View source for Earl Grey

{{Short description|Hereditary English title of nobility}}{{More sources|date=November 2024}}{{Hatnote group|
{{distinguish|Earl de Grey}}
{{for multi|the tea blend|Earl Grey tea}}
{{other uses}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox nobility title
| name              = Earl Grey 
| image             = [[File:Coat of arms of the Earls Grey.svg|240px]] 
| image_size        =  
| alt               =  
| caption           = [[coat of arms|Arms]] of Earl Grey<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
'''[[Blazon]]'''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:left">
'''Arms:''' Gules, a lion rampant within a bordure engrailed argent, in dexter chief point a mullet or.

'''Crest''': A scaling ladder or, hooked and pointed sable.

'''Supporters''': Dexter, a lion guardant purpure, ducally crowned or; sinister, a tiger guardant proper.

'''Motto''': ''De bon vouloir servir le roy'' (To serve the king with good will).<ref>{{cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, baronet and knightage, |year=1899 |pages=654-656 |URL=https://ukga.org/browse.php?action=ViewRec&DB=33&bookID=224&pagecount=794}}</ref>
</div>
</div>
| creation_date     = 11 April 1806 
| creation          =  
| monarch           = [[George III|King George III]] 
| peerage           = [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]] 
| baronetage        =  
| first_holder      = [[Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey|Charles Grey, 1st Baron Grey]] 
| last_holder       =  
| present_holder    = Alexander Grey, 8th Earl Grey
| heir_apparent     = 
| heir_presumptive  = Christopher John Grey
| remainder_to      = the 1st Earl's [[heirs male]] [[heirs of the body|of the body]] lawfully begotten 
| subsidiary_titles = Viscount Howick<br />Baron Grey of Howick 
| status            = Extant 
| extinction_date   =  
| family_seat       =  
| former_seat       = [[Howick Hall]]<br />Fallodon Hall 
| motto             = ''De bon vouloir servir le roy'' <br />("To serve the King with good will") 
| footnotes         =  
}}

'''Earl Grey''' is a title in the [[peerage of the United Kingdom]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=15905 |date=29 March 1806 |page=407}}</ref> It was created in 1806 for General [[Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey|Charles Grey, 1st Baron Grey]]. In 1801, he was given the title '''Baron Grey''' of Howick in the County of Northumberland,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=15374 |date=9 June 1801 |page=646}}</ref> and in 1806 he was created '''Viscount Howick''' in the County of Northumberland, at the same time as he was given the earldom. A member of the prominent Grey family of Northumberland, Earl Grey was the third son of Sir Henry Grey, 1st Baronet of Howick<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=8500 |date=7 January 1745 |page=1}}</ref> (see below).

==History==
[[Image:Charlesgrey2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey]]]]
The first Earl Grey was succeeded by his eldest son, [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|Charles, 2nd Earl Grey]]. The second Earl was a prominent [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]] politician and served as [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] from 1830 to 1834, which tenure saw the passing of the [[Reform Act 1832]] and the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833. In 1808, he also succeeded his uncle as third Baronet, of Howick.

The second Earl was succeeded by his second (but eldest surviving) son, [[Henry Grey, 3rd Earl Grey|Henry, 3rd Earl Grey]]. The third Earl was also a Whig politician and served under [[John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|Lord John Russell]] as [[Secretary of State for War and the Colonies]] from 1846 to 1852. On his death, the titles passed to his nephew, [[Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey|Albert, 4th Earl Grey]], who was the son of General the Hon. [[Charles Grey (British Army officer)|Charles Grey]], third son of the second Earl. Lord Grey was [[governor general of Canada]] between 1904 and 1911. His son, [[Charles Grey, 5th Earl Grey|Charles, 5th Earl Grey]], was a major in the Army. He died without male issue and was succeeded by his second cousin once removed, [[Richard Grey, 6th Earl Grey|Richard, 6th Earl Grey]]. He was the great-great-grandson of Admiral the Hon. George Grey, fourth son of the second earl.  The 6th Earl died in September 2013 and was succeeded by his brother [[Philip Kent Grey, 7th Earl Grey|Philip, 7th Earl Grey]].

The '''Grey baronetcy''', of Howick in the County of Northumberland, was created in the [[Baronetage of Great Britain]] in 1746 for Henry Grey, [[High Sheriff of Northumberland]] in 1738. A member of an old Northumberland family, he was eighth in descent from Sir Thomas Grey, of Heton, elder brother of John Grey, 1st Earl of Tankerville (see the [[Earl of Tankerville]], 1418 creation), and fifth in descent from Sir Edward Grey, of Howick, uncle of William Grey, 1st [[Baron Grey of Warke]]. In 1720 he married Hannah, daughter of Thomas Wood of Fallodon near [[Alnwick]] in Northumberland. Grey was succeeded by his eldest son, the second baronet. He represented [[Northumberland (UK Parliament constituency)|Northumberland]] in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]]. He died unmarried and was succeeded by his nephew, the second Earl Grey. For further history of the baronetcy, see above.

Several other members of this branch of the Grey family have gained distinction. The Hon. George Grey (1767–1828), second son of the first Earl Grey, was created a baronet, of Fallodon in the County of Northumberland, in 1814 (see [[Grey baronets]]) and was the father of [[Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet]], and the great-grandfather of [[Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon]]. The Right Reverend the Hon. [[Edward Grey (bishop)|Edward Grey]] (1782–1837), fifth son of the first Earl, was [[Bishop of Hereford]] from 1832 to 1837. His fourth son [[Sir William Grey]] (1818–1878) served as [[Governor of Bengal]] from 1866 to 1871 and as [[governor of Jamaica]] from 1874 to 1877. His daughter Sybil Frances Grey (d. 1945) was the mother of Prime Minister [[Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon]]. Sir [[Paul Grey (diplomat)|Paul Francis Grey]], [[British Ambassador to Czechoslovakia]] from 1957 to 1960 and to [[British Ambassador to Switzerland|Switzerland]] from 1960 to 1964, was the grandson of Francis Douglas Grey, a son from the second marriage of the Right Reverend the Hon. Edward Grey, Bishop of Hereford. The aforementioned the Hon. [[Charles Grey (British Army officer)|Charles Grey]], third son of the second Earl, was a general in the Army. The aforementioned the Hon. George Grey (1809–1891), fourth son of the second Earl, was an [[admiral]] in the Royal Navy.

The family seats were [[Howick Hall]] and [[Fallodon Hall]] in [[Northumberland]]. The traditional burial place of the Earls Grey is [[St Michael and All Angels Church (Howick, Northumberland)|St Michael and All Angels Church, Howick]].

==Legacy==
[[Image:Grey's Monument Newcastle.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Grey's Monument]] in Newcastle]]

[[Earl Grey tea]] is named after the second Earl Grey.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kramer, Ione|title=All the Tea in China|url=https://archive.org/details/allteainchina00chow|url-access=registration|publisher=China Books|year=1990| isbn= 0-8351-2194-1| pages= [https://archive.org/details/allteainchina00chow/page/180 180–181]}}</ref>

[[Grey College, Durham]] is named after the second Earl Grey, commemorating his support for the Durham University Act 1832 that established the university during his term as prime minister.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reed.dur.ac.uk/xtf/view?docId=bookreader/DU_Warden/warden57/wr1957METSfile.xml#page/5/mode/1up|page=3|title=Report by the Warden for the year 1957-58|publisher=[[Durham University|The Durham Colleges in the University of Durham]]}}</ref>

The [[Grey Cup]], the championship trophy for the [[Canadian Football League]], is named after the [[Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey|4th Earl]], in 1909; at the time, Lord Grey was serving as [[Governor General of Canada]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kelly|first1=Graham|title=The Grey Cup: A History|date=1999|publisher=Johnson Gorman Publishers|location=Red Deer, Alberta|isbn=0-921835-53-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/greycuphistory0000kell/page/11 11]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/greycuphistory0000kell/page/11}}</ref>

A column topped with a statue of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (referred to locally as [[Grey's Monument]]), has a prominent location in the city of [[Newcastle upon Tyne]].

[[Grey County]] in [[Ontario]], Canada is named after the 2nd Earl Grey.

The Gateshead fiddler [[James Hill (folk musician)|James Hill]] (b. 1811 d. 1856) composed the tune "Earl Gray" in the Scottish [[Strathspey (dance)|Strathspey]] style, possibly to commemorate the opening of Grey's Monument in 1838. It still remains part of the traditional music repertoire of Scotland and Northumberland.<ref>"The Lads like Beer, Graham Dixon, Random Publications, {{ISBN|0-9511572-05}}</ref>

Earl Grey Street in Edinburgh was named after the 2nd Earl after his visit to the city in 1834.<ref>By the Three Great Roads, Aberdeen University Press</ref>

==Grey baronets, of Howick (1746) ==
{| style="text-align:center; width:70%" class="wikitable"
! colspan="6" style="background-color: #cbe" |Created by [[George II of Great Britain]]
|-
! style="width:10%%" | # !! style="width:25%" | Name !! Period !! style="width:20%" | Spouse !! style="width:25%" | Notes !! Other titles
|- bgcolor="#dddddd" |
|-
| 1 || [[Sir Henry Grey, 1st Baronet]]<br />(1691–1749) || 1746–1749  ||  ||  || 
|-
| 2 || [[Sir Henry Grey, 2nd Baronet]]<br />(1722–1808) || 1749–1808 ||  ||  || 
|-
| 3 || [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|Sir Charles Grey, 3rd Baronet]]<br />(1764–1845) || 1808–1845 || [[Mary Grey, Countess Grey|Mary Grey, Lady Grey]] || as 2nd Earl Grey, succeeded his uncle as 3rd Baronet. || 
|}

==Earls Grey (1806) ==
{| style="text-align:center; width:70%" class="wikitable"
! colspan="6" style="background-color: #cbe" |Created by [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|-
! style="width:10%%" | # !! style="width:25%" | Name !! Period !! style="width:20%" | Spouse !! style="width:25%" | Notes !! Other titles
|- bgcolor="#dddddd" |
|-
| 1 || [[Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey]]<br />{{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KB|PC}}<br />(1729–1807) || 1806–1807 || Elizabeth Grey, Countess Grey ||  || Baron Grey (1801)<br />Viscount Howick (1806)
|-
| 2 || [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey]]<br />{{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KG|PC}}<br />(1764–1845) || 1807–1845 || [[Mary Grey, Countess Grey]] ||[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] from 1830 to 1834 ||rowspan="7"|  Viscount Howick<br />Baron Grey<br />Baronet
|-
| 3 || [[Henry Grey, 3rd Earl Grey|Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey]]<br />{{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KG|GCMG|PC}}<br />(1802–1894) || 1845–1894 || Maria Copley, Countess Grey ||  
|-
| 4 || [[Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey|Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey]]<br />{{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCB|GCMG|GCVO|PC}}<br />(1851–1917) || 1894–1917 || Alice Holford, Countess Grey ||[[Governor General of Canada]] from 1904 to 1911; the [[Grey Cup]] is named after him
|-
| 5 || [[Charles Grey, 5th Earl Grey|Charles Robert Grey, 5th Earl Grey]]<br />{{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|DL}}<br />(1879–1963) || 1917–1963 || Mabel Palmer, Countess Grey, {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|CBE}} ||  
|-
| 6 || [[Richard Grey, 6th Earl Grey|Richard Fleming George Charles Grey, 6th Earl Grey]]<br />(1939–2013) || 1963–2013 || Margaret Ann Bradford, Countess Grey<br />(1966–1974)<br />Stephanie Caroline, Countess Grey<br />(1974–2013) ||
|-
| 7 || [[Philip Kent Grey, 7th Earl Grey]]<br />(1940–2023) || 2013–2023 || Ann Catherine Applegate, Countess Grey ||<ref>{{cite news
 | last = Reynolds
 | first = John
 | title = Cremation industry remembers Earl Grey as 'a lovely man' and 'inspirational leader'
 | newspaper = [[Hampstead & Highgate Express]]
 | date = 2013-09-23
 | url = http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/cremation_industry_remembers_earl_grey_as_a_lovely_man_and_inspirational_leader_1_2795446
 | access-date = 2013-09-23
 | archive-date = 26 September 2013
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130926064116/http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/cremation_industry_remembers_earl_grey_as_a_lovely_man_and_inspirational_leader_1_2795446
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref>
|-
| 8 || Alexander Edward Grey, 8th Earl Grey<br />(born 1968) || 2023–present || ||
|}

==Present peer==
Alexander Edward Grey, 8th Earl Grey (born 20 December 1968) is the son of Philip Kent Grey, 7th Earl Grey and his wife Ann Catherine Applegate. In October 1995, he married Ursula C. Boult, and they have a daughter, Alice Ursula Grey, born 1996.<ref name=BP2003>''[[Burke's Peerage]]'', volume 2 (2003), page 1664.</ref>
The [[heir presumptive]] is Christopher John Grey (born 1946), a first cousin of the present Earl's father.<ref name=BP2003/>

==Line of succession==
{{Collapse top|title={{small|Line of succession (simplified)}}}}
{{tree list}}
* [[Image:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|25px]] ''[[Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey]] (1729–1807)''
**[[Image:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|25px]] ''[[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey]] (1764–1845)''
***''Admiral Hon. George Grey (1809–1891)''
****''Francis William Grey (1860–1939)''
*****''George Archibald Grey (1886–1952)''
******''Albert Harry Grey (1912–1942)''
*******[[Image:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|25px]] ''[[Philip Kent Grey, 7th Earl Grey]]'' (1940–2023)
********[[Image:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|25px]] '''Alexander Edward Grey, 8th Earl Grey''' (born 1968)
******''Rodney York de Charmoy Grey (1921–2017)''
*******'''(1).''' Christopher John Grey (born 1946)
********'''(2).''' Duncan Colin Grey (born 1974)
*******'''(3).''' David York Grey (born 1947)
********'''(4).''' Michael Colin Grey (born 1982)
*********'''(5).''' Charles David Grey (born 2017)
*******'''(6).''' Simon Alexander Grey (born 1958)
*******'''(7).''' Marcus Edward Grey (born 1960)
**''[[Sir George Grey, 1st Baronet]] (1767–1828)''
***''Charles Samuel Grey (1811–1860)'' 
****''Edward George Grey (1858–1935)''
*****''Sir [[Robin Edward Dysart Grey]], 6th Baronet (1886–1974)''
******''Edward Elton Grey (1920–1962)''
*******'''(8).''' Sir Anthony Dysart Grey, 7th Baronet (born 1949)
********'''(9).''' Thomas Jasper Grey (born 1998)
**''Rt. Rev. Hon. [[Edward Grey (bishop)|Edward Grey]] (1782–1837)''
{{tree list/end}}
<ref>{{cite book |year=2019|chapter=Grey, Earl |editor1-last=Morris |editor1-first=Susan |editor2-last=Bosberry-Scott |editor2-first=Wendy |editor3-last=Belfield |editor3-first=Gervase |title=Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage|volume=1 |edition=150th |location=London |publisher=Debrett's Ltd. |pages=2814–2821 |arxiv= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn=978-1-999767-0-5-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |year=1956 |chapter=Grey of Falloden |editor1-last=Pine |editor1-first=L. G. |title=Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage|volume= |edition=101st |location=London |publisher=Burke's Peerage Limited |pages=972 |no-pp= |arxiv= |asin= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn= |ismn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |lccn= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |osti= |pmc= |pmid= |rfc= |ssrn= |zbl= |id= |access-date= |via= |quote= |name-list-style= |mode= }}</ref>

{{collapse bottom}}

==See also==
*[[Grey (surname)#Grey titles|Other Grey titles]]
*[[Grey Baronets]]
*[[Earl of Tankerville]]
*[[Baron Grey of Warke]]
*[[Earl de Grey|Earl De Grey]] (a slightly newer unrelated title for a different family)

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book |last=Hesilrige |first=Arthur G. M. |date=1921| title=Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy| url=https://archive.org/details/debrettspeeraget00unse/page/422 | location=[[London]], UK |publisher=[[Dean & Son]]|page=422}}

{{Extant British earldoms}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grey}}
[[Category:Earldoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Earls Grey| ]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1806]]
[[Category:1806 establishments in the United Kingdom]]