Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey

Who was Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey?

Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey son of Sir Edward Villiers of Richmond and Frances Howard, the youngest daughter of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk and Elizabeth Hume, was created Baron Villiers and Viscount Villiers in 1691 and Earl of Jersey in 1697.

His grandfather, Sir Edward Villiers, Master of the Mint and President of Munster, was half brother of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and of Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey; his sister was Elizabeth Villiers, the mistress of William III, and afterwards Countess of Orkney. Villiers was Knight Marshal to the royal household in succession to his father; Master of the Horse to Queen Mary; and Lord Chamberlain to William III and Queen Anne. He was admitted to St John's College, Cambridge in 1671.

In 1696 he represented his country at the Congress of Ryswick; he was ambassador at The Hague, and after becoming an earl was ambassador in Paris. In 1699 he was made Secretary of State for the Southern Department, and on three occasions he was one of the Lords Justices of England. In 1704 he was dismissed from office by Anne, and after this event he was concerned in some of the Jacobite schemes. He died on 25 August 1711 of apoplexy.