Edward Coke, Viscount Coke (2 February 1719 – 31 August 1753), styled The Hon. Edward Coke from 1728 to 1744, was a British Member of Parliament. He represented

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

in Parliament from 1741 to 1747 and

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

from 1747 to his death. He was the only child and heir of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, and his wife Margaret Coke, 19th Baroness de Clifford. The

family estate An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which would historically generate income for its owner. British context In the UK, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, and woods that s ...

was at

Holkham Hall Holkham Hall ( or ) is an 18th-century English country house, country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for the Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation), 1st Earl of Leicester ...

, Norfolk.

Marriage

He was married on 1 April 1747 to Lady Mary Campbell (6 February 1727 – 30 September 1811), the fifth and youngest daughter of the soldier and politician

John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Duke of Greenwich, (10 October 1680 – 4 October 1743), styled Lord Lorne from 1680 to 1703, was a Scottish nobleman and senior commander in the British Army. He served on the contine ...

(1680–1743), and his second wife, Jane (c.1683–1767), a

maid of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen r ...

to Queen Anne and Caroline, Princess of Wales. Their courtship had been strained, and in retaliation Edward left her alone on their wedding night and from then on virtually imprisoned her. She reacted by refusing to have sex with him. She never used the title Viscountess Coke. Their families went to litigation, and eventually produced a settlement in 1750 whereby Lady Mary could live with her mother at Sudbrook but had to remain married to Edward until his death. He died in 1753, when Mary was 26, predeceasing his father. They had no children and the earldom thus became extinct when his father died in 1759. His father's estate, including Holkham Hall, went instead to Edward's cousin. Lady Mary never remarried.

Ancestry

Sources

* https://web.archive.org/web/20120301185712/http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/index1369.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20181006224549/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Ncommons2.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20091220042104/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Hcommons1.htm * http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/coke-hon-edward-1719-53 1719 births 1753 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Harwich Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Norfolk British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 Heirs apparent who never acceded Edward, Viscount Coke British courtesy viscounts {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub