Edward Bligh, 2nd Earl of Darnley

Who was Edward Bligh, 2nd Earl of Darnley?

Edward Bligh, 2nd Earl of Darnley was an English peer.

He was born the eldest son of John Bligh, 1st Earl of Darnley and Theodosia Hyde, Baroness Clifton, and was educated at Westminster and at Geneva. He succeeded his mother to become Baron Clifton in 1722 and, in 1728, succeeded his father as Earl of Darnley.

He was a Grand Master of Freemasons, a Fellow of the Royal Society and in 1742 was made a Lord of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales: a position that he held until his death. He was one of the Whigs who, under the auspices of William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, opposed Robert Walpole's office. He never married, but seems to have been the lover of the popular Irish actress Margaret Woffington.

According to Westminster Abbey's Funeral Book and Burke's Peerage he died at the family seat Cobham Hall and was buried at Westminster Abbey on 1 August 1747, aged 31.