Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield (1706–1776) was an English politician and peer, the last of the Earls of Lichfield.
Birth and origins
Robert was born on 3 July 1706 in St. James Street, Westminster, London.[1] He was one of the ten children and the youngest of the sons of Edward Henry Lee and his wife Charlotte FitzRoy. His father was created the 1st Earl of Lichfield just before his marriage. Robert's mother was a natural daughter of Charles II and Barbara Villiers.[2]
Family tree
Robert Lee with wife, parents, and other selected relatives.[a]
On 17 September 1772, at the age of 66, Lee became the 4th Earl of Lichfield when the 3rd Earl, his nephew, died childless.[17]
Death, succession, and timeline
Lord Lichfield, as he now was, died childless on 4 November 1776,[18] falling off his horse while hunting near Ditchley.[19] He was buried in the All Saints church in Spelsbury in an elaborate marble monument by William Tyler (architect). He was the last Earl of this, the second, creation of the title. The earldom became extinct, but the estate went to his niece Lady Charlotte Lee, eldest surviving daughter of his brother, George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield. In 1744 Charlotte had married Viscount Dillon. Their son Charles Dillon, 12th Viscount Dillon inherited the estate at his mother's death in 1794. This included the house at Ditchley, which remained the home of the Viscounts Dillon until 1934.
^Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.
Citations
^ abCokayne 1893, p. 76, line 3. "He [Robert Lee] was b. [born] 3 July 1706, in St. James' Street Westm.;"
^Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 29. "His lordship [Edward Lee, 1st Earl] m. [married] Lady Charlotte Fits-Roy, natural dau. [daughter] of King Charles II., by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland ..."
^Cokayne 1893, p. 75, line 19. "Edward Henry Lee, styled Viscount Quarendon, 2d but 1st surv. s. [surviving son] and H. ap. [heir apparent], b. [born] at Windsor 6 June 1681, Col. of the Royal Reg. of Guards. He d.v.p. [predeceased his father] and unm. [unmarried] 1713."
^Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 35. "James, capt. R.N., m. [married] Sarah, dau. [daughter] of John Bagshaw, and d. [died] in 1711, s.p. [without issue]"
^Burke & Burke 1838, p. 89, right column, line 4. "The gentleman [George Browne] m. [married] first, in 1725, Lady Barbara Lee, youngest daughter of Edward, first Earl of Lichfield and widow of Colonel Lee ..."
^Betham 1801, p. 318, line 35. "Catherine [Stonhouse] was married in May 1745, to the hon. Robert Lee, afterwards Earl of Lichfield: she died his widow, March 8, 1784."
^ abCokayne 1893, p. 76, line 6. "He m. [married] 29 May 1745, at St. Paul's Cathedral London, Catherine, da. [daughter] of Sir John Stonehouse, Bart., of Radley ..."
^Burke & Burke 1915, p. 1892, right column, line 25. "4. Catherine, b. [born] 25 May, 1708, m. [married] 29 May, 1745, Robert Lee, Earl of Lichfield. He d.s.p. [died without issue] 4 Nov. 1776. She d. [died] 8 March 1784. "
^ abBurke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 72. "... but as he d.s.p. [died without issue] in 1772, the honours reverted to his uncle, Robert Lee as 4th earl ..."
^ abCokayne 1893, p. 76, line 8. "He d. s.p. [died without issue] at Ditchley, 4 Nov. 1776, aged 71 ..."
^"The Scots Magazine". Edinburgh: Sands, Brymer, Murray and Cochran. 1776. p. 622. His death was occasioned by a fall he received from his horse the Friday preceding, as he was hunting near Ditchley.
Fryde, Edmund Boleslaw; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology. Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, No. 2 (3rd ed.). London: Offices of the Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-86193-106-8. – (for timeline)