Earl of Kingston
Earl of Kingston is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1768 for Edward King, 1st Viscount Kingston. He had already succeeded his father as fifth Baronet of Boyle Abbey and been created Baron Kingston, of Rockingham in the County of Roscommon in 1764 and Viscount Kingston in 1766, also in the Peerage of Ireland. The Baronetcy, of Boyle Abbey in the County of Roscommon, had been created in the Baronetage of Ireland in 1682 for his grandfather Robert King. The latter was the younger brother of John King, 1st Baron Kingston (a title which became extinct in 1761). Sir Robert's grandson, Sir Robert King, 4th Baronet, of Boyle Abbey, was created Baron Kingsborough in the Peerage of Ireland in 1748. However, this title became extinct on his death. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his aforementioned younger brother, Sir Edward King, 5th Baronet, for whom the barony of Kingston was revived in 1764. His son, the second Earl, represented County Cork in the Irish House of Commons. He married the heiress Caroline Fitzgerald (d. 1823).[1]. He was succeeded by his son, George King, the third Earl. He was created Baron Kingston, of Mitchelstown in the County of Cork, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1821. However, that title became extinct on the death of his younger son, the fifth Earl, in 1869. George's eldest son Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough was an antiquarian.
Some detail is known about the lives of the second Earl and his wife, as they hired the pioneer educator and proto-feminist Mary Wollstonecraft as governess to their daughters. Her books Thoughts on the Education of Daughters and Original Stories from Real Life draw on her experiences under their roof at Mitchelstown Castle. The daughter she influenced the most was Margaret King, who, as Lady Mount Cashell, undertook a Grand Tour on the Continent, accompanied by her friend Catherine Wilmot, whose diaries were eventually published as An Irish Peer on the Continent, 1801-03 (1920). Her eldest son was Stephen Moore, 3rd Earl Mount Cashell.
General the Hon. Robert Edward King, younger son of the second Earl of Kingston, was created Baron Erris and Viscount Lorton in the Peerage of Ireland in 1800 and 1806 respectively. He was tried for murder in a family scandal with international ramifications. His son, the second Viscount, succeeded to the earldom of Kingston in 1869.
As of 30 June 2006, the present holder of the Earldom has not successfully proven his succession to the Baronetcy and is therefore not on the Official Roll of the Baronetage. However, the case is under review by the Registrar of the Baronetage (for more information follow this link).
The former seat of the King family was Mitchelstown Castle in Mitchelstown, County Cork. They also owned Kilronan Castle in north County Roscommon. Kilronan, now a luxury hotel, is very near the village of Ballyfarnon in County Roscommon.
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[edit] Kings Baronets, of Boyle Abbey (1682)
- Sir Robert King, 1st Baronet (d. 1708)
- Sir John King, 2nd Baronet (d. 1720)
- Sir Henry King, 3rd Baronet (d. 1740)
- Sir Robert King, 4th Baronet (1724–1755) (created Baron Kingsborough in 1748)
[edit] Barons Kingsborough (1748)
- Robert King, 1st Baron Kingsborough (1724–1755) (extinct)
[edit] King Baronets, of Boyle Abbey (1682; Reverted)
- Sir Edward King, 5th Baronet (1726–1797) (created Earl of Kingston in 1768)
[edit] Earls of Kingston (1768)
- Edward King, 1st Earl of Kingston (1726–1797)
- Robert King, 2nd Earl of Kingston (1754–1799)
- George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839) (elected a Representative Peer in 1807)
- Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough (1795–1837)
- Robert Henry King, 4th Earl of Kingston (1796–1867)
- James King, 5th Earl of Kingston (1800–1869)
- Robert King, 6th Earl of Kingston (1804–1869)
- Robert Edward King, 7th Earl of Kingston (1831–1871)
- Henry Ernest Newcomen King-Tenison, 8th Earl of Kingston (1848–1896) (elected a Representative Peer in 1887)
- Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough (1873–1873)
- Henry Edwyn King-Tenison, 9th Earl of Kingston (1874–1946) (elected a Representative Peer in 1917)
- Robert Henry Ethelbert King-Tenison, 10th Earl of Kingston (1897–1948)
- Barclay Robert Edwin King-Tenison, 11th Earl of Kingston (1943–2002)
- Robert Charles Henry King-Tenison, 12th Earl of Kingston (b. 1969)
The heir apparent is the present holder's son Charles Avery Edward King-Tenison, Viscount Kingsborough (b. 2000).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
- Rebel Daughters: Ireland in conflict 1798 (2003) by Janet Todd
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [self-published source?][better source needed]
