Earl of Westmeath is a title in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

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

Tudor era In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...

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 (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

, a crime for which other members of the family had already been condemned. Richard himself when young was suspected of plotting

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

and was imprisoned, but in later life, he was a staunch supporter of

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

, which rewarded him richly for his loyalty. The fifth Earl was a Major-General in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. The sixth Earl was sworn of the

Irish Privy Council His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal execut ...

in 1758. His son by his first wife, Richard Nugent, Lord Delvin, was killed in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

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 is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

as one of the original 28

Irish representative peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords after the Kingdom of Ireland was brought into union with the Kingdom of Great Britain. No new members were added to the House after ...

s; 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 reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

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 pr ...

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 Jacobite title

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

. 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 (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 firs ...

(1621–1684) *

Richard Nugent, 3rd Earl of Westmeath Richard Nugent, 3rd Earl of Westmeath, born before 1669, died April 1714, was an Irish peer and Roman Catholic monk. Nugent was the eldest son of Christopher Nugent, Lord Delvin and Mary Butler (a daughter of Colonel Hon. Richard Butler and La ...

(died 1714) *

Thomas Nugent, 4th Earl of Westmeath Thomas Nugent, 4th Earl of Westmeath (1669 - 30 June 1752) was an Irish soldier and peer. He was the second son of Christopher Nugent, Lord Delvin and Mary Butler, daughter of Colonel Richard Butler. He was likely the resident of Coolamber Hall ...

(1669–1752) *

John Nugent, 5th Earl of Westmeath 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 * Second Ep ...

(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, 5 ...

(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 Anthony Francis Nugent, 9th Earl of Westmeath, (1 November 1805 – 12 May 1879) was an Irish peer. Biography Nugent was a descendant of Richard Nugent, 2nd Earl of Westmeath, but the title had been carried by a different line of the Nugents, wi ...

(1805–1879) *

William St George Nugent, 10th Earl of Westmeath William St George Nugent, 10th Earl of Westmeath, (28 November 1832 – 31 May 1883), styled Lord Delvin from 1871 to 1879, was an Anglo-Irish peer. Biography A son of Anthony Francis Nugent, 9th Earl of Westmeath and Anne Catherine Daly, Nugent ...

(1832–1883) * Anthony Francis Nugent, 11th Earl of Westmeath (1870–1933) *

Gilbert Charles Nugent, 12th Earl of Westmeath Gilbert Charles Nugent, 12th Earl of Westmeath (9 May 1880 – 20 November 1971), styled Hon. Gilbert Nugent until 1933, was a son of the 10th Earl and younger brother of the 11th. Nugent, born in Dublin,https://www.geni.com/people/Gilbert-Charle ...

(1880–1971) *William Anthony Nugent, 13th Earl of Westmeath (born 1928) The

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

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 a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

is his brother Hon. Patrick Mark Leonard Nugent (born 1966).Burke's Peerage 1999 edition page 2980

References

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