The Villiers family was settled at Brooksby, Leicestershire, from at least 1235.[1] In the early 13th century, the tenant of Brooksby, Gilbert de Seis, married a member of the Villiers family, a line of minor gentry of Norman descent.[2] The estate remained in Villiers hands for the next 500 years. At this time Brooksby consisted of the hall, the nearby Church of St Michael and All Angels, Brooksby, a small number of peasants' houses and a field system with common land.[3]
In August 1614, the then twenty-one-year-old George Villiers became the favourite of King James I of England, and remained in this position until the king's death in 1625. Under James's patronage, Villers advanced rapidly through the ranks of the nobility. In 1615 he was knighted as a Gentleman of the Bedchamber, and in 1616 elevated to the peerage as Baron Whaddon and Viscount Villiers. He was made Earl of Buckingham in 1617, then Marquess of Buckingham in 1618, and eventually Earl of Coventry and Duke of Buckingham in 1623.[6] Buckingham was the king's constant companion and closest advisor. Even after James I's death, Buckingham remained at the height of royal favour under Charles I, until he was assassinated in 1628. Buckingham was buried in Westminster Abbey, while his titles passed to his son George (1628–1687), upon whose death they became extinct.
Continuing influence
As a royal favourite during the reigns of James I and Charles I, Buckingham used his enormous political influence to prodigiously enrich his relatives and advance their social positions, which soured public opinion towards him.[7] Under his influence, several members of his immediate family were made knights, baronets and peers. His half-brother Edward († 1626) was knighted in 1616, while his mother was created Countess of Buckingham in her own right in 1618 and his eldest half-brother William († 1629) was created a baronet in 1619. Two of Buckingham's other brothers were similarly honoured when John († 1658) was created Baron Villiers of Stoke and Viscount Purbeck in 1619, and Christopher († 1630) was created Baron Villiers of Daventry and Earl of Anglesey in 1623.
On the death of the 4th Viscount Grandison in 1699, the title passed to his grandson, the 5th Viscount. He was the son of Brigadier-General the Hon. Edward Villiers († 1693), eldest son of the 4th Viscount. In 1721 the 5th Viscount Grandison was created Earl Grandison. Upon his death in 1766, the earldom became extinct while the viscountcy passed to his second cousin William Villiers, 3rd Earl of Jersey, who became the 6th Viscount Grandison. In 1746 Elizabeth Mason, daughter of the 1st Earl Grandison, was created Viscountess Grandison, and in 1767 she was made Viscountess Villiers and Countess Grandison. All three titles became extinct on the death of the 2nd Earl Grandison in 1800.
James Villiers (1933–1998), actor. The grandson of Sir Francis Hyde Villiers and great-grandson of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon; his mother was descended from Earl Talbot.
Several members of the Villiers family have also been knights of the Order of the Garter. The following is a list is of all Villiers members of this order, across all branches of the family, along with their year of investiture.
^Thomson, Gerald Malcolm. The Prime Ministers - From Robert Walpole to Margaret Thatcher. New York: William Morrow (1981), p. xxii; ISBN978-0-688-00432-3; accessed 8 April 2014.