William Jennings Capell

For other people of the same name, see William Capell (disambiguation).
For other people of the same name, see William Jennings (disambiguation).

William Jennings "Bill" Capell (born 9 August 1952), a retired grocery clerk from Yuba City, California, is the heir presumptive to the Earldom of Essex. He will be the 12th Earl if the current earl, Paul Capell, 11th Earl of Essex (currently 71 and unmarried), dies without legitimate male issue. He had considered renouncing the earldom if it would require him to give up his United States citizenship. (Under the United Kingdom's Peerage Act 1963, a person may disclaim a hereditary peerage.) United States law requires only government officeholders without Congressional authorization and persons wishing to become naturalized citizens, however, to renounce titles of nobility. As Mr. Capell is in neither category, there would be no legal impediment to his use of the title as a U.S. citizen; indeed there is precedent in the case of the Earl of Wharncliffe, currently a Maine construction worker.

Like the sixth and later Earls of Essex, William Capell is descended from the younger son of the fourth Earl. His father Bladen Horace Capell claimed the title after the ninth Earl died in 1981, but Robert de Vere Capell (1920–2005) eventually proved that his ancestor Algernon was older than Bladen's ancestor Adolphus and thus took his seat in the House of Lords in 1989.

(Frances Hanbury Williams, d.1759)
 
William Anne Capell, 4th Earl
 
Harriet Bladen d.1821
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
George Capell, 5th Earl
 
The Hon. John Capel
m. Lady Caroline Paget
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Arthur Capell, 6th Earl
m. Lady Caroline Beauclerk
 
The Hon. Algernon Capell
m. Caroline Paget
 
The Hon. Adolphus Capell
m. Charlotte Maynard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Arthur de Vere Capell, Viscount Malden
m. Emma Meux
 
Charles Capell
m. Alice Bellairs
 
Rev. Horatio Bladen Capell
m. Ada Augusta Howkins
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
George de Vere Capell, 7th Earl
m. Eleanor Hartford
 
Arthur de Vere Capell
m. Alice Currie
 
Horace Capell
m. Clara Jackson
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Algernon de Vere Capell, 8th Earl
m. Mary Stewart Freeman
 
Robert de Vere Capell, 10th Earl
m. Doris Tomlinson
 
Bladen Ozro Capell
m. Madge Crawford
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Reginald de Vere Capell, 9th Earl
 
Paul de Vere Capell, 11th Earl
 
Bladen Horace Capell
m. Mae Walley
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
William Jennings Capell
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kevin Capell

In 2005, Capell made his first visit to England with his wife, daughter, and son-in-law. The visit was televised on the tabloid show Inside Edition.

He has two children:

If William succeeds to the earldom, Kevin will acquire the courtesy title Viscount Malden, and Jennifer will become The Lady Jennifer Cabrera.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, February 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.