Earl of St Germans, in the County of Cornwall, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for John Eliot, 2nd Baron Eliot, with remainder to his younger brother the Hon. William Eliot and the heirs male of his body. He had earlier represented Liskeard in Parliament. John and William were the second and third sons respectively of Edward Eliot, who represented St Germans, Liskeard and Cornwall in the House of Commons and served as a commissioner of the Board of Trade and Plantations. Eliot was the son of Richard Eliot and his wife Harriot, illegitimate daughter of James Craggs the Younger by his mistress, the noted actress Hester Santlow. In 1784 he was created Baron Eliot, of St Germans in the County of Cornwall, in the Peerage of Great Britain. In 1789 he assumed by Royal license the additional surname of Craggs. However, this surname has not been used by any of his descendants.
Lord Eliot's second but eldest surviving son, Edward James Eliot, predeceased him, and he was succeeded by his third son, the aforementioned first Earl of St Germans. He was succeeded according to the special remainder by his younger brother William, the second Earl. He was a diplomat and politician and notably served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. His only son, the third Earl, was also a prominent politician and held ministerial office as Chief Secretary for Ireland, Postmaster General, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and Lord Steward of the Household. His third but eldest surviving son, the fourth Earl, was in the Diplomatic Service and briefly represented Devonport in the House of Commons. In 1870 he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Eliot.
He never married and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fifth Earl. He was in the Foreign Office for many years. This line of the family failed on the death of his second but eldest surviving son, the sixth Earl, in 1922. The late Earl was succeeded by his first cousin, the seventh Earl. He was the eldest son of Colonel the Hon. Charles George Cornwallis Eliot, sixth son of the third Earl. He never married and was succeeded by his younger brother, the eighth Earl. He held several positions at court, notably as Gentleman Usher to King Edward VII and King George V. As of 2010[update] the titles are held by his grandson, the tenth Earl, who succeeded his father in 1988.
The title takes its name from the village of St Germans in Cornwall.
The family seat is Port Eliot near Saltash in Cornwall.
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The heir apparent is the present holder's grandson Albert Eliot, Lord Eliot (b. 2004)
The heir apparent's heir presumptive is his uncle the Hon. Louis Robert Eliot (b. 1968)