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Earldom of Spencer
Coronet of a British Earl
Spencer Arms
Arms of Spencer: Quarterly argent and gules, in the 2nd and 3rd quarters a fret or, over all on a bend sable three escallops of the first
Creation date 1 November 1765; 259 years ago (1 November 1765)
Monarch George III
Peerage Peerage of Great Britain
First holder John Spencer
Present holder Charles Spencer, 9th Earl
Heir apparent Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp
Remainder to the 1st Earl's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles Viscount Althorp
Viscount Spencer
Baron Spencer of Althorp
Seat(s) Althorp
Spencer House

Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer.[1][2] He was a member of the prominent Spencer family and a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Previously, he had been created Viscount Spencer, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, and Baron Spencer of Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, on 3 April 1761.[3][2]

The future 6th Earl Spencer was created Viscount Althorp, of Great Brington in the County of Northampton, on 19 December 1905 in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[4] Diana, Princess of Wales, was the youngest of three daughters of the 8th Earl Spencer. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex are grandsons of the 8th Earl Spencer.

Land holdings[]

The family seat is Althorp in Northamptonshire.[2] Their estate includes significant land holdings in other parts of the country, including the village of North Creake in Norfolk. The family also holds Spencer House in St James's, London.

Coat of arms[]

The coat of arms of the family is as follows: Quarterly argent and gules, in the second and third quarters a fret or, over all on a bend sable, three escallops of the first. The crest, emerging from the coronet, is a griffin's head argent, gorged with a bar gemelle gules between two wings expanded of the second. The supporters are: Dexter, a griffin per fess ermine and erminois, gorged with a collar sable, the edges flory-counter-flory, and chained of the last, on the collar, three escallops argent; sinister, a wyvern erect on his tail ermine, collared and chained as the griffin. The motto is Dieu defend le droit (French: God protect the right).[5]

Earls Spencer (1765)[]

Johnspencer

John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer,
by Thomas Gainsborough

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Louis Frederick John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (b. 1994).

Family tree[]

This is a continuation of the Spencer/Spencer-Churchill family tree for the Althorp branch of the Spencers found in the Spencer family article.



Spencer of Althorp

Family tree of Spencer family of Althorp



Line of succession[]

Arms[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^

    You must specify issue= and startpage= when using {{London Gazette}}. Available parameters: Template:London Gazette/doc/parameterlist

    , 5 October 1765.
  2. ^ a b c Burke, John (1833). A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. London: H. Colburn and R. Bentley. p. 466. https://books.google.com/books?id=yeo8AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA466. 
  3. ^

    You must specify issue= and startpage= when using {{London Gazette}}. Available parameters: Template:London Gazette/doc/parameterlist

    , 4 April 1761.
  4. ^

    You must specify issue= and startpage= when using {{London Gazette}}. Available parameters: Template:London Gazette/doc/parameterlist

    , 29 December 1905.
  5. ^ Townend, Peter, ed. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage (103rd Edition). Burke's Peerage Limited. pp. 2282. 


Further reading[]

  • Battiscombe, Georgina (1984) The Spencers of Althorp. London: Constable. ISBN 978-0-09-465700-7
  • Spencer, Charles (1999) Althorp: the story of an English house. London: Viking. ISBN 978-0-312-20833-2
  • Spencer, Charles (2000) The Spencers: a personal history of an English family. New York: St. Martin's Press ISBN 978-0-312-26649-3

External links[]

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This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Earl Spencer (peerage). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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