Earl of Jersey

Earldom of Jersey
Arms of the 4th Earl of Jersey in 1790
Creation date	13 October 1697
Monarch	King William III
Peerage	Peerage of England
First holder	Edward Villiers
Present holder	William Child Villiers, 10th Earl
Heir apparent	George Child-Villiers, Viscount Villiers
Remainder to	the 1st earl's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles	Viscount Grandison Viscount Villiers Baron Villiers

Earl of the Island of Jersey, usually shortened to Earl of Jersey, is a title in the Peerage of England.

It was created in 1697 for the statesman Edward Villiers, 1st Viscount Villiers, Ambassador to France from 1698 to 1699 and Secretary of State for the Southern Department from 1699 to 1700. He had already been created Baron Villiers, of Hoo in the County of Kent, and Viscount Villiers, of Dartford in the County of Kent, in 1691, also in the Peerage of England. A member of the prominent Villiers family, he was the grandson of Sir Edward Villiers, brother of Sir William Villiers, 1st Baronet, of Brooksby, and half-brother of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey and John Villiers, 1st Viscount Purbeck. He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He represented Kent in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708. On his death the titles passed to his eldest son, the third Earl. In 1766, he succeeded his second cousin John Villiers, 1st Earl Grandison, as sixth Viscount Grandison through a special remainder in the letters patent.

His son, the fourth Earl, was a politician and served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, as Master of the Buckhounds and as Captain of the Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners. He was succeeded by his son, the fifth Earl. He was a Tory politician and served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household and as Master of the Horse. Lord Jersey married Sarah Sophia (d. 1867), daughter of John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland, and his wife Sarah Anne (d. 1793), daughter of Robert Child. Through this marriage the private bank Child & Co came into the Villiers family. In 1819, Lord Jersey assumed by Royal licence the additional surname of Child. On his death, the titles passed to his son, the sixth Earl. He sat as Conservative Member of Parliament for Rochester, Minehead, Honiton and Weymouth and Melcombe Regis and Cirencester. He succeeded in the earldom on 3 October 1859 and died on 24 October 1859, having held the title for only twenty-one days. Lord Jersey married Julia, daughter of Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, in 1841.