Earl of Westmeath is a title 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 ...

. It was created in 1621 for Richard Nugent, Baron Delvin. During the

Tudor era The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began with t ...

the loyalty of the Nugent family was often in question, and Richard's father, the sixth Baron, died in prison while awaiting trial for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, a crime for which other members of the family had already been condemned. Richard himself when young was suspected of plotting rebellion and was imprisoned, but in later life, he was a staunch supporter of

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

, which rewarded him richly for his loyalty. The fifth Earl was a

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. The sixth Earl was sworn of the Irish Privy Council in 1758. His son by his first wife,

Richard Nugent, Lord Delvin Richard Nugent, Lord Delvin (1742 – 6 August 1761) was an Irish duellist and Member of Parliament. Nugent was the eldest son and heir of Thomas Nugent, 6th Earl of Westmeath and adopted the courtesy title of Lord Delvin in 1754 when his father a ...

, was killed in a duel at an early age. Lord Westmeath was succeeded by his second son by his second wife, the seventh Earl. He sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

as one of the original 28

Irish Representative Peers In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

; he was also involved in a much-publicised

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

following an action for

criminal conversation At common law, criminal conversation, often abbreviated as ''crim. con.'', is a tort arising from adultery. "Conversation" is an old euphemism for sexual intercourse that is obsolete except as part of this term. It is similar to breach of pro ...

against his wife and her lover. He was succeeded by his son, the eighth Earl. He was created Marquess of Westmeath in the

in 1822. He had no surviving male issue and the marquessate became extinct on his death in 1871. He was succeeded in the barony and earldom by his kinsman, Anthony Francis Nugent, the ninth Earl, who was a claimant to the title

Baron Nugent of Riverston Baron Nugent of Riverston, in County Westmeath, is a title of the Jacobite peerage in the Peerage of Ireland of complex status. The title was created on 3 April 1689 by James II after his deposition from the throne for Thomas Nugent, Lord Chief ...

. The eleventh Earl was an Irish Representative Peer from 1901 to 1933.

Barons Delvin (c. 1389/1486)

*William Fitzrichard Nugent, 1st Baron Delvin (died ) *Richard Nugent, 2nd Baron Delvin (died 1475) *Christopher Nugent, 3rd Baron Delvin (died ) *Richard Nugent, 4th Baron Delvin (died 1537) *Richard Nugent, 5th Baron Delvin (1523–1559) * Christopher Nugent, 6th Baron Delvin (1544–1602) * Richard Nugent, 7th Baron Delvin (1583–1642) (created Earl of Westmeath in 1621)

Earls of Westmeath (1621)

Richard Nugent, 1st Earl of Westmeath Richard Nugent, 1st Earl of Westmeath (1583–1642) was an Irish nobleman and politician of the seventeenth century. He was imprisoned for plotting against the English Crown in 1607, but soon obtained a royal pardon, and thereafter was, in gener ...

(1583–1642) *

Richard Nugent, 2nd Earl of Westmeath Richard Nugent, 2nd Earl of Westmeath (1621/23 – 25 February 1684) was an Irish nobleman. Life He was the grandson of Richard Nugent, 1st Earl of Westmeath and Jenet Plunkett. Nugent's father, Christopher, Lord Delvin, had predeceased the first ...

(1621–1684) * Richard Nugent, 3rd Earl of Westmeath (died 1714) * Thomas Nugent, 4th Earl of Westmeath (1669–1752) *

John Nugent, 5th Earl of Westmeath John Nugent, 5th Earl of Westmeath (1671 – 3 July 1754) was an Irish nobleman and professional soldier. He was the third son of Christopher Nugent, Lord Delvin and Mary Butler, daughter of Colonel Richard Butler. Nugent succeeded his brother, T ...

(1671–1754) *

Thomas Nugent, 6th Earl of Westmeath Thomas Nugent, 6th Earl of Westmeath KP PC (Ire) (April 1714 – 7 September 1792), styled Lord Delvin from 1752 to 1754 was an Irish peer and freemason. He gained the title Earl of Westmeath in 1754 on the death of his father John Nugent, 5th ...

(1714–1792) * George Frederick Nugent, 7th Earl of Westmeath (1760–1814) * George Thomas John Nugent, 8th Earl of Westmeath (1785–1871) (created Marquess of Westmeath in 1822)

Marquesses of Westmeath (1822)

* George Thomas John Nugent, 1st Marquess of Westmeath (1785–1871)

Earls of Westmeath (1621; Reverted)

* Anthony Francis Nugent, 9th Earl of Westmeath (1805–1879) * William St George Nugent, 10th Earl of Westmeath (1832–1883) *

Anthony Francis Nugent, 11th Earl of Westmeath Anthony Francis Nugent, 11th Earl of Westmeath, (11 January 1870 – 12 December 1933), styled Lord Delvin from 1879 to 1883, was an Irish peer. He was elected a Representative Peer in 1901. Lord Westmeath occupied properties at Pallas and Spring ...

(1870–1933) * Gilbert Charles Nugent, 12th Earl of Westmeath (1880–1971) * William Anthony Nugent, 13th Earl of Westmeath (born 1928) The

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

is the present holder's son Sean Charles Weston Nugent, Lord Delvin (born 1965).
The heir apparent's

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

is his brother Hon. Patrick Mark Leonard Nugent (born 1966).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Westmeath Earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland Noble titles created in 1621