Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey (165625 August 1711) was an English diplomat, courtier and Tory politician from the Villiers family. He was created Baron Villiers and Viscount Villiers in 1691 and Earl of Jersey in 1697. A leading opponent of the Whig Junto, he was made Southern Secretary in 1699.
Family and early life
He was the son of Sir Edward Villiers (1620–1689) of Richmond, Surrey, by his wife Frances Howard, the youngest daughter of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, and Elizabeth Home.
His grandfather was Sir Edward Villiers (c. 1585 – 1626), Master of the Mint and Lord President of Munster, who was half-brother of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and of Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey. His sister was Elizabeth Villiers, the reputed mistress of King William III, who was later Countess of Orkney as the wife of George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney.
He was admitted to St John's College, Cambridge, in 1671 and took his Master of Arts in 1672.
Career
Following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Villiers was appointed Master of the Horse to Queen Mary II, and in June 1689 he succeeded his father as Knight Marshal to the royal household. On 20 March 1691 he was elevated to the Peerage of England as Viscount Villiers of Dartford and Baron Villiers of Hoo, in part owing to the influence of his sister, Elizabeth.
The Scottish spy, John Macky, observed that Lord Jersey was "a man of weak capacity [but] he makes a very good figure in his person, being tall, well-shaped, handsome, and dresses clean".
References
Bibliography
- Field, Ophelia. The Kit-Cat Club: Friends Who Imagined a Nation. HarperCollins 2009.