Earl Spencer is a title in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself re ...

that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the

County of Northampton Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It i ...

, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer. He was a member of the prominent Spencer family and a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Previously, he had been created Viscount Spencer, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, and Baron Spencer of Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, on 3 April 1761. The future 6th Earl Spencer was created Viscount Althorp, of Great Brington in the County of Northampton, on 19 December 1905 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 in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great ...

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, was the youngest of three daughters of the 8th Earl Spencer. The

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex are grandsons of the 8th Earl Spencer.

Land holdings

The family seat is Althorp in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

. Their estate includes significant land holdings in other parts of the country, including the village of

North Creake North Creake is a village and civil parish in the north west of the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 414 in 184 households at the 2001 census, reducing to 386 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

. The family also holds Spencer House in St James's,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the family is as follows: Quarterly argent and

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

, in the second and third quarters a fret or, over all on a bend

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...

, three escallops of the first. The crest, emerging from the coronet, is a griffin's head argent, gorged with a bar gemelle gules between two wings expanded of the second. The

supporter In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. However, unlike the coro ...

s are:

Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series '' Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' * Dext ...

, a

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon ( Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and ...

per fess ermine and erminois, gorged with a collar sable, the edges flory-counter-flory, and chained of the last, on the collar, three escallops argent;

sinister Sinister commonly refers to: * Evil * Ominous Sinister may also refer to: Left side * Sinister, Latin for the direction "left" * Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see de ...

, a

wyvern A wyvern ( , sometimes spelled wivern) is a legendary winged dragon that has two legs. The wyvern in its various forms is important in heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic teams (chiefly in the United States, U ...

erect on his tail ermine, collared and chained as the griffin. The

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...

is ''Dieu defend le droit'' (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: God protect the right).

Earls Spencer (1765)

* John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer (1734–1783) * George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758–1834) * John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer (1782–1845) * Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer (1798–1857) * John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer (1835–1910) *

Charles Robert Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer Charles Robert Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer, (30 October 1857 – 26 September 1922), styled The Honourable Charles Spencer until 1905 and known as Viscount Althorp between 1905 and 1910, was a British courtier and Liberal politician from the Sp ...

(1857–1922) *

Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, (23 May 1892 – 9 June 1975), styled The Honourable Albert Spencer until 1910 and Viscount Althorp from 1910 to 1922, and known less formally as Jack Spencer, was a British peer. He was the pater ...

(1892–1975) * Edward John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer (1924–1992) * Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer (b. 1964) The

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

is the present holder's son Louis Frederick John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (b. 1994).

Family tree

This is a continuation of the Spencer/Spencer-Churchill family tree for the Althorp branch of the Spencers found in the Spencer family article.

Line of succession

* '' John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer (1734–1783)'' ** '' George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758–1834)'' *** '' John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer (1782–1845)'' *** '' Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer (1798–1857)'' **** '' John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer (1835–1910)'' **** ''

Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer Charles Robert Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer, (30 October 1857 – 26 September 1922), styled The Honourable Charles Spencer until 1905 and known as Viscount Althorp between 1905 and 1910, was a British courtier and Liberal politician from the Spen ...

(1857–1922)'' ***** ''

Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, (23 May 1892 – 9 June 1975), styled The Honourable Albert Spencer until 1910 and Viscount Althorp from 1910 to 1922, and known less formally as Jack Spencer, was a British peer. He was the pate ...

(1892–1975)'' ****** ''

John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer Edward John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer, (24 January 192429 March 1992), styled Viscount Althorp until June 1975, was a British nobleman, military officer, and courtier. He was the father of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the maternal grandfather ...

(1924–1992)'' ******* Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer (b. 1964) ******** (1) Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp (b. 1994) ******** (2) The Hon. Edmund Spencer (b. 2003)

Arms

References

External links

Althorp – official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer Earldoms in the Peerage of Great Britain Noble titles created in 1765