Earl of Cambridge

The title was first created by King Edward III on May 3, 1340 ^[1] for his brother-in-law, Margrave Julich Wilhelm I , who at that time was an important ally of the British in the Hundred Years War against the French. Later, the Anglo-German union broke up, but William continued to bear the title of Earl of Cambridge until his death, but his children did not inherit it.

On November 13, 1362, Edward III recreated the title for his 5th son Edmund Langley ^[2] , who later also received the title of Duke of York . After the death of Edmund until 1414, the title of Earl of Cambridge was worn by his eldest son Edward of Norwich , 2nd Duke of York. ^[3]

In 1414, King Henry V created the title of Earl of Cambridge for Richard Conisburg , the younger brother of Edward of Norwich, from whom this title was withdrawn ^[4] . Formally, this was a new creation of the title, but due to the fact that the title passed to the heir to Edward, Richard is often referred to in the sources as the 3rd Earl of Cambridge, and not the 1st. In 1315, Richard plotted against King Henry V, wanting to enthrone Edmund Mortimer , 5th Earl of March, brother of his late wife, but the plot was discovered, Richard was executed, and his possessions and titles confiscated.

After the death of Henry V, the regency council with his young heir, Henry VI, in 1426 returned to Richard of York, son and heir of Richard of Konisburg, the title of Earl of Cambridge, as well as the title of the Duke of York, vacant after his death in 1415 at the Battle of Agincourt Edward of Norwich ^{[5 ]} . Later, he was allowed to inherit the titles and possessions of his uncle, who died in 1425, Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl March. He also inherited the rights of the Mortimers to the English throne, which he later claimed, unleashing the Scarlet and White Rose wars . He died in 1460, all of his titles and claims were inherited by his eldest son, who became king of England in 1461 under the name Edward IV ^[6] . All titles after that were attached to the crown and disappeared.

In 1619, the King of England and Scotland, Jacob I, created the title of Earl of Cambridge for James Hamilton , the second Marquis of Hamilton , who at that time was on the 6th position in the list of heirs to the Scottish crown. At the same time, the title was combined with the title of Baron Innerdale ^[7] . His heir, James Hamilton , was one of the main supporters of King Charles I. It was made by the Duke of Hamilton in 1643, and the titles of the Marquis of Clydesdale and the Earl of Arran and Cambridge were created for him ^[8] . After the execution of King Charles I in 1649, the Duke of Hamilton was executed. His only son died before his father, so the titles passed to his younger brother William , who before that wore the title of Earl of Lanark ^[9] . He died in 1651, his son died before his father. Some of the titles were inherited by his niece Anna , daughter of the 1st Duke of Hamilton, but the title of Earl of Cambridge disappeared.

In 1659, King Charles II recreated the title of Earl of Cambridge along with the title of Duke of Gloucester for his younger brother Henry Stewart , but the next year he died childless. ^[10] In 1664, the title of Earl of Cambridge was recreated simultaneously with the titles of the Duke of Cambridge and Baron Downtsey for the young son of the youngest son, Charles II, Duke of York, the future King James II . However, James died after 3 years, after which the title again disappeared ^[11] . The last time the Earl of Cambridge was created in 1667 (again, along with the titles of the Duke of Cambridge and Baron Downsay) for Edgar Stewart , the newborn son of the Duke of York, but he also died in infancy ^[12] .

The Earl of Cambridge was no longer recreated.

Earls of Cambridge 1st Creation (1340)

• 1340 - 1361 : Wilhelm of Julich (c. 1299 - February 26, 1361), Earl of Julich (Wilhelm V (VI)) 1328-1356, Duke of Julich (Wilhelm I) from 1356, 1st Earl of Cambridge from 1340

Earls of Cambridge, 2nd Creation (1362)

• 1362 - 1402 : Edmund Langley (June 5, 1341 - August 1, 1402), 1st Earl of Surrey from 1447, 1st Earl of Cambridge from 1362, 1st Duke of York from 1385, son of King Edward III
• 1402-1414 : Edward of Norwich (1373 - October 25, 1415), 1st Earl of Rutland in 1390–1402, 1st Earl of Cork from 1395, 1st Duke of Albermarl in 1397–1399 and 1414-1415, 2nd Duke York from 1402, 2nd Earl of Cambridge in 1402-1414, son of the previous

Earls of Cambridge, 3rd Creation (1414)

• 1414 - 1415 : Richard Conisburg (September 1375/1376 - August 5, 1415), 1/3rd Earl of Cambridge from 1414, son of Edmund Langley
• 1426 - 1460 : Richard of York (September 21, 1411 - December 30, 1460), 3rd Duke of York and 2nd / 4th Earl of Cambridge from 1426, 6th Earl of March, 9th Earl of Ulster, 8th Baron Mortimer of Wigmore from 1432, son of the previous
• 1460 - 1461 : Edward of York (April 28, 1442 - April 10, 1483), 7th Earl of March 1445, 3rd Duke of York, 9th Earl of Ulster, 3rd Earl of Cambridge and 9th Baron Mortimer of Wigmore 1460-1461, king of England (as Edward IV) in 1461-1470 and 1471-1483, son of the previous

Earls of Cambridge 4th Creation (1619)

• 1619 - 1625 : James Hamilton (1589 - March 2, 1625), 2nd Marquis Hamilton from 1604, 1st Baron Aberbrotwick from 1608, 4th Earl of Arran and 5th Baron Hamilton from 1609, 1st Earl of Cambridge and 1st Baron Innerdale from 1619
• 1625 - 1649 : James Hamilton (June 16, 1606 - March 9, 1649), 3rd Marquis Hamilton, 5th Earl of Arran, 2nd Earl of Cambridge, 2nd Baron Innerdale, 2nd Baron Aberbrotwick and 6th Baron Hamilton from 1625, 1st Duke of Hamilton, 1st Marquis of Clydesdale, 1st Earl of Arran and Cambridge, 1st Baron Aven and Innerdale from 1643, son of the previous
• 1649 - 1651 ' : William Hamilton (December 14, 1616 - September 12, 1651), 1st Earl of Lanark and 1st Baron Macheansayr and Polmont from 1639, 2nd Duke of Hamilton, 4th Marquis of Hamilton, 2nd Marquis of Clydesdale 6th Earl of Arran, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, 2nd Earl of Arran and Cambridge, 3rd Baron Innerdale, 3rd Baron Aberbrootwick, 7th Baron Hamilton and 2nd Baron Aven and Innerdale from 1649, brother previous

Earls of Cambridge 5th Creation (1659)

• 1659 - 1660 : Henry Stewart (July 8, 1640 - September 13, 1660), 1st Duke of Gloucester and 1st Earl of Cambridge from 1659, son of King Charles I

Earls of Cambridge, 6th Creation (1664)

• 1664 - 1667 James Stewart (July 12, 1663 - June 20, 1667), 1st Duke of Cambridge, 1st Earl of Cambridge and 1st Baron Downtsey from 1664, son of the future King James II

Earls of Cambridge 7th Creation (1667)

• 1667 - 1671 Edgar Stewart (September 14, 1667 - June 8, 1671), 1st Duke of Cambridge, 1st Earl of Cambridge and 1st Baron Downtsey from 1667, son of the future King James II

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biograph. - Oxford University Press, 2004.
• The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom / GE Cokayne, revised and edited by the Hon. Vicary Gibbs et al. - 2nd edition revised. - 1910-2000.

• Cambridge thePeerage.com. Date of treatment January 20, 2014.