas Created Baron Willingdon 20 Jul 1910, Viscount Willingdon 23 Jun 1924, Viscount Ratendone and Earl of Willingdon 20 Feb 1931 and Marquess of Willingdon 26 May 1936 MP for Hastings 1900‑1906 and Bodmin 1906‑1910; Governor of Bombay 1913‑1918 and Madras 1919‑1924; Governor General of Canada 1926‑1930; Viceroy of India 1931‑1936; PC 1931	12 Sep 1866	12 Aug 1941	74
12 Aug 1941 to     19 Mar 1979		2	Inigo Brassey Freeman‑Thomas Peerages extinct on his death	25 Jul 1899	19 Mar 1979	79
WILLIS
21 Jan 1964 to     22 Dec 1992	B[L]		Edward Henry Willis Created Baron Willis for life 21 Jan 1964 Peerage extinct on his death	13 Jan 1918	22 Dec 1992	74
WILLIS OF KNARESBOROUGH
18 Jun 2010	B[L]		George Philip Willis Created Baron Willis of Knaresborough for life 18 Jun 2010 MP for Harrogate & Knaresborough 1997‑2010	30 Nov 1941
WILLIS OF SUMMERTOWN
8 Jul 2022	B[L]		Katherine Jane Willis Created Baroness Willis of Summertown for life 8 Jul 2022	16 Jan 1964
WILLOUGHBY DE BROKE
12 Aug 1491	B	1	Sir Robert Willoughby Summoned to Parliament as Lord Willoughby de Broke 12 Aug 1491 KG c 1488	c 1452	23 Aug 1502
23 Aug 1502 to     10 Nov 1521		2	Robert Willoughby On his death the peerage fell into abeyance	1472	10 Nov 1521	49
after 1535		3	Elizabeth Greville She became entitled to the peerage after 1535		1560
1560		4	Fulke Greville	c 1536	15 Nov 1606
15 Nov 1606		5	Fulke Greville	c 1554	30 Sep 1628
30 Sep 1628		6	Margaret Verney	c 1561	26 Mar 1631
26 Mar 1631		7	Greville Verney	c 1586	12 May 1642
12 May 1642		8	Greville Verney	1619	9 Dec 1648	29
26 Jan 1649		9	Greville Verney	26 Jan 1649	23 Jul 1668	19
23 Jul 1668		10	William Verney	12 Jun 1668	23 Aug 1683	15
23 Aug 1683		11	Richard Verney His claim to the Barony was allowed 13 Feb 1696	28 Jan 1621	18 Jul 1711	90
18 Jul 1711		12	George Verney	20 Mar 1659	26 Dec 1728	69
26 Dec 1728		13	Richard Verney	1693	11 Aug 1752	59
11 Aug 1752		14	John Peyto-Verney	4 Aug 1738	15 Feb 1816	77
15 Feb 1816		15	John Peyto-Verney	28 Jun 1762	1 Sep 1820	58
1 Sep 1820		16	Henry Peyto-Verney	5 Apr 1773	16 Dec 1852	79
16 Dec 1852		17	Robert John Verney	17 Oct 1809	5 Jun 1862	52
5 Jun 1862		18	Henry Verney	14 May 1844	19 Dec 1902	58
19 Dec 1902		19	Richard Grenville Verney MP for Rugby 1895‑1900	28 Mar 1869	16 Dec 1923	54
16 Dec 1923		20	John Henry Peyto Verney Lord Lieutenant Warwickshire 1939‑1968	21 May 1896	25 May 1986	90
25 May 1986		21	Leopold David Verney [Elected hereditary peer 1999‑2024]	14 Sep 1938
WILLOUGHBY DE ERESBY
26 Jul 1313	B	1	Sir Robert Willoughby Summoned to Parliament as Lord Willoughby de Eresby 26 Jul 1313	c 1255	1316
1316		2	John Willoughby	6 Jan 1304	13 Jun 1349	45
13 Jun 1349		3	John Willoughby	Jan 1329	29 Mar 1372	43
29 Mar 1372		4	Robert Willoughby	c 1349	9 Aug 1396
9 Aug 1396		5	William Willoughby KG 1400	c 1370	30 Nov 1409
30 Nov 1409		6	Robert Willoughby KG 1416	1385	25 Jul 1452	67
25 Jul 1452   26 May 1455 to     12 Mar 1469		7	Joan Willoughby She married:- (1) Sir Richard de Welles who was summoned to parliament in her right 26 May 1455. He was attainted and the peerage forfeited 1469. He was born c 1425		1505
15 Nov 1482		8	(2) Sir Richard Hastings who was summoned to parliament in her right 15 Nov 1482. He died Sep 1503
1505		9	William Willoughby		19 Oct 1525
19 Oct 1525		10	Katharine Bertie	22 Mar 1519	19 Sep 1580	61
19 Sep 1580		11	Peregrine Bertie	12 Oct 1555	25 Jun 1601	45
25 Jun 1601		12	Robert Bertie, later [1626] 1st Earl of Lindsey	17 Dec 1582	23 Oct 1642	59
3 Nov 1640 23 Oct 1642		13	Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Willoughby de Eresby 3 Nov 1640	c 1608	25 Jul 1666
25 Jul 1666		14	Robert Bertie, 3rd Earl of Lindsey	c 1630	8 May 1701
19 Apr 1690 8 May 1701		15	Robert Bertie, 4th Earl of Lindsey and later [1715] 1st Duke of Ancaster He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Willoughby de Eresby 19 Apr 1690	30 Oct 1660	26 Jul 1723	62
16 Mar 1715 26 Jul 1723		16	Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Willoughby de Eresby 16 Mar 1715	29 Apr 1686	1 Jan 1742	55
1 Jan 1742		17	Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster	1714	12 Aug 1778	64
12 Aug 1778 to     8 Jul 1779		18	Robert Bertie, 4th Duke of Ancaster On his death the peerage fell into abeyance	17 Oct 1756	8 Jul 1779	22
18 Mar 1780		19	Priscilla Barbara Elizabeth Burrell Abeyance terminated in her favour	15 Feb 1761	29 Dec 1828	67
29 Dec 1828		20	Peter Robert Drummond-Burrell, 2nd Baron Gwydyr Lord Lieutenant Caernarvon 1828‑1851; PC 1821	19 Mar 1782	22 Feb 1865	82
22 Feb 1865 to     26 Aug 1870		21	Alberic Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Baron Gwydyr On his death the peerage fell into abeyance	25 Dec 1821	26 Aug 1870	48
12 Nov 1871		22	Clementina Elizabeth Heathcote Abeyance terminated in her favour	2 Sep 1809	13 Nov 1888	79
13 Nov 1888		23	Gilbert Henry Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 2nd Baron Aveland, later [1892] 1st Earl of Ancaster	1 Oct 1830	24 Dec 1910	80
24 Dec 1910		24	Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 2nd Earl of Ancaster	29 Jul 1867	19 Sep 1951	84
19 Sep 1951		25	Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond- Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Lord Willoughby de Eresby 16 Jan 1951	8 Dec 1907	29 Mar 1983	75
29 Mar 1983		26	(Nancy) Jane Marie Heathcote-Drummond- Willoughby	1 Dec 1934
WILLOUGHBY OF PARHAM
20 Feb 1547	B	1	Sir William Willoughby Created Baron Willoughby of Parham 20 Feb 1547	c 1515	Aug 1574
Aug 1574		2	Charles Willoughby	1537	1603	66
1603		3	William Willoughby	1584	28 Aug 1617	33
28 Aug 1617		4	Henry Willoughby	c 1612	c 1618
c 1618		5	Francis Willoughby	1614	23 Jul 1666	52
23 Jul 1666		6	William Willoughby	c 1616	10 Apr 1673
10 Apr 1673		7	George Willoughby	18 Mar 1638	1674	36
1674		8	John Willoughby	16 Jul 1669	early 1678	8
early 1678		9	John Willoughby	29 Dec 1643	Sep 1678	34
Sep 1678		10	Charles Willoughby	6 Oct 1650	9 Dec 1679	29
9 Dec 1679		11	Henry Willoughby	Nov 1626	26 Nov 1685	59
26 Nov 1685		12	Henry Willoughby	13 Apr 1665	22 Oct 1722	57
22 Oct 1722		13	Henry Willoughby	14 May 1696	29 Jun 1775	79
29 Jun 1775 to     29 Oct 1779		14	George Willoughby Peerage extinct on his death	24 Apr 1742	29 Oct 1779	37
WILLS
10 Jul 2010	B[L]		Michael David Wills Created Baron Wills for life 10 Jul 2010 MP for Swindon North 1997‑2010; Minister of State for Justice 2007‑2010. PC 2008	20 May 1952

	The Wenlock peerage created in 1839
	The following interesting article appeared in the Singleton Argus on 25 November 1932. Singleton is a town about 200 kilometres NNW of Sydney.
	The tragedy of four brothers who succeeded each other in a peerage and died within 20 years, without any of them having an heir, was completed by the death at Freiburg, Germany, of Lord Wenlock, the sixth baron, from pneumonia, aged 71. A strange coincidence was that he died exactly a year to the day after the fifth baron.
	Rarely has there been such a case of four brothers following each other in the title because none left a son to succeed him.
	Now for the second time the peerage becomes extinct. Originally the barony was created in 1831, but the holder (Sir Robert Lawley) died without a son in 1834, and it lapsed.
	Five years later the barony was revived in favour of his brother, Paul, who thus became the first Lord Wenlock of the present peerage. He had four sons, but while the eldest, Beilby Richard, succeeded him as second baron in 1852, one of the others died a bachelor, and the other two had no children.
	The second baron was the father of the four tragic brothers, the eldest of whom, Beilby, succeeded him as third baron in 1880. In 1872 Beilby had married Lady Constance Lascelles, daughter of the fourth Earl of Harewood, but they had only a daughter, and when he died in 1912 the title went to his brother, the Hon. R.T. Lawley, the fourth baron.
	He, though married, had no children, and on his death in 1918 he was succeeded by the next brother, the Hon. Algernon George Lawley, as fifth baron. This Lord Wenlock was for 30 years a clergyman in the East End of London, and afterwards vicar of St. Peter's. Eaton-square, W. The last peer, who was formerly Sir Arthur Lawley, spent a great deal of his life in the Empire overseas. He was in turn Administrator of Matabeleland, Governor of Western Australia, Lieutenant-Governor of the Transvaal, and Governor of Madras. He had a son, Edward Richard, and two daughters, but the son died in 1909.
	Byron Noel King-Noel, 12th Baron Wentworth
	Under the entry for the Earldom of Lovelace in Burke's Peerage the reader will find an entry relating to Byron Noel King-Noel, 12th Baron Wentworth, who is described as becoming 'an out-and-out radical'.
	Wentworth, who was better known by the courtesy title of Viscount Ockham, was the son of Augusta Ada Byron, daughter of the famous poet Lord Byron. She married, in 1835, William King, 8th Baron King of Ockham, who was created Earl of Lovelace in 1838. Ada has achieved fame after her death, since she is now regarded as being the forerunner of all computer programmers.
	The following report is taken from The Ipswich Journal of 13 September 1862:-
	Noel Byron, Lord Ockham, the grandson of the poet, is dead. He was an inoffensive young man, who inherited the eccentricity of his illustrious ancestor, without the genius, and some of the tastes without the libertinage. His home was not happy. He quitted it abruptly, and entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman; left the service after two or three weeks, and went before the mast in a common trading vessel. Sick of this pursuit he next became a common workman in the shipyard of Mr Scott Russell, in the Isle of Dogs. Subsequently he served in Woolwich Arsenal, and was distinguished for his attention to his duties and his general steadiness. In appearance (we speak from personal recollection of him) he had the air of a gentlemanly son of Wapping out for a holiday, proud of his clothing and not ashamed of his calling. In manners he was quiet, and if his life was wild his disposition was harmless. As an instance of the transmission of hereditary qualities, he was a curious object of contemplation. He had Byron's love of the sea, his hatred of discipline, his proud independence, his contempt for humbug. He felt, we may justly suppose, unfitted for his position as a peer of the realm, and he straightway went and did what he was capable of doing. For his grandmother, the widow of the poet, he retained a strong affection, and during her lifetime he used frequently to make the walk from Esher to Woolwich, in time to be at his post when the morning call was sounded …
	According to other contemporary newspapers, the cause of the young peer's death was a ruptured blood vessel.
	For information on the subsequent successful claim made by Ockham's next oldest brother, see the following note.
	The successful claim made for the Barony of Wentworth in 1863‑1864
	Following the death of the 12th Baron Wentworth in 1862 (see the preceding note), the peerage was claimed by his next brother. The following report appeared in The Sheffield and Rotherham Independent on 19 August 1863:-
	The House of Lords sat at the close of the session as a Committee of Privileges, to receive evidence in support of peerage claims. The holders of this dignity, the Barony of Wentworth, have been prominent in England since the time it was created by Henry VIII, and its later history is connected with the genius of Byron, and with an episode of eccentric self-will as singular as any to be found in the annals of the peerage.
	The first holder of the Barony of Wentworth was one of those worthy persons who in the time of the eighth Henry passed from the rank of country gentlemen to that of a magnate of the land. His coat [of arms] showed that he was a cadet of the house of Wentworth Woodhouse, from which in latter days sprang the great Lord Strafford. He is said to have been a cordial Protestant, and it is certain that he got some Church lands. It was probable as a safe politician that he was, with five other new peers, summoned by Henry to the Parliament which met in the twenty-first year of the reign [i.e. 1529]. No formal record of the creation of these six barons exists, and the fact is inferred from the entries in a journal of a session of the same Parliament held five years later. What is more important with reference to the present claim is that these baronies were held to be descendible to heirs female as well as heirs male - in technical language, to heirs general of the original barons. The consequence is that except two which unluckily came to grief at a very early date, they may be said to be indestructible. Occasionally they fall into abeyance when two or more sisters succeed as co-heirs, but an absolute extinction of the whole issue of the parent stocks is almost impossible.
	The first Lord Wentworth had a troop of sons, and he was succeeded in 1550‑1 by his eldest, a second Thomas. The second baron was as prudent as his father, but on one notable occasion he was not so fortunate. He duly witnessed the will of Edward VI, giving the succession to Lady Jane Grey; as duly he went over to Mary on the death of her brother, and he carried out the whole duty of man by sitting in judgment on the degraded favourite, Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland. Such a faithful servant deserved to be made Governor of Calais, but then unluckily he lost it. We are accustomed to look upon poor Mary's despair as the passionate outburst of an immensely morbid woman; but in fact the fall of Calais roused a storm of indignation throughout England. We may conceive the feeling by imagining the rage which would be felt against the commander who should lose Gibraltar in a war with Spain … England had held Calais more than 200 years; its possession was the symbol and justification of the style King of England and France and the quartering [on the Royal Coat of Arms] of the French lilies; when it was lost, the process of English law was strained in a fashion that can only be paralleled in Sir Bulwer Lytton's "Strange Story". An indictment was found against Lord Wentworth, in his absence, for having traitorously surrendered the town to the French king; his estates were sequestered and his goods were confiscated. He did not return to England until the death of Mary, when he was formally tried by the Peers and acquitted. He lived to sit himself in judgment on the Duke of Norfolk, and to marry his son to a daughter of Burleigh.
	An insignificant third baron begot a fourth, who was one of the most gallant supporters of Charles I; the Earldom of Cleveland marked the king's sense of the loyalty of his subject. The Earl served the son [i.e. Charles II] with the same zeal that he served the father; he fought at Worcester, and, though upwards of sixty, he is said to have come to the battle after twenty‑one days continuous hard riding. The gallant cavalier had an only son, who died without male issue in his father's lifetime, so that the earldom became extinct with the first possessor, but the barony descended to the son's only daughter, a Henrietta Maria, a god-daughter of the Queen. The fair Henrietta was loyal after the fashion of the Restoration. The worthless Monmouth deserted his Scotch wife, the Duchess of Buccleuch, for the charms of Lady Wentworth. With a provision of the doctrine of elective affinities, for which he is rarely credited, he obstinately refused to acknowledge, when in the Tower, the criminality of the connection, and - as even the divines of that age had limits to their complaisance - he went to the scaffold without the last sacraments of the Church. Let it be said to the grace of Henrietta that she did not long survive her lover, but died unmarried in 1686.
	The barony went to her aunt, the only daughter of the old cavalier [i.e. the 4th Baron], and after passing through two more females, was carried to the family of Noel of Kirkby Mallory. In 1745, Sir Edward Noel took his seat in the House of Lords as Baron Wentworth; but his only son died without male issue [in 1815], and the barony fell into abeyance between a single daughter, Judith Noel, who married Sir Ralph Milbanke, and the issue of another daughter, Sophia, who had been married to Lord Scarsdale. The issue of Lady Scarsdale became extinct, in 1856, by the death of the late Lord Scarsdale, and the abeyance terminated, the inheritor of the barony being Anne Isabella, the only child of Sir Ralph Milbanke and Dame Judith. Anne Isabella Milbanke was the wife of THE Lord Byron; and as all the world knows, the only issue of her unhappy marriage was Ada, the late wife of the present Earl of Lovelace. The only surviving son of Lord Lovelace now claims the barony of Wentworth.
	All the world knows, as we have said, that Lady Byron had only one child, but it was necessary that the fact should be proved for the satisfaction of the Committee. The reader of Moore's Memoirs will remember, that when intolerable wrong drove Lady Byron from her husband's house, Dr. Lushington was her friend and adviser, and the learned judge appeared at the bar of the House to prove the facts which six-and-forty years' intimacy and friendship with her qualified him to know … Lord Byron's eldest grandson was a Philistine; the late Lord Ockham, the present claimant's elder brother, rebelled against the stupid dullness of ordinary settled people, and deserting his family and his home, was from the age of eighteen to five or six and twenty lost to the world. Last year he returned, but after a short interval died. Rumour invented a thousand ways of accounting for the missing years, the most commonly accepted of which was that the poet's grandson had, like Peter the Great, taken to working in a dockyard. It is unnecessary to know the history of these Wanderjahre [wandering years], but it will be seen that the present claimant must prove that his elder brother left no legitimate issue. The difficulty of proving such a negative under the circumstances was of course immense, and both Dr. Lushington and the Earl of Lovelace were examined on the subject. Both deposed that they were firmly persuaded that the late Lord Ockham was never married, and Lord Lovelace added, that neither before nor since his son's death had anyone claimed to be his wife. This closed the case of the claimant, and at this stage the committee adjourned the consideration of the claim. Until next session the question must remain undecided; but we shall probably learn then whether the claim may be admitted as proved.
	The Committee for Privileges admitted the claim in March 1864.
	Sir Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
	After graduating from Oxford University, Richard Bethell entered the legal profession, steadily working his way to its highest rank. In 1851 he entered the House of Commons as member for Aylesbury for which he sat until 1859, when he became MP for Wolverhampton. During this period, he was Solicitor General between 1852 and 1856, and Attorney General from 1856 to 1858 and again from 1859 to 1861. On the death of Baron Campbell in 1861, Sir Richard Bethell was appointed Lord Chancellor and created a peer as Baron Westbury.
	In an obituary published in Trewman's Exeter Flying Post on 23 July 1873, it is stated that:-
	Everything promised for him a protracted tenure of the Chancellorship. His party was in a considerable majority. His own capacity for the post was undisputed. His zeal as a law reformer had been evidenced by constant although not always successful efforts to deal with difficult and important subjects, but his comparative failures did not materially lessen the confidence with which his great ability and manifest earnestness inspired the public. Early in 1865, however, a dark cloud gathered which soon burst with terrible force over him. Unpleasant rumours got abroad as to the manner in which some of his appointments were made, and the means by which his favour might be secured. A Parliamentary inquiry into the circumstances was held, in the course of which the Lord Chancellor was cross-examined by the present Chief Justice of the Common Pleas [Sir William Bovill]. The inquiry exculpated Lord Westbury from personal corruption, but it proved that he had shown a lamentable lack of caution in discharging such of the duties of his high office as related to the patronage with which he was entrusted for public purposes …
	A motion condemning Lord Westbury was subsequently passed in the House of Commons and Lord Westbury was left with no choice other than to resign his position. What, then, was the background to this story? The following is extracted from an article which appeared in the New York Tribune of 18 July 1865:-
	There have been two investigations - one known as the Edmunds case, the other and later as the Leeds bankruptcy scandal. In the former the Lord Chancellor was shown to have recommended or acquiesced in the recommendation of a retiring pension to an officer of the House of Lords, who made way for a son of Lord Westbury, and whom he knew at the time to be guilty of peculation and other crimes in office. But this offense in the Lord Chancellor, though unsparingly denounced in the Times, was condoned in Parliament. The Leeds case stood on a different ground. It was distinctly proved that the Chancellor himself caused a pension to be conferred upon the Registrar of the Leeds Court of Bankruptcy, although charges of malfeasance were pending against him at the time. It was proved also that the office Mr. Wilde thus vacated was sought for by Mr. Welch, who had paid Mr. Richard Bethell, the son of the Chancellor, £1,050 for his influence, and that immediately upon the resignation of Mr. Wilde, Mr. Welch was appointed. And the vote of the House [of Commons] was equivalent to a declaration of its belief that the corrupt practices of the Chancellor's son, though they may not have been actually known to his father, were assisted by the criminal carelessness of the Chancellor in the administration of his duties. That Mr. Richard Bethell was a rascal, that his father knew that he was a rascal, and that nevertheless he allowed his recommendation to influence his own official action, was admitted even by the partisans of Lord Westbury.
	From all accounts, Lord Westbury possessed an extremely caustic tongue. When he first entered the House of Lords, the Prime Minister, Lord Derby, had to remind him to tone down his language, after Lord Westbury had addressed his fellow peers as 'your lordships, who are still by courtesy called learned'. On another occasion, it is reported that, when addressing the Duke of Somerset, Lord Westbury commented that 'The Noble Duke has been turning over in what he is pleased to call his mind'. Once, when an earl asked him for some explanation on a particular point, Lord Westbury is reputed to have replied that 'it would have required more time than I can spare and, perhaps, greater effort than I can employ, to render the judgment of the Privy Council intelligible to the noble Earl'.
	Richard Luttrell Pilkington Bethell, 3rd Baron Westbury
	Lord Westbury committed suicide on 21 February 1930, by jumping from a seventh-story window in his flat. The following report is taken from The Times of 22 February 1930:-
	Lord Westbury was found dead in the street early yesterday morning, having fallen from a window of his flat in St. James's Court, S.W., where he had been living in order to be near his doctor. He was 77. He had been ill for some considerable time, and was attended by day and night nurses. At an inquest held later in the day a verdict of "Suicide while of unsound mind" was recorded.
	Mr. Ingleby Oddie held the inquest, which took place at the Westminster Coroner's Court. Evidence of identification was given by Mr. Ernest Charles Daintrey, solicitor, of Essex-street, Strand, who stated that Lord Westbury had been ill for a long time.
	The Coroner - At times was he mentally affected? - I have never seen him so, but I have seen him somewhat sleepy and confused. He has had day and night nurses for months.
	Has he ever threatened to take his life that you know of? - I think about five years ago I heard him say something of the sort, but I took it as a joke. I have not heard him say anything certainly for five years.
	Mr. Daintry produced two letters written on black-edged notepaper, which were difficult to decipher. Of one he said, "I cannot read it all. It begins 'Dearest' something".
	A police officer interposed to say that the letter appeared to commence "Dearest George".
	Mr. Daintry - It goes on, "I really can't stand any more horrors" - the word may be "horrors".
	Mr. Oddie - It is very difficult to make it out, but that is obviously a farewell letter? - Yes
	Is the other one the same, to his wife? - It is in an envelope to Lady Westbury. The other one was apparently to a Mrs. White Forwood, or a similar name.
	Another passage in the letters read: "You overwhelm with kindnesses. As I am off where I hope to meet you again."
	A police officer said that he thought it was the housekeeper who was referred to.
	The letter ended: "Will say no more. Au revoir. Affectionately yours, Westbury."
	Miss Mary Terras, a nurse, of Gloucester-place, said that he had nursed Lord Westbury and had been with him 10 weeks on night duty. He did not have great difficulty in sleeping unless he had something worrying him. He usually had a [sleeping] draught.
	Mr. Oddie - He lost a son not very long ago, did he not? - Yes, sir. That upset him more than anything.
	Miss Terras said that on Thursday night she gave Lord Westbury a dram and a half of bromide at 8.30, and 1-24th of a grain of heroin. He slept very well on that, and about 12 woke up for a little time, had a drink of barley water, and said it was too early to have his Ovaltine. He went off to sleep again until 2.30 a.m. He had some Ovaltine and 1-24th of a grain of heroin at 3 o'clock. He settled down to sleep again after that. Later he woke up and was very quiet, comfortable, and drowsy. At 7 o'clock he asked the time, has a glass of barley water, and she shook his pillows and he turned on his side, said he was very comfortable, and thanked her. A little later he said it was too early to wake up, and told her to go out of his room and not wake him till 8 o'clock. As she had different things to do, she put some coal on his fire about 7.10, put on his coffee, and came back to see to the milk and things for breakfast. Then she heard the awful crash.
	Nurse Terras continued: - "I heard a noise and ran to his room, thinking he had dropped something. I heard a crash of glass. I found his bed empty and the window open. It had been closed. The washing-stand had been moved and the curtains dislodged. The letters produced were found on the dressing table. I ran downstairs at once, but they would not let me go farther."
	The Coroner - Did you know he was likely to commit suicide? - No. He often thought he was ill and that he was going to die, but never anything like that.
	Cyril Evans, a valet at King's House, which is two doors away, described Lord Westbury's fall.
	"Roughly about 7.25 this morning," he said, "as I was going into the court I saw a felt slipper fall into the courtyard at the staff entrance. I looked up about 30ft. and saw, coming through the air, the body of Lord Westbury.
	Evans said the body turned a complete somersault before touching a glass canopy. Before he had time to shout Lord Westbury had fallen on top of the glass, and a woman was just in time to throw herself clear. He crashed through the glass.
	Evans added that he went to Lord Westbury, who was very badly injured. He was certainly unconscious. He just gave a couple of groans and a slight spasmodic heave. He was gone within about a minute after that.
	Sergeant Nicholls, the Coroner's officer, said it was about 72ft. from the ground to the window on the seventh floor, which was open. To get out Lord Westbury would have had to go over the sill, which was 2ft. 3in. Then there was a sill about 8in. in width and a gutter, 2ft. 6in. There was also a parapet 13in. wide.
	The Coroner said that one of the letters left by Lord Westbury read: - "I really cannot stand any more horrors, and I hardly see what good I am going to do here, so I am going to make my exit. Good-bye, and if you are right all will be well. Your affectionate …"
	The rest of the letter, the Coroner said, was difficult to make out, but he wrote something about Sister Catherine, a nurse, having £100, and thanking his housekeeper for her overwhelming kindness. The letter ended up with "I am off".
	The Coroner added, "No doubt poor Lord Westbury had been suffering very much and had great difficulty in sleeping. He also was old and depressed, and lost his son not very long ago. He appears to have kept his feelings very much to himself, as one would have expected." The Coroner then recorded a verdict of "Suicide while of unsound mind".
	*********************
	Lord Westbury's son, Richard, to whom reference is made in the report above, was secretary to Howard Carter, the man who first opened the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922. While The Times limited its reporting to the facts of Lord Westbury's death, newspapers in America indulged in an orgy of speculation that his death was caused by the "Curse of Tutankhamen".
	The following report in the New York Times on 22 February 1930 is typical:-
	The superstition that a "curse" follows all those connected with the opening of King Tut-ankh-Amen's tomb in Egypt was revived today when Lord Westbury, 78-year-old peer, leaped from a seventh-story window near Buckingham Palace and plunged through a glass roof to his death.
	He had been grieving over the strange death of his son, the Hon. Richard Bethell, who was Howard Carter's secretary during the excavations in the Valley of the Kings and who was found dead in the Mayfair Club last year. Ever since Tut-ankh-Amen's tomb was opened Egyptians have been repeating the ancient malediction, "Death shall come on swift wings to him that toucheth the tomb of a Pharaoh".
	The American newspaper reports then generally proceed to catalogue the list of deaths of those people associated with the opening of the tomb. For a good discussion of these deaths, see The World's Strangest Mysteries by Rupert Furneaux [Odhams, London 1961]. As a final postscript to Lord Westbury's death, when the hearse bearing his body was en route to the crematorium, it knocked down and killed an 8-year-old boy named Joseph Greer - he too is counted by the superstitious as being another victim of the "Curse".
	Anthony Francis Nugent, 9th Earl of Westmeath
	On the death of the Marquess of Westmeath in 1871, the marquessate became extinct, but the earldom of Westmeath was inherited by a distant relation, Anthony Francis Nugent, who became the 9th Earl. However, before he could claim to be the rightful heir, Anthony Francis Nugent had to petition the House of Lords Committee for Privileges, claiming the right to vote at the election of representative peers for Ireland. As only Irish peers could vote in such elections, he was effectively seeking confirmation of his right to the earldom.
	The following report appeared in Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser [Dublin] on 7 July 1871:-
	The Committee of Privileges of the House of Lords assembled today to hear the case of the Earldom of Westmeath. This was the case of Anthony Francis, Earl of Westmeath in the peerage of Ireland, claiming the right to vote at the election of representative peers for Ireland. It appeared that the title was originally created in the person of Sir Richard Barron, of Delvin [I think this should read 'Sir Richard, Baron of Delvin'], by letters patent of James I, in the year 1621. The eighth earl was advanced to the dignity of the Marquis of Westmeath in the peerage of Ireland, with limitation to heirs male of his body, in 1822. He was married three times - first to Lady Anne Bennett Elizabeth Cecil, daughter of James, Marquis of Salisbury, by whom he had issue William, Lord Delvin, who died in infancy, and Lady Rosa, now the wife of Foulke Southwoode, Lord Greville; second, to Mary Jarvis; and third, to Elizabeth Charlotte, daughter of Davis Verner, Esq., by neither of whom he had issue. He died on the 18th of May, 1871 [sic - he died on 5 May 1871], without leaving male issue, whereupon the Marquisate of Westmeath became extinct, and the Earldom devolved on the descendant and heir male of Thomas Nugent, of Pallas, second son of Richard, the second earl.
	Mr. Hodgson appeared for the claimant, Lady Greville, who occupied a seat in the body of the house, and proceeding to examine her, she stated, in answer to questions from him, that she was the daughter of the late Marquis of Westmeath, who died without leaving any male issue; he never had but one male child, who died whilst young; she was acquainted with her grandfather's second wife, also with her aunts and uncles, the half brothers and sisters of her father; her uncles left no male issue that she was aware of; her uncle Thomas Hugh Nugent was married, but she had not heard that he left any issue; none of her other uncles ever married to her knowledge; her uncle Frederick died when a boy at Harrow; her aunts, with the exception of Lady Mary Hope, were dead; the question of the successor to the earldom in the event of the late marquis dying without male issue was frequently discussed among them, and the present claimant was always considered to be the next in succession; witness's father frequently referred to him as being the next in succession.
	Lady Mary Hope, who was examined at the bar of the house, said she was the widow of the Hon. James Hope, and half sister of the late marquis; her father was George Frederick, seventh Earl of Westmeath, and by his marriage left three sons - viz, Henry Edward, and Robert Seymour, who both died young when at school, and Edward Thomas Hugh, who married, but died without issue in 1849.
	The Dowager Marchioness of Westmeath, who occupied a seat in the body of the house, was next examined, and said she was the widow of the late Marquis of Westmeath, who had died without leaving male issue; the subject of the successor to the earldom in the event of her husband dying without a son was often discussed in her presence and the present claimant was always referred to as the next in succession upon the death of her husband; witness examined his papers, which she handed to the son-in-law of the deceased, Lord Greville; among those papers she found the original letters patent creating the marquisate, but not those creating the earldom.
	The Committee subsequently resolved that Anthony Francis Nugent had proved his claim to the earldom of Westmeath.
	Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
	The following biography of the 2nd Duke of Westminster appeared in the April 1964 issue of the Australian monthly magazine Parade:-
	Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, second Duke of Westminster and the last of the so-called wicked dukes of England, was a 20th century throw back to the swashbuckling feudal age. He was four times married, 50 times a millionaire and the biggest private landlord in the world. He owned two luxury yachts and is said to have been seasick only once in his life, on this memorable occasion ordering his captain to take the vessel back to port. The captain explained that weather conditions made this impossible for the time being. This would not do for the duke. "Then beach the bitch," he said.
	Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor was born in 1879 and educated at Eton. He succeeded to the title of Duke of Westminster at 20. He inherited 160,000 choice acres scattered across half a dozen counties in England, Scotland and Ireland. But the backbone of the fortune was some 600 acres in the fashionable areas of Mayfair and Belgravia in London. The property was worth about £20 million.
	It dated back to 1690 when Sir Robert Grosvenor (then only comfortably wealthy with an estate in Cheshire called Eaton Hall) married a 12-year-old heiress, Mary Davies. From her farmer father Mary inherited 6 acres of rich agricultural land outside the city limits of London. It was known as Westminster. In time it became part of London. Hundreds of fine mansions were built on it although the land could only be leased from the current holder of the Grosvenor baronetcy.
	The baronetcy was exchanged for the higher rank of marquisate [via a barony created in 1761, an earldom in 1784 and the marquisate in 1831] and in 1874 Hugh Grosvenor, third Marquess of Westminster, was recommended by Prime Minister Gladstone to what remains the last [non-]royal dukedom created.
	His son, the 2nd duke, was acknowledged the wealthiest peer in England. Among his properties were the ancestral manor, Eaton Hall, six other huge estates, three mansions in London, an apartment in Paris, a shooting box in Normandy, a castle in Dieppe, villas in Cannes and Monte Carlo, a ranch in Canada, and a 12,000-acre farm in South Africa.
	The second duke served in the Boer War as aide-de-camp to Lord Roberts and there began his lifelong friendship with Winston Churchill. Back from South Africa in 1901, he married a teenaged court beauty, Constance Cornwallis‑West. During the long engagement she heard that the dashing young duke was spending his leaves in London with Mamie Atherton, a famous beauty. It is believed that a personal plea - or command - from King Edward VII was necessary to persuade Westminster to go through with the marriage. For all that, the union was a happy one for some years. Two daughters and a son were born, but the boy died at the age of five. It was the duke's tragedy that, despite four wives, he was never again to have a direct male heir.
	He spent his life shooting, hunting, playing polo and travelling the world. Then came World War I. As an officer of the Royal Horse Guards he immediately went to the Western Front as a staff officer with the British Commander-in-Chief, Sir John French [later 1st Earl of Ypres]. He took his own Rolls-Royce car with a machine-gun mounted in the back and with this waged a minor war of his own. In 1915 he was on Gallipoli. The following year he won a DSO when he commanded a fleet of armoured cars (supplied at his own expense) in a spectacular dash across the Egyptian desert to rescue 90 British prisoners.
	Back in England the duke was divorced by his first wife, who, among other things, alleged that one night he had locked her out of his Mayfair mansion. The new duchess was Violet, daughter of Sir William Nelson, a shipping magnate [and 1st baronet]. The union was a stormy one and lasted until 1926. The duchess told the divorce court how she had once burst into her husband's luxurious Monte Carlo residence to find it decorated with a number of attractive young girls. When she protested the duke threw a champagne glass at her. She was willing to forget that but the last straw came when she found a French countess on his yacht and had to fight a hair-pulling contest with her.
	Between such matrimonial misadventures, the Duke of Westminster roved the world, shooting wild boar in Albania, gambling in Monaco, cruising in his yachts and fishing in Norway, where he paid £6000 annually for sole rights to a certain river. One of his yachts, a steam vessel called the Cutty Sark, had been converted from a Royal Navy destroyer. The other, the Flying Cloud, was a four-masted schooner of 200 feet and carried a crew of 40. He had strings of horses which raced in England, Ireland and half a dozen continental countries. Each year the duke attended the Grand National in his own special train. Westminster was passionately devoted to dogs, especially to the score or so dachshunds which had the run of Eaton Hall in Cheshire. Guests were appalled not only by the dogs lying on the furniture of the great house, but also because no one had bothered to house-train them.
	In 1930, during a party at London's Cafe de Paris, the middle-aged duke met Loella Ponsonby, the young daughter of Sir Frederick Ponsonby [later Baron Sysonby], controller of the household of King George V. Next day she received a telephone message saying the duke was expecting her that evening at Eaton Hall to join a shooting party. She spent a day and two nights at the Cheshire residence and a week or so later accepted an invitation to dinner at Bourdon House in London. Driving her home later, Westminster casually pointed out a side street in which was the registry office where he married his second wife. Not long afterwards they were married in the same registry office. Winston Churchill was the best man.
	Five hectic years followed. The new duchess was rather frightened of her husband, but dazzled by his habit of leaving glittering presents of jewellery in her handbag. She once described him as "not a partner or companion, but a formidable and capricious autocracy - a czar, a sultan, a Jove hurling thunderbolts, a deity whom I was extremely anxious to placate and whom it was out of the question to treat as an equal".
	He was given to fits of ungovernable rages and the duchess prepared lists of conversation topics to prevent her friends and relatives starting him off when they visited her. Subjects to be attacked when talking to his Grace included White's Club, the Ritz Hotel, all performing animals, all modern art, Lady Cunard, Russia, royalty in general, but especially the King of Spain, Lord Londonderry, cocktail parties and Ramsay Macdonald. There was another list to be enthusiastic about - Ponticum rhododendrons, South Africa, the Marx Brothers, the London columnist Beachcomber, and the fictional character Jorrocks created by [Robert Smith] Surtees.
	Despite his reputation as a ladies' man, Westminster was incredibly prudish. He once threw from a train a book his wife was reading because he noticed the word "adultery" in it. He was also madly jealous and would sulk if she was 10 minutes late after visiting the hairdresser and create a scene if in a restaurant or night club she nodded to any man she knew. The duke once hurled a beautiful clock with diamond hands at her. It missed, hit the wall and shattered into a thousand pieces. Half an hour later the duke was back with the wastepaper basket and a brush and began collecting the pieces just in case his wife had any ideas of salvaging the diamonds. In 1935 the couple separated. Westminster paid his wife an allowance and they went different ways.
	Too old for service in World War II, the duke nevertheless is supposed to have engineered a secret, single-handed operation. It is believed that one night in 1942 he dashed to Nazi-occupied [France?] in a powerful launch and picked up an allied agent, Bettine Baudelot. Information gained from Bettina Baudelot is said to have assisted Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was then planning the Dieppe commando raid.
	In 1946 the duchess amicably divorced him and it was rumoured that the lovely Madame Baudelot would become the fourth Duchess of Westminster. Such was not the case. The duke married Nancy Sullivan, the 33-year-old daughter of an Irish brigadier. That union was said to have been Westminster's happiest.
	In the post-war years he plunged into work associated with the expansion of his real estate interests. His purchase of properties all over the world included £500,000 worth of land in Australia. It was a family dictum never to sell land and the duke stuck to it all his life. He kept all his vast estates intact until his death from coronary thrombosis in 1953. The title then passed to his 59-year-old invalid cousin, and enormous death duties meant the inevitable splitting-up at last of the ancient Westminster land holdings.
	The special remainders to the Viscountcy of Carlton and the Earldom of Wharncliffe
	From the London Gazette of 11 January 1876 (issue 24283, page 99):-
	The Queen has … been pleased to direct Letters Patent to be passed under the … Great Seal granting the dignities of a Viscount and Earl of the … United Kingdom to Edward Montagu Stuart Granville, Lord Wharncliffe, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the names, styles, and titles of Viscount Carlton, of Carlton, and Earl of Wharncliffe, both in the West Riding of the county of York; with remainder, in default of such issue male, to the Honourable Francis Dudley Stuart-Wortley (brother of the said Edward Montagu Stuart Granville, Lord Wharncliffe), and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten.
	Alan James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Wharncliffe
	According to his obituary, Wharncliffe had a colourful career, during which he was an able seaman, a stock-car driver, rock 'n roll drummer, publican and garage mechanic. In the late 1950s he became the publican of the Wortley Arms on the family estates near Sheffield. Here he was known to the local community as "Mad Ike", possibly due to his actions when he found a black and white tomcat in the pub's kitchen, and promptly shot it. Behind the pub was Wharncliffe Engineering, where he repaired cars.
	Unfortunately for Wharncliffe, cars were the cause of his downfall. He was banned from driving on several occasions, the last occasion being in 1976 when he was banned for three years for drink driving.
	On 3 April 1979, only 15 days after this ban expired, he was involved in a head-on collision in which he and the driver of the other car received serious injuries, and the wife of the driver of the other car was killed. Wharncliffe suffered multiple fractures, and was on a life-support machine for nearly six weeks, at one stage being pronounced clinically dead.
	Wharncliffe was charged with causing death by reckless driving. At his trial in July 1980, witnesses gave evidence that Wharncliffe had had two double brandies in 10 minutes before the crash. Wharncliffe denied this, saying he had only one double brandy and that the other car had crossed the white line on the road. However, the jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, and his driving licence cancelled for 10 years. Shortly after his release in 1981, his daughter was killed in a car crash, aged only 21.
	Philip Wharton, 1st and only Duke of Wharton
	The following biography of Wharton appeared in Robert Chambers' Book of Days first published in 1864:-
	Brilliant almost beyond comparison was the prospect with which this erratic nobleman began his earthly career. His family, hereditary lords of Wharton Castle and large estates in Westmorland, had acquired, by his grandfather's marriage with the heiress of the Goodwins, considerable property, including two other mansions, in the county of Buckingham. His father, Thomas, fifth Lord Wharton, was endowed with uncommon talent, and had greatly distinguished himself at court, in the senate, and in the country.
	Having proved himself a skilful politician, an able debater, and no less a zealous advocate of the people than supporter of the reigning sovereign, he had considerably advanced his family, both in dignity and influence. In addition to his hereditary title of Baron Wharton, he had been created Viscount Winchenden and Earl of Wharton in 1706; and in 1715, George I made him Earl of Rathfarnham and Marquis of Catherlough in Ireland, and Marquis of Wharton and Malmesbury in England. He was also entrusted with several posts of honour and emolument. Thus, possessed of a large income, high in the favour of his sovereign, the envy or admiration of the nobility, and the idol of the people, he lived in princely splendour - chiefly at Wooburn, in Bucks, his favourite country-seat, on which he had expended £100,000 merely in ornamenting and improving it.
	With the view of qualifying Philip, his only surviving son, for the eminent position he had achieved for him, he had him educated at home under his own supervision. And the boy's early years were as full of promise as the fondest or most ambitious father could desire. Handsome and graceful in person, he was equally remarkable for the vigour and acuteness of his intellect. He learned with great facility ancient and modern languages, and, being naturally eloquent, and trained by his father in the art of oratory, he became a ready and effective speaker. When he was only about nine years old, Addison, who visited his father at Winchenden House, Bucks, was charmed and astonished at 'the little lad's' knowledge and intelligence; and [Edward] Young [1683‑1765], the author of the Night Thoughts, called him 'a truly prodigious genius.' But these flattering promises were soon marred by his early predilection for low and dissolute society; and his own habits speedily resembled those of his boon companions. His father, alarmed at his perilous situation, endeavoured to rescue him from the slough into which he was sinking; but his advice and efforts were only met by his son's increased deceit and alienation. When scarcely fifteen years old, he contracted a clandestine marriage with a lady greatly his inferior in family and station. When his father became acquainted with this, his last hope vanished. His ambitious spirit could not bear the blow, and he died within six weeks after the marriage.
	Hope still lingered with the fonder and deeper affections of his mother. But self-gratification was the ruling passion of her son; and, reckless of the feelings of others, he rushed deeper and deeper into vice and degradation. His mother's lingering hope was crushed, and she died broken-hearted within twelve months after his father. These self-caused bereavements, enough to have softened the heart of a common murderer, made no salutary impression on him. He rather seemed to hail them as welcome events, which opened for him the way to more licentious indulgence. For he now devoted himself unreservedly to a life of vicious and sottish pleasures; but, being still a minor, he was in some measure subject to the control of his guardians, who, puzzled what was best to do with such a character, decided on a very hazardous course. They engaged a Frenchman as his tutor or companion, and sent him to travel on the Continent, with a special injunction to remain some considerable time at Geneva, for the reformation of his moral and religious character.
	Proceeding first to Holland, he visited Hanover and other German courts and was everywhere honourably received. Next proceeding to Geneva, he soon became thoroughly disgusted at the manners of the place, and, with contempt both for it and for the tutor who had taken him there, he suddenly quitted both. He left behind him a bear's cub, with a note to his tutor stating that, being no longer able to submit to his treatment, he had committed to his care his young bear, which he thought would be a more suitable companion to him than himself - a piece of wit which might easily have been turned against himself. He had proceeded to Lyons, which he reached on the 13th of October 1716, and immediately sent from thence a fine horse as a present to the Pretender, who was then living at Avignon. On receiving this present the Pretender invited him to his court, and, on his arrival there welcomed him with enthusiasm, and conferred on him the title of Duke of Northumberland.
	From Lyons he went to Paris, and presented himself to Mary D'Este, widow of the abdicated King James II. Lord Stair, the British ambassador at the French court, endeavoured to reclaim him by acts of courtesy and kindness, accompanied with some wholesome advice. The duke returned his civilities with politeness - his advice with levity. About the close of the year 1716, he returned to England, and soon after passed to Ireland; where he was allowed, though still a minor, to take his seat in parliament as Marquis of Catherlough. Despite his pledges to the Pretender, he now joined his adversaries, the king and government who debarred him from the throne. So able and important was his support, that the king, hoping to secure him on his side, conferred on him the title of Duke of Wharton. When he returned to England, he took his seat in the house as duke, and almost his first act was to oppose the government from whom he had received his new dignity.
	Shortly afterwards he professed to have changed his opinions, and told the ministerial leaders that it was his earnest desire to retrace his steps, and to give the king and his government all the support in his power. He was once more taken into the confidence of ministers. He attended all their private conferences; he acquainted himself with all their intentions; ascertained all their weak points; then, on the first important ministerial measure that occurred, he used all the information thus obtained to oppose the government, and revealed, with unblushing effrontery, the secrets with which they had entrusted him, and summoned all his powers of eloquence to overthrow the ministers into whose confidence he had so dishonourably insinuated himself. He made a most able and effective speech - damaging, indeed, to the ministry, but still more damaging to his own character. His fickle and unprincipled conduct excited the contempt of all parties, each of whom he had in turn courted and betrayed.
	Lost to honour, overwhelmed with debt, and shunned by all respectable society, he abandoned himself to drunkenness and debauchery. 'He drank immoderately', says Dr. King, 'and was very abusive and sometimes mischievous in his wine; so that he drew on himself frequent challenges [presumably to duels], which he would never answer. On other accounts likewise, his character was become very prostitute.' So that, having lost his honour, he left his country and went to Spain. While at Madrid he was recalled by a writ of Privy Seal, which he treated with contempt, and openly avowed his adherence to the Pretender.
	By a decree in Chancery his estates were vested in the hands of trustees, who allowed him an income of £1200 a year. In April 1726, his first wife died, and soon afterwards he professed the Roman Catholic faith, and married one of the maids of honour to the Queen of Spain. This lady, who is said to have been penniless, was the daughter of an Irish colonel in the service of the King of Spain, and appears only to have increased the duke's troubles and inconsistency; for shortly after his marriage he entered the same service, and fought against his own countrymen at the siege of Gibraltar. For this he was censured even by the Pretender, who advised him to return to England; but, contemptuous of advice from every quarter alike, he proceeded to Paris.
	From Paris the duke went to Rouen, and living there very extravagantly, he was obliged to quit it, leaving behind his horses and equipage. He returned to Paris, and finding his finances utterly exhausted, entered a monastery with the design of spending the remainder of his life in study and seclusion; but left it in two months, and, accompanied by the duchess and a single servant, proceeded to Spain. His erratic career was now near its close. His dissolute life had ruined his constitution, and in 1731 his health began rapidly to fail. He found temporary relief froma mineral water in Catalonia, and shortly afterwards relapsing into his former state of debility, he again set off on horseback to travel to the same springs, but ere he reached them, he fell from his horse in a fainting fit, near a small village, from whence he was carried by some Bernardine monks to a small convent near at hand. Here, after languishing for a few days, he died, at the age of thirty-two, without a friend to soothe his dying moments, without a servant to minister to his bodily sufferings or perform the last offices of nature.
	On the 1st of June 1731, the day after his decease, he was buried at the convent in as plain and humble manner as the poorest member of the community. Thus, in obscurity, and dependent upon the charity of a few poor monks, died Philip Duke of Wharton - the possessor of six peerages, the inheritor of a lordly castle, and two other noble mansions, with ample estates, and endowed with talents that might have raised him to wealth and reputation, had he been born in poverty and obscurity. By his death his family, long the pride of the north, and all his titles extinct [except for the barony of Wharton, which fell into abeyance]. The remnant of his estates was sold to pay his debts; and his widow, who survived him many years, lived in great privacy in London, on a small pension from the court of Spain.
	Charles Theodore Halswell Kemeys-Tynte, 7th Baron Wharton and the termination of the barony's abeyance in 1916
	The barony of Wharton had been in abeyance since 1731 when a petition to terminate the abeyance was made in 1915, as reported in The Times of 14 December of that year. The claim turned upon the method of creation of the barony of Wharton - was it created by way of a summons to Parliament (in which case it would descend to heirs general of either sex), or was it created by patent (in the absence of any special remainder, it would descend to heirs male of the body of the original grantee). The result of the petition was that the Committee for Privileges found that the peerage had been created with remainder to heirs general. The report in The Times mentioned above reads:-
	The Committee [for Privileges of the House of Lords] sat to hear the petition of Mr. Charles Theodore Halswell Kemeys-Tynte praying that the abeyance in the barony of Wharton should be determined in his favour.
	Inquiries had been made in 1843 whether the barony had been created by patent. By the special direction of the Committee inquiries were made whether any case was known in which a barony was created by patent and the patent was not to be found in the ordinary way enrolled and recorded. The result of the inquiries was that no patent was found either of the preliminary stages towards the perfecting of the patent or of the enrolment of the patent itself.
	The barony was created in 1543, the first holder being Mr. Thomas Wharton, a distinguished soldier and Governor of Carlisle. The barony afterwards descended to the Duke of Wharton, who died in 1731 after he had been outlawed.
	Since the first inquiry there had been introduced into the peerage and in other books on the like subject a letter which it was said had been found since that inquiry, and which it was contended had a bearing on the subject. This letter appeared in the Hamilton papers, which were sold to the German Government and afterwards bought back for the British Museum. The letters purported to be an account of the creation by "lettres patentes" of Baron Wharton and of his being appointed as Lord Warden of the East and Middle Marches. The letter purported to be signed by Lord Hertford and others.
	Subject to the question of the admissibility and the effect of this letter the proofs were purely formal.
	Mr. Boxall, K.C., on behalf of the petitioner, submitted that the letter of Lord Hertford was not admissible in evidence as it did not come from the proper custody, and that, even if it was, the expression "lettres patentes" was probably used in a loose sense as equivalent to a writ of summons, which would have the same appearance. The importance of the question was that a barony created by letters patent usually descended to heirs male only. But, so far as appeared from Lord Hertford's letter, this patent contained no limitations at all, and, unless the limitations could be presumed, the letters patent were void: Cruise on Dignities, cap. 3, sections 76, 77. [which reads as follows:- 76. It is laid down by lord Coke, that when a person is created a peer by letters patent, the state of inheritance must be limited by apt words, or else the grant is void; 77. The usual limitation in letters patent is to the heirs male of the body of the grantee. In some it is confined to his heirs male by a particular woman; and in some few it is limited, in default of heirs male, to heirs general, or to the eldest heir female.]
	The Attorney-General said that the letter came from the Hamilton Papers, a collection of documents of admitted authenticity; and he was prepared to prove that the letter was a genuine document. As to the effect of the letter, he could add nothing to what had already been stated.
	Lord Donoughmore intimated that the Committee were of opinion that the proofs should be proceeded with. In the result the Committee resolved that the petitioner and Mr. George Lockhart Rives, who made no claim to the barony, were the present co-heirs of the barony.
	Two months later, the abeyance was terminated in favour of Mr. Kemeys-Tynte. The Times of 16 February 1916 reported that:-
	The London Gazette of last night [issue 29475, page 1687] states that a Writ dated the 15th day of February, 1916, directed to Charles Theodore Halswell Kemeys-Tynte, of Halswell Park, in the County of Somerset, and Cefn Mably, in the County of Glamorgan, Esquire, summoning him to the Upper House of Parliament by the name, style, and title of Charles Theodore Halswell Kemeys-Tynte de Wharton, Chevalier, has been passed under the Great Seal, pursuant to Warrant under his Majesty's Royal Sign Manual.
	For a similar case, see the note under the barony of Eure.
	The Wicklow Peerage Case of 1869‑1870
	When the 4th Earl of Wicklow died on 22 March 1869, it was assumed that the rightful heir to the titles was his nephew, Charles Francis Arnold Howard. However, on 25 March 1869, the following letter appeared in The Times:-
	Sir - I am the widow of William George Howard, married to him at Kensington in February 1863. My infant son, born in May 1864, is now Lord Wicklow. My husband died the following October. Immediately on his death, most of the newspapers published letters and comments more or less untrue. The editors of the Peerages followed suit, and refused to correct their error without the authority of the late Earl, who was a total stranger to my late husband and myself. With respect to the estates and in justice to his creditors, I beg to observe that my husband was tenant-in-tail in remainder, and was at the time of his death, preparing to set aside a most unjust re-settlement of the estates forced upon him. His will made for the purpose will, I hope, enable me to establish my absolute claim on the property, and satisfy all just claims due by him. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Ellen Howard.
	Charles Howard engaged a solicitor to reply on his behalf. This reply politely doubted the truth of her claim to have been the wife of William Howard, or that she had borne him a son. The letter alleged that Mrs Howard had raised the same claim before the 4th Earl's death, that the Earl had offered to pay whatever costs were involved in enabling her to prove her claim if she could establish it on oath before the Probate Court, and that she had refused to do so.
	Mrs Howard, in a letter to The Times published on 30 March 1869, indignantly explained why she had not taken advantage of the late Earl's offer. 'I was asked,' she said, 'to cast doubts upon my child and myself by appealing to the Court of Probate to prove the legitimacy which no one had the right to challenge.'
	She followed this up this letter by filing an appeal to the House of Lords to have her claim to the earldom on her son's behalf upheld. The hearing of her appeal began on 21 June 1869, but was adjourned for three weeks to enable her to apply for legal assistance. Initially a Mr Charles Clark was appointed to represent her, but at subsequent hearings she was represented by no less than Sir John Duke Coleridge (later Baron Coleridge), the Solicitor General at the time. Where the money came from for her to be able to afford Coleridge is a mystery in itself.
	The case opened on a scandalous note when it was revealed that William Howard, whom Ellen claimed to have married in 1863, had died, 20 months later, in a Dublin brothel from acute alcoholism. Further scandal accumulated when Ellen was shown to be the grand-daughter of a Nellie Holmes, a prostitute in Georgian times who had tricked Lord Rivers into a short-lived marriage from which a daughter was born. This daughter had married a coachman named Richardson, Ellen and her sister Harriet being the children of this marriage. After the coachman died, Ellen's mother remarried, this time to a country parson named Butterfield, who was reputed to have been sadly addicted to drink. It was this clergyman, Ellen claimed, who officiated at her wedding to William George Howard.
	Ellen was forced to admit that she had been introduced to William George by a shadowy figure variously known as Bandenave, Bandenaoe, Baudenave and de Bordenave. It was suggested by Charles' counsel that de Bordenave and Ellen had been somewhat more than friends both before and after her marriage to William. De Bordenave claimed to be a member of the Spanish nobility and never appeared at the hearings to testify.
	Ellen testified that she had only consented to marry William 'on his promising to lead a steady life'. The Rev. Butterfield had then come to London from his Gloucester parish to perform the marriage ceremony on 24 February 1863. After their honeymoon, they set up home in London but, after a few months William failed to keep his promise to 'lead a steady life' and deserted her. He returned to Ireland and drank himself to death the following year. In the meantime she declared, a son had been born of the marriage; but his birth had not been registered, nor had he been christened.
	She was asked to call as witness the doctor or midwife who had attended her in her confinement, but she said that she had had no medical attendants at all, as the birth had come suddenly and was all over before a doctor could be called. In support of her story, she called a customs officer named Bloor, who was her landlord. Bloor testified that Mrs Howard had given birth to an infant in her rooms on 16 May 1864, without medical assistance. Bloor's wife and sister-in-law gave corroboratory evidence regarding the birth.
	In rebuttal, Sir Roundell Palmer (later Earl of Selborne) who appeared for Charles Howard, brought forward several witnesses who testified that they had frequently seen and spoken to Mrs Howard during the relevant period and at no time had she appeared to be about to become a mother. One of the witnesses, a dressmaker, testified that she had measured Mrs Howard for a frock a few days before the alleged date of the boy's birth and that her measurements were quite normal. A Dr. Baker Brown said that he had examined her two months after the alleged confinement, and swore that she showed no sign of ever having given birth. Indeed, he said, she suffered from a 'physical derangement' that made it extremely unlikely that she could ever have been a mother.
	Who, then, was the little boy? Charles' legal team suggested that, if he was Mrs Howard's son, it was likely that the elusive de Bordenave was the father - a suggestion she vehemently denied.
	The House of Lords Committee for Privileges finally adjourned for an indefinite period without making any decision on the matter, leaving the way open for either party to re-open the case at any time should either side have additional evidence. In the meantime, Charles Howard was to retain the title and estates. Ellen retired into obscurity and it was generally supposed that she had abandoned hope of proving her claim.
	However, at her request, the hearing was resumed in February 1870. She brought forward witnesses in an effort to prove that Dr. Baker Brown could not possibly have examined her and found her incapable of bearing children, since she was at her step-father's vicarage in Gloucestershire on the day Dr. Brown was said to have examined her. One of her witnesses was a servant at the vicarage who said she remembered the day well because that evening there had been a violent scene between the Rev. Butterfield and his wife, Mrs Howard's mother, when the bibulous clergyman had been discovered trying to smuggle a bag of wine into the vicarage by climbing up a ladder to his study. The altercation had ended when Mrs Butterfield threw a bottle of the forbidden liquor through a window, shattering the pane. The witness swore that there was such a row as she was never likely to forget. Other witnesses also swore that they had seen Ellen in Gloucestershire on the day Dr Brown was supposed to have examined her in London. For a while it looked as if Ellen's claim was looking quite hopeful …
	However, when the case resumed after a weekend adjournment, Charles' legal team begged leave to introduce four new witnesses from Liverpool. At the mention of 'Liverpool', Ellen was seen to suddenly go pale, and shortly afterwards it was noted that she was no longer in court. The hearing was therefore adjourned until she could be found. When she was finally brought before the Committee, she refused to be sworn until the four new witnesses had given their evidence. This caused a fierce verbal exchange between Mrs Howard and the Lord Chancellor (Lord Hatherley) and when she persisted in her refusal to be sworn, she was gaoled for three days for gross contempt of the House of Lords.
	When the hearing was resumed, a Mary Best from Liverpool declared that the four-year-old boy Mrs Howard claimed to be her son, and for whom she claimed the earldom, was a 'ring-in'. Best declared that the boy was really her son, born out of wedlock in the Liverpool Workhouse in August 1864. Mrs Howard, she said, had adopted him there, promising to 'bring him up as a gentleman' - and to pay her an amount of money which, however, was never paid. This testimony was supported by other witnesses from Liverpool, and Mrs Howard's case immediately collapsed.
	Even so, the committee examined the evidence for nearly a month before finally announcing its verdict on 31 March 1870. Lords Hatherley, Chelmsford, Colonsay and Redesdale expressed the fear that perjury had been committed by Mrs Howard and her witnesses; the remaining member of the committee, the Earl of Winchilsea, declared that 'the story told by Mrs Howard was utterly incredible, being only worthy to form the plot of a sensational novel. I regret that Mr. Baudenave, the principal mover in this conspiracy, will escape unscathed.'
	Charles Howard, the new Earl, seems to have acted with generosity towards Mrs Howard, for he allowed the charge of perjury raised against Mrs Howard to drop, and did not protest when £800 was awarded her towards her costs.

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