Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford

Who was Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford?

Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford KG PC was the son of Robert de Vere, 19th Earl of Oxford and his wife Beatrix van Hemmend.

Aubrey was a Royalist during the English Civil War, and for this he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. He was richly rewarded for his loyalty by Charles II after the Restoration in 1660. He later took the side of William of Orange against James II in the Glorious Revolution.

On 12 April 1647, he married Anne Bayning, a daughter of Paul Bayning, 2nd Viscount Bayning. Anne died in 1659 and Aubrey married Diana Kirke, daughter of George Kirke and granddaughter of Aurelian Townshend. They had five children:

⁕Charles, who died as an infant.

⁕Charlotte, died young

⁕Lady Diana de Vere, who married King Charles II's illegitimate son, Charles Beauclerk, Duke of St Albans.

⁕Mary, died unmarried

⁕Henrietta, died unmarried

Since he had no surviving sons and as no other suitable claimant came forward, he became the last de Vere Earl of Oxford, one of the longest-lived titles in the peerage of England. The first de Vere earl had received his title from the Empress Matilda in 1141.