Thomas Coke, 3rd Earl of Leicester

Who was Thomas Coke, 3rd Earl of Leicester?

Thomas William Coke, 3rd Earl of Leicester GCVO, CMG, TD, known as Viscount Coke until 1909, was a British peer and soldier.

Leicester was the eldest son of Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester, by his first wife Juliana. He was a Colonel in the 2nd Battalion of the Scots Guards and served in Egypt in 1882, at Suakin in 1885 and in the Second Boer War. He also held the honorary post of Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk from 1906 to 1929.

Lord Leicester married the Hon. Alice Emily White, daughter of Luke White, 2nd Baron Annaly, on 26 August 1879. They had five children:

Lady Alexandra Marie Bridget Coke d. 1984, married David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie

Thomas William Coke, 4th Earl of Leicester born 9 July 1880, died 21 August 1949

Hon. Arthur George Coke, born 6 April 1882, killed in action 21 May 1915, father of Anthony Coke, 6th Earl of Leicester

Lady Marjory Alice Coke, born 1884, died 24 December 1946

Hon. Roger Coke, born 28 December 1886, died 14 Oct 1960

Lady Leicester died in 1936. Lord Leicester survived her by five years and died in November 1941, aged 93. He was succeeded the earldom by his eldest son Thomas.