Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester

Robert Sidney
Alma mater Christ Church, Oxford
Title Earl of Leicester
Term 13 July 1626 – 2 November 1677
Spouse(s) Dorothy Percy
Children Dorothy Spencer, Countess of Sunderland (1617–1684)
Philip Sidney, 3rd Earl of Leicester (1619–1698)
Lord Algernon Sidney (1623–1683)
Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney (1641–1704)
Lord Robert Sidney
Lady Lucy Pelham
Parent(s) Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester
Barbara Gamage

Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1 December 1595 – 2 November 1677) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1625 and then succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Leicester.

Life

Sidney was born at Castle Barnard, the son of Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, and his first wife, Barbara Gamage.[1] He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. In 1610 he was created Knight of the Bath when Prince Henry was created Prince of Wales. He was elected Member of Parliament for Wilton in 1614.[1]

Sidney served in the army in the Netherlands during his father's governorship of Flushing, and was given command of an English regiment in the Dutch service in 1616. In 1618 he became a member of Gray's Inn. He was elected MP for Kent in 1621. In 1624 he was elected MP for Monmouthshire. He was re-elected MP for Monmouthshire in 1625. In 1626, he succeeded his father as Earl of Leicester in 1626.[1] In 1631, he began the construction of Leicester House, a huge mansion on the site of what is now Leicester Square in London. He was employed on diplomatic business in Denmark in 1632 and undertook further diplomatic work in France from 1636 to 1641.

Lord Leicester was then appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in place of The Earl of Strafford. When the governorship of Dublin became vacant, Leicester appointed George Monck. Charles I, however, overruled the appointment in favour of Lord Lambart. In 1643 he resigned without having set foot in Ireland.

Lord Leicester died at Penshurst at the age of nearly 81. He was "esteemed of great learning, observation and veracity".[1]

Family

Sidney married Dorothy Percy, the daughter of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland. They had twelve children, including:

Philip and Algernon supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War.

References

Further reading

Parliament of England
Preceded by
Sir Thomas Edmondes
Hugh Sandford
Member of Parliament for Wilton
1614
With: Thomas Morgan
Succeeded by
Henry Nevill, 9th Baron Bergavenny
Sir Thomas Tracy
Preceded by
Sir Peter Manwood
Sir Thomas Walsingham
Member of Parliament for Kent
1621
With: Sir George Fane
Succeeded by
Nicholas Tufton
Sir Edwin Sandys
Preceded by
Sir Edmund Morgan
Charles Williams
Member of Parliament for Monmouthshire
1624–1625
With: Sir William Morgan
Succeeded by
Nicholas Arnold
William Herbert
Political offices
Preceded by
The Earl of Strafford
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1640–1641
Succeeded by
The Marquess of Ormonde
Honorary titles
Preceded by
The Earl of Pembroke
Custos Rotulorum of Kent
1642–1646
Vacant
Interregnum
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Robert Sidney
Earl of Leicester
1626–1677
Succeeded by
Philip Sidney
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