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The goal of this project is to consolidate and organize the profiles associated with the title Earl of Arundel. See below on full description of the title.
Status
Collaborators welcome! Please contact Tobias Jungen.
History
The title Earl of Arundel is the oldest extant Earldom and perhaps the oldest extant title in the Peerage of England. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used (along with the Earldom of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. It was created in 1138 for the Norman baron Sir William d'Aubigny. Until the mid-13th century, the Earls were also frequently known as Earl of Sussex, until this title fell into disuse. At about the same time, the Earldom fell to the originally Breton FitzAlan family, a younger branch of which went on to become the Stuart family which later ruled Scotland.
A tradition arose that the holder of Arundel Castle should automatically be Earl of Arundel, and this was formally confirmed by King Henry VI. However, this was not always consistently followed. Some of the Lords of Arundel were never addressed as Earl during their lifetime, but nevertheless are counted and numbered as earls here. Other sources may not include some of the earls listed below, and may consider the earldom to have been created more than once.
In his 1834 book on the Earls of Arundel, M. A. Tierney (Chaplain to the Duke of Norfolk) maintains that the first incarnation of the Earldom was with the House of Montgomery. William the Conqueror's top generals, and William bestowed on him, amongst several hundred other manors, the property at Arundel, with the charge to fortify it with a castle. Montgomery is believed to have built the motte that survives to this day, and is thought to have built a wooden keep on it, overlooking the river Arun. Montgomery and two of his sons are counted by many as being the first incarnation of the Earldom, but are often not counted amongst the Earls.
In 1580 the 23rd Earl of Arundel, the fourth Howard to hold the title, was restored to the principal Howard title of Duke of Norfolk in 1660, and the title has descended with that Dukedom ever since.
In 1842 by Royal Warrant, Henry Howard, 14th Duke of Norfolk and 32nd Earl of Arundel, and his siblings, assumed the surname FitzAlan-Howard, used by the family line to the present day.
Source: Wikipedia
List of Earls
This is the complete list of individuals who have held the title Earl of Arundel. Note that this is not an unbroken chain, as the title frequently passed to brothers, nephews, and son-in-laws when no male heir was born. As of the 23rd Earl of Arundel, the title is tied to the title Duke of Norfolk.
- William "Strong Hand" d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel
- William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel
- William "the Crusader" d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel
- William d'Aubigny, 4th Earl of Arundel
- Hugh d'Aubigny, 5th Earl Of Arundel
- John FitzAlan, 6th Earl of Arundel
- John FitzAlan, 7th Earl of Arundel
- Richard FitzAlan, 8th Earl of Arundel
- Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel
- Richard "Copped Hat" FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel
- Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel
- Thomas FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel
- John FitzAlan, 13th Earl of Arundel
- John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel
- Humphrey FitzAlan, 15th Earl of Arundel
- William FitzAlan, 16th Earl of Arundel
- Thomas FitzAlan, 17th Earl of Arundel
- William FitzAlan, 18th Earl of Arundel
- Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel
- Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel
- Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel
- Henry Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel
- Thomas Howard, 5th Duke of Norfolk, 23rd Earl of Arundel
- Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk, 24th Earl of Arundel
- Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk, 25th Earl of Arundel
- Thomas Howard, 8th Duke of Norfolk, 26th Earl of Arundel
- Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk, 27th Earl of Arundel
- Charles Howard, 10th Duke of Norfolk, 28th Earl of Arundel
- Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk, 29th Earl of Arundel (missing)
- Bernard Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk, 30th Earl of Arundel
- Henry Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk, 31st Earl of Arundel
- Henry FitzAlan-Howard, 14th Duke of Norfolk, 32nd Earl of Arundel
- Henry FitzAlan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, 33rd Earl of Arundel
- Bernard FitzAlan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk, 34rd Earl of Arundel
- Miles FitzAlan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk, 35th Earl of Arundel
- Edward FitzAlan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk, 36th Earl of Arundel
- Henry FitzAlan-Howard, heir apparent to Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Arundel