The title of Earl of Athlone has been created three times.

History

It was created first in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

in 1692 by

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

for

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Baron van Reede, Lord of Ginkel, a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

nobleman, to honour him for his successful battles in Ireland including the

Siege of Athlone Athlone was besieged twice during the Williamite War in Ireland (1689–91). The town is situated in the centre of Ireland on the River Shannon and commanded the bridge crossing the river into the Jacobite-held province of Connacht. For this r ...

. The title also had the subsidiary title of Baron Aughrim. These titles became extinct in 1844 upon the death of the 9th

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particula ...

. The Earls also bore the

Dutch nobility The Dutch nobility is a small elite social class constisting of individuals or families recognized as noble, and with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The existence of nobility was established in the Constitution ...

title Baron van Reede (hereditary in male line; still extant in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

). The second creation was in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, as a subsidiary title of the Dukedom of Clarence and Avondale, and was conferred in 1890 upon Prince Albert Victor of Wales, the eldest son of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

. When he died in 1892, the title became extinct. The third creation was in 1917, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, for the former

Prince Alexander of Teck Major General Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone (Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George; born Prince Alexander of Teck; 14 April 1874 – 16 January 1957), was a British Army commander and major-general who served as Governor- ...

, younger brother of Queen Mary and great uncle of Queen Elizabeth II, along with the subsidiary title of Viscount Trematon. The earldom was given after the Titles Deprivation Act 1917, when members of the British Royal Family were forced to renounce their German royal titles. Alexander had two sons who predeceased him, and the titles became extinct after his death.

Earls of Athlone, First Creation (1692)

* Godard van Reede, 1st Earl of Athlone (1630–1703) *

Frederick Christiaan van Reede, 2nd Earl of Athlone Frederick Christiaan van Reede, 2nd Earl of Athlone, baron of Ginkel and Agrim, lord of Amerongen (Utrecht, 20 October 1668 - Sluis, 15 August 1719), was a Dutch general and diplomat in the service of the Dutch Republic during the Nine Years' War ...

(1668–1719) *

Godard Adriaan van Reede, 3rd Earl of Athlone Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

(1716–1736) *

Fredrik Willem van Reede, 4th Earl of Athlone Fredrik is a masculine Germanic given name derived from the German name '' Friedrich'' or Friederich, from the Old High German ''fridu'' meaning "peace" and ''rîhhi'' meaning "ruler" or "power". It is the common form of Frederick in Norway, Finlan ...

(1717–1747) *

Fredrik Christiaan Reinhart van Reede, 5th Earl of Athlone Fredrik is a masculine Germanic given name derived from the German name '' Friedrich'' or Friederich, from the Old High German ''fridu'' meaning "peace" and ''rîhhi'' meaning "ruler" or "power". It is the common form of Frederick in Norway, Finlan ...

(1743–1808) * Frederik Willem van Reede, 6th Earl of Athlone (1766–1810) * Reynoud Diederik Jacob van Reede, 7th Earl of Athlone (1773–1823) * George Godard Henry van Reede, 8th Earl of Athlone (1820–1843) * Willem Gustaaf Frederik van Reede, 9th Earl of Athlone (1780–1844)

Earls of Athlone, Second Creation (1890)

* Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward, 1st Duke of Clarence and Avondale, 1st Earl of Athlone (1864–1892)

Earls of Athlone, Third Creation (1917)

* Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone (1874–1957)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Athlone Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Noble titles created in 1692 Noble titles created in 1890 Noble titles created in 1917 1692 establishments in Ireland