Marquess of Willingdon was a title in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

. It was created on 26 May 1936 for the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician and colonial governor Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Earl of Willingdon. He was

Governor-General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

from 1926 to 1931 and

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

from 1931 to 1936. Freeman-Thomas had previously been created Baron Willingdon, of Ratton in the

County of Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, in 1910, Viscount Willingdon, of Ratton in the County of Sussex, on 23 June 1924, and on 20 February 1931, on his retirement as Governor General of Canada, he was made Viscount Ratendone, of Willingdon in the County of Sussex, and Earl of Willingdon. (''Ratendone'' was the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

spelling of the Freeman-Thomas's ancestral home in Ratton, Sussex.) These titles were also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Upon his death in 1941, the 1st Marquess of Willingdon was succeeded by his only surviving son,

Inigo Inigo derives from the Castilian rendering (Íñigo) of the medieval Basque name Eneko. Ultimately, the name means "my little (love)". While mostly seen among the Iberian diaspora, it also gained a limited popularity in the United Kingdom. Ear ...

. Inigo was a soldier and also served as

Liberal Chief Whip The Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats is responsible for administering the whipping system in the party which ensures that members attend and vote in parliament when the party leadership requires a majority vote. Whips, of which two are appoin ...

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 ...

from 1948 to 1949. Though married three times, he was childless and all the titles became extinct upon his death in 1979. The marquessate of Willingdon was the most recent marquessate to be created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The most recently created ''extant'' marquessate is now that of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, created in 1926.

Marquesses of Willingdon (1936-1979)

Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon (12 September 1866 – 12 August 1941), was a British Liberal politician and administrator who served as Governor General of Canada, the 13th since Canadian Confederation, and as Viceroy an ...

(1866–1941) **Hon. Gerard Frederick Freeman-Thomas (4 May 1893 – 14 September 1914) * Inigo Brassey Freeman-Thomas, 2nd Marquess of Willingdon (1899–1979)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willingdon Extinct marquessates in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1936 Noble titles created for UK MPs