Earl of Radnor, in the County of Wiltshire, is a title which has been created twice. It was first created in the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...

in 1679 for John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes, a notable political figure of the reign of Charles II. The earldom was created for a second time in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself r ...

in 1765 when William Bouverie, 2nd Viscount Folkestone, was made Earl of Radnor. The Bouverie family descends from

William des Bouverie Sir William des Bouverie, 1st Baronet (26 September 1656 – 19 May 1717), was a merchant in London and a baronet in the Baronetage of Great Britain. He was the eldest of the seven sons of London Levant Company, Turkey merchant Sir Edward des Bouv ...

, a prominent London merchant. He was created a baronet of St Catherine Cree Church, London, in the Baronetage of Great Britain in 1714. His eldest son, the second Baronet, represented Shaftesbury in the House of Commons. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the third Baronet. He sat as Member of Parliament for Salisbury until he was raised to the

as Baron Longford and Viscount Folkestone in 1747. His son, the second Viscount, also represented Salisbury in Parliament. In 1765 he was made Baron Pleydell-Bouverie, of Coleshill in the County of Berkshire, and Earl of Radnor. The earldom was created with remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to the heirs male of his father. Both peerages were in the Peerage of Great Britain. He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He was Member of Parliament for Salisbury and served as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. The second Earl assumed the additional surname of Pleydell after succeeding to the estates of his maternal grandfather, Sir Mark Stuart Pleydell, 1st Baronet (see Pleydell Baronets). His son, the third Earl, represented Downton and Salisbury in the House of Commons. On his death the titles passed to his son, the fourth Earl. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire. He was succeeded by his son, the fifth Earl. He sat as Conservative Member of Parliament for

South Wiltshire South Wiltshire, formally known as the Southern division of Wiltshire or Wiltshire Southern was a county constituency in the county of Wiltshire in South West England. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliame ...

and Enfield and held political office as Treasurer of the Household from 1885 to 1886 under Lord Salisbury. His son, the sixth Earl, represented Wilton (also known as South Wiltshire) in Parliament as a Conservative and served as Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire. He was succeeded by his son, the seventh Earl. He notably held the honorary posts of Keeper of the Privy Seal and Lord Warden of the Stannaries and was made a Knight of the Garter in 1962. As of 2009, the titles are held by his grandson, also William Pleydell-Bouverie, the 9th Earl of Radnor, who succeeded his father in 2008. Successive Earls of Radnor were governors of the French Hospital from the eighteenth century to 2015. The family seats are Longford Castle, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, and Alward House, near Alderbury, Wiltshire.

Barons Robartes, first creation (1625)

Richard Robartes, 1st Baron Robartes Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

(d. 1634) * John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes (1606–1685) (created Earl of Radnor in 1679)

Earls of Radnor, first creation (1679)

* John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor (1606–1685) ** Robert Robartes, Viscount Bodmin (1634–1682) *

Charles Bodvile Robartes, 2nd Earl of Radnor Charles Bodvile Robartes, 2nd Earl of Radnor (1660–1723) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1679 until 1681 and again in 1685 until he inherited a peerage as Earl of Radnor. He was styled Viscount Bodmin from 1682 ...

(1660–1723) * Henry Robartes, 3rd Earl of Radnor (1695–1741) * John Robartes, 4th Earl of Radnor (1686–1757)

des Bouverie baronets, of St Catherine Cree Church (1714)

* Sir William des Bouverie, 1st Baronet (1656–1717) *

Sir Edward des Bouverie, 2nd Baronet Sir Edward des Bouverie, 2nd Baronet (1688 – 21 November 1736) was a British landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1719 to 1734. In 1717 he inherited his title three years after its grant to his father, and his combin ...

(c. 1690–1736) * Sir Jacob des Bouverie, 3rd Baronet (1694–1761) (created Viscount Folkestone in 1747)

Viscounts Folkestone (1747)

Jacob des Bouverie, 1st Viscount Folkestone Jacob Bouverie, 1st Viscount Folkestone (bapt. 14 October 1694 – 17 February 1761) was an English politician, known as Sir Jacob Bouverie, 3rd Baronet from 1737 to 1747. Early life Lord Folkestone was born Jacob des Bouverie and baptised on 14 ...

(1694–1761) * William Bouverie, 2nd Viscount Folkestone (1725–1776) (created Earl of Radnor in 1765)

Earls of Radnor, second creation (1765)

* William Bouverie, 1st Earl of Radnor (1725–1776) * Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor (1750–1828) * William Pleydell-Bouverie, 3rd Earl of Radnor (1779–1869) *

Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 4th Earl of Radnor Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 4th Earl of Radnor (18 September 1815 – 11 March 1889) was a British nobleman and army officer. He was the son of William Pleydell-Bouverie, 3rd Earl of Radnor and Judith Anne St John-Mildmay. He was styled Viscount Fol ...

(1815–1889) * William Pleydell-Bouverie, 5th Earl of Radnor (1841–1900) * Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 6th Earl of Radnor (1868–1930) * William Pleydell-Bouverie, 7th Earl of Radnor (1895–1968) * Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 8th Earl of Radnor (1927–2008) *William Pleydell-Bouverie, 9th Earl of Radnor (born 1955) The heir apparent is the present holder's eldest son Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, Viscount Folkestone (born 1999)

Ancestry and extended family

In an episode of the Dutch television show ''Verborgen Verleden'' (similar to the British '' Who Do You Think You Are?'') broadcast in November 2014, the Dutch architect Jan des Bouvrie found that his family was descended from Jehan de le Bouvrie (born about 1480), of Sainghin-en-Mélantois, where in 1543 his widow, Jeanne de la Motte, inherited a farm with four cows and two horses. A grandson of Jehan, the merchant Lawrence de Bouverie, born in Sainghin, migrated to England, where his descendant

was created a baronet and became the ancestor of the Earls of Radnor. Jan des Bouvrie hoped to meet the present-day Lord Radnor, but he would not agree to meet him for the television show.Verborgen Verleden, season 5, episode 6
(Jan des Bouvrie) at npo.nl (in Dutch)

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Radnor Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of England Earldoms in the Peerage of Great Britain Noble titles created in 1679 Noble titles created in 1765 Families of Wiltshire Peerages created with special remainders