Earl of Oxford and Asquith
Encyclopedia
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. It was created in 1925 for the Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician H. H. Asquith
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
. He was Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
from 1892 to 1895, Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
from 1905 to 1908, Leader of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
from 1908 to 1926 and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
from 1908 to 1916. Asquith was made Viscount Asquith, of Morley in the West Riding of the County of York, at the same time, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. This title is used as a courtesy title
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
by the heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to the earldom. Asquith had originally wanted to be created simply 'Earl of Oxford'. However, this greatly offended the relatives of the dormant earldom of Oxford
Earl of Oxford
Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, held for several centuries by the de Vere family from 1141 until the death of the 20th earl in 1703. The Veres were also hereditary holders of the office of master or Lord Great Chamberlain from 1133 until the death of the 18th Earl in 1625...
, held for many centuries by the de Vere family, and in the face of opposition from them, another title had to be selected — the formal title 'Earl of Oxford and Asquith' was finally decided as a compromise, with it being abbreviated to 'Earl of Oxford' in everyday conversation and letters. The first Earl was succeeded in 1928 by his grandson, his eldest son Raymond Asquith
Raymond Asquith
Raymond Asquith was an English barrister and eldest son and heir of British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith by his first wife Helen Kelsall Melland .- Career and honours :...
having been killed in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The second Earl was a diplomat and administrator and served as Governor of the Seychelles from 1962 to 1967. He died in 2011 and was succeeded by his son, the third Earl and current holder of the title. The current Lord Oxford and Asquith is a retired diplomat.
Several other members of the Asquith family have also gained distinction. Raymond Asquith
Raymond Asquith
Raymond Asquith was an English barrister and eldest son and heir of British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith by his first wife Helen Kelsall Melland .- Career and honours :...
, eldest son of the first Earl and father of the second, was a barrister and intellectual. The Hon. Herbert Asquith, second son of the first Earl, was a poet, novelist and lawyer. The Hon. Arthur Melland Asquith (1883–1939), third son of the first Earl, was a Brigadier-General in the Army. The Hon. Cyril Asquith
Cyril Asquith, Baron Asquith of Bishopstone
Cyril Asquith, Baron Asquith of Bishopstone PC, QC was an English barrister, judge and law lord.Cyril Asquith was the fourth son of H. H. Asquith, later Prime Minister and subsequently Earl of Oxford and Asquith, from his first marriage, to Helen Kelsall Melland.He was educated at Winchester...
, fourth son of the first Earl, was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the House of Lords of the United Kingdom in order to exercise its judicial functions, which included acting as the highest court of appeal for most domestic matters...
and was created a life peer as Baron Asquith of Bishopstone in 1951. Violet Asquith, better known under her married name of Violet Bonham Carter, was a Liberal politician and was created a life peer as Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury in 1964. Her eldest son the Hon. Mark Bonham Carter
Mark Bonham Carter, Baron Bonham-Carter
Mark Raymond Bonham Carter, Baron Bonham-Carter , was an English publisher and politician. He was created a life peer in 1986.-Early life:...
was a publisher and politician and was created a life peer as Baron Bonham-Carter in 1986. His daughter is the life peer Jane Bonham Carter, Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
Jane Bonham Carter, Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
Jane Bonham Carter, Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury is a British Liberal Democrat politician.-Education:Bonham Carter was educated at St...
.
The Hon. Raymond Bonham Carter
Raymond Bonham Carter
The Honourable Raymond Henry Bonham Carter was a leading British banker, and a member of a distinguished British theatrical and political family....
, second son of Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury, was a banker and the father of the noted actress Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
and of Edward Bonham Carter
Edward Bonham Carter
Edward Henry Bonham Carter is an English fund manager.-Early life:Edward Henry Bonham Carter was born and raised in Golders Green, London. He is the elder son of Raymond Bonham Carter, who was a merchant banker, and Elena , a psychotherapist...
. Elizabeth Asquith
Elizabeth Bibesco
Elizabeth, Princess Bibesco was an English writer active between 1921 and 1940. A final posthumous collection of her stories, poems and aphorisms was published under the title Haven in 1951, with a preface by Elizabeth Bowen.-Childhood and youth:Elizabeth Charlotte Lucy was the first child of...
(better known by her married name of Elizabeth Bibesco), the only daughter from the second marriage of the first Earl, was a writer. She married the Romanian lawyer, diplomat and writer Prince Antoine Bibesco
Antoine Bibesco
Antoine, Prince Bibesco was a Romanian aristocrat, lawyer, diplomat and writer.- Biography :His father was Prince Alexandre Bibesco, the last surviving son of the Hospodar of Wallachia. His mother was Helene Epourano, daughter of a former Prime Minister of Romania...
in 1919. The Hon. Anthony Asquith
Anthony Asquith
Anthony Asquith was a leading English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on The Winslow Boy and The Browning Version , among other adaptations...
, only son from the second marriage of the first Earl, became a successful film director. The Hon. Dominic Asquith
Dominic Asquith
The Honourable Dominic Anthony Gerard Asquith CMG is a British diplomat. He was British Ambassador to Iraq between 2006 and 2007 and has been British Ambassador to Egypt since 2007.-Background and education:...
, second son of the second Earl, is a prominent diplomat and served as British Ambassador to Iraq from 2006 to 2007. Margot Asquith
Margot Asquith
Margot Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith , born Emma Alice Margaret Tennant, was an Anglo-Scottish socialite, author and wit...
(née Tennant), second wife of the first Earl, a socialite, author and wit, became the Countess of Oxford and Asquith upon her husband's becoming the first Earl.
Earls of Oxford and Asquith (1925)
- Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and AsquithH. H. AsquithHerbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
(1852–1928) - Julian Edward George Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and AsquithJulian Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and AsquithJulian Edward George Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith KCMG , was a British colonial administrator.-Background and education:...
(1916-2011) - Raymond Benedict Bartholomew Michael Asquith, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Asquith (b. 1952).
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's only son, Mark Julian Asquith, Viscount Asquith (b. 1979).
See also
- Asquith familyAsquith familyThe Asquiths were originally a middle class family from West Yorkshire, members of the Congregational church. The first prominent member of the family was H. H. Asquith, the British Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916. In 1925, Asquith was raised to the peerage as Earl of Oxford and Asquith. His...
- Earl of OxfordEarl of OxfordEarl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, held for several centuries by the de Vere family from 1141 until the death of the 20th earl in 1703. The Veres were also hereditary holders of the office of master or Lord Great Chamberlain from 1133 until the death of the 18th Earl in 1625...
- Venetia StanleyVenetia Stanley (1887–1948)Beatrice Venetia Stanley Montagu was a British aristocrat and socialite best known for the many letters that Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith wrote to her between 1910 and 1915...