John Sidney, 6th Earl of Leicester KB (14 February 168027 September 1737) was an English soldier, peer, landowner, and courtier, and from 1705 to 1737 was

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. Early creatio ...

, with a seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

Life

Leicester was born at his family seat of

Penshurst Place Penshurst Place is a historic building near Penhurst, Kent, south east of London, England. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney. The ori ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He was one of the five sons of

Robert Sidney, 4th Earl of Leicester Robert Sidney, 4th Earl of Leicester (17 December 1649 – 11 November 1702) was the son of Philip Sidney, 3rd Earl of Leicester, and the former Lady Catherine Cecil. Life As a child, Robert Sidney and his sister Dorothy had their portrait pa ...

(1649–1702) by Lady Elizabeth Egerton (1653–1709), the daughter of

John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater PC (30 May 1623 – 26 October 1686) was an English nobleman from the Egerton family. Life He was a son of John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater and his wife Lady Frances Stanley. His maternal grandpar ...

. Before inheriting the title and estates, Leicester was Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, 1702 to 1705, then briefly a member of the

English House of Commons The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of ...

as one of the two members for

Brackley Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the inters ...

, sitting as a Whig, and later in 1705 succeeded his brother,

Philip Sidney Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philip ...

, as Earl of Leicester. He was a

Lord of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

, 1717 to 1727,

Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinqu ...

, 1717 to 1728,

Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard The Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a UK Government post usually held by the Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords. The present Captain is The 9th Earl of Courtown, who was appointed to the position ...

, 1725 to 1731,

Lord Lieutenant of Kent This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Kent. Since 1746, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Kent. Lords Lieutenant of Kent * Sir Thomas Cheney 1551–? *William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham 3 July 1585 – ...

from 1724 until his death, a Privy Councillor and Constable of the Tower of London from 1731. Leicester died at Penshurst Place and is buried at

Penshurst Penshurst is a historic village and civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, within the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The village is situa ...

. His younger brother Jocelyn Sidney succeeded as 7th Earl of Leicester.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leicester, John Sidney, 6th Earl Of 1680 births 1737 deaths 6th Earl of Leicester Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath Lord-Lieutenants of Kent Lord-Lieutenants of the Tower Hamlets Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports Sidney, John Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain People from Penshurst Grenadier Guards officers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...