George Villiers (of Brokesby)

For other people named George Villiers, see George Villiers (disambiguation).

Sir George Villiers, of Brokesby (1550 – 4 January 1606) was a minor member of the English gentry, notable as the father of the royal favourite George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. He was High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1591.

Villiers's first wife was Audrey Saunders (died 1588), with whom he had five children:

  1. Frances Villiers
  2. Sir Edward (died 1626), father of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Viscounts Grandison - grandparents of Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland mistress of King Charles II of England - ancestors of Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden
  3. William (died 1629), later created a baronet - title became extinct in 1712
  4. Elizabeth (died 1654), married John Boteler, 1st Baron Boteler - peerage became extinct in 1657
  5. Anne Villiers

Villiers married secondly Mary Beaumont (later Countess of Buckingham) and they had four children:

  1. Hon. John (c. 1590–1657), later created Viscount Purbeck married to Francis daughter of Sir Edward Coke - the peerage expired at his death
  2. Hon. George (1592–1628), later created Duke of Buckingham, married Katherine Manners, (daughter of the 6th Earl of Rutland) - the Buckingham title became extinct in 1687
  3. Hon. Christopher (died 1630), later created Earl of Anglesey - earldom and barony became extinct on the death of his son, the second Earl, in 1661.
  4. Lady Susan (died 1651), married William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh - parents-in-law to James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton

Common ancestor of sixteen British Prime Ministers

According to Thomson[1], Sir George is the common ancestor of fifteen British prime ministers

  1. The Third Duke of Grafton
  2. The Third Duke of Portland
  3. The Earl of Chatham (Pitt the Elder)
  4. William Pitt the Younger
  5. The Fourth Duke of Devonshire
  6. Lord Melbourne (assuming his father was Lord Egremont)
  7. Lord Grenville
  8. Lord Aberdeen
  9. Lord Derby
  10. Lord John Russell
  11. Lord Salisbury
  12. Arthur Balfour
  13. Sir Winston Churchill
  14. Sir Anthony Eden
  15. Sir Alec Douglas-Home
  16. David Cameron

see also Genealogical relationships of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom

References

  1. ^ Thomson, Gerald Malcolm. The Prime Ministers - From Robert Walpole to Margaret Thatcher. New York: William Morrow, 1981. page xxii. SBN 436 52045 1

External links