Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1 December 1595 – 2 November 1677) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

between 1614 and 1625 and then succeeded to the peerage as

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 ...

Life

Sidney was born at

Baynard's Castle Baynard's Castle refers to buildings on two neighbouring sites in the City of London, between where Blackfriars station and St Paul's Cathedral now stand. The first was a Norman fortification constructed by Ralph Baynard ( 1086), 1st feudal ...

in London, the son of

Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester (19 November 1563 – 13 July 1626), second son of Sir Henry Sidney, was a statesman of Elizabethan era, Elizabethan and James I of England, Jacobean England. He was also a patron of the arts and a poet ...

, and his first wife, Barbara Gamage.W R Williams Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales
/ref> He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. In 1610 he was created Knight of the Bath when Prince Henry was created Prince of Wales. He was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Wilton in 1614. Sidney served in the army in the Netherlands during his father's governorship of

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushing ...

, and was given command of an English regiment in the Dutch service in 1616. In 1618 he became a member of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. In 1620 he had a disagreement with James Hay, Viscount Doncaster, who was his brother-in-law, having married

Lucy Percy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Luci ...

. He wrote that Hay seemed cold to him, despite their wives being friendly. They argued at Petworth, Sidney struggled with Hay's servants and left his hat behind. Other guests made him feel at fault for arguing with a privy councillor. He was elected one of the two

knights of the shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution ...

for

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 ...

in 1621. In 1624 he was elected as the member for

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

and was re-elected for that county in 1625. In 1626, he succeeded his father as Earl of Leicester In 1631, he began the construction of Leicester House, a huge mansion on the site of what is now

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

in London. He was employed on a diplomatic mission to

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe I ...

in 1632 and undertook further diplomatic work in France from 1636 to 1641. Lord Leicester was then appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

in place of The Earl of Strafford. When the governorship of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

became vacant, Leicester appointed

George Monck George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle JP KG PC (6 December 1608 – 3 January 1670) was an English soldier, who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support was cruc ...

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, however, overruled the appointment in favour of Lord Lambart. In 1643 he resigned without having set foot in Ireland. Lord Leicester died 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 ...

at the age of nearly 81. He was "esteemed of great learning, observation and veracity".

Family

In 1615, Sidney married Lady Dorothy Percy, the daughter of

Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, KG (27 April 1564 – 5 November 1632) was an English nobleman. He was a grandee and one of the wealthiest peers of the court of Elizabeth I. Under James I, Northumberland was a long-term prisoner i ...

and Dorothy Devereux, who was a daughter of

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...

.Arthur Collins, ''Letters and Memorials of State'', vol. 1 (London, 1746), pp. 121. They had twelve children, including: * Lady Dorothy (1617–1683); married firstly

Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland, 3rd Baron Spencer of Wormleighton (c. 23 November 1620 – 20 September 1643), known as The Lord Spencer between 1636 and June 1643, was an English peer, nobleman, and politician from the Spencer family who ...

(died 1643), and secondly Sir Robert Smith or Smythe. *

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

(1619–1697), the 3rd Earl; married Lady Catherine Cecil, daughter of

William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, (28 March 1591 – 3 December 1668), known as Viscount Cranborne from 1605 to 1612, was an English peer, nobleman, and politician. Early years, 1591–1612 Cecil was the son of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of ...

. *

Henry Sidney, 1st Earl of Romney Henry Sidney, 1st Earl of Romney (also spelt Sydney; March 1641 – 8 April 1704) was an English Whig politician, soldier and administrator. He is now best remembered as one of the Immortal Seven who drafted the Invitation to William of Ora ...

(1641–1704); died unmarried and without issue. * Algernon (1622/3–1683); executed for his share in the

Rye House Plot The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to the throne) James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the ...

, died unmarried and without issue. * Robert; died young. * Lady Lucy (d. 1685); married

Sir John Pelham, 3rd Baronet Sir John Pelham, 3rd Baronet (1623–1703) was an English landowner and Member of Parliament who sat in the Commons between 1645 and 1698. Personal details John Pelham was born in 1623, eldest son of Sir Thomas Pelham, 2nd Baronet, and his wi ...

. Philip and Algernon supported the Parliamentary cause in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

Life

Family

References

Further reading