Earl of Kingston


Earl of Kingston is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1768 for Edward King, 1st Viscount Kingston. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles Baron Kingston, of Rockingham in the County of Roscommon, Viscount Kingston, of Kingsborough in the County of Sligo, Baron Erris, of Boyle in the County of Roscommon, and Viscount Lorton, of Boyle in the County of Roscommon, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He is also a baronet in the Baronetage of Ireland. Between 1821 and 1869 the earls also held the title Baron Kingston, of Mitchelstown in the County of Cork, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

Family history until 1755

The King family descends from Robert King, younger brother of John King, 1st Baron Kingston. In 1682 Robert King was created a baronet, of Boyle Abbey in the County of Roscommon. He subsequently represented County Roscommon and Boyle in the Irish House of Commons. He was succeeded by his son, John, the second Baronet, who also represented County Roscommon and Boyle in the Irish Parliament. John died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, Henry, the third Baronet, who like his father and brother represented County Roscommon and Boyle in Parliament. Henry was succeeded by his eldest son, Robert, the fourth Baronet, who sat as Member of Parliament for Boyle. In 1748, aged 24, Robert was created Baron Kingsborough in the Peerage of Ireland. However, he died unmarried only seven years later, at which time the barony became extinct.

Family history 1755–1869

Lord Kingsborough was succeeded in the baronetcy by his younger brother, Edward, the fifth Baronet, who represented Boyle and County Sligo in the Irish Parliament. In 1764 Edward was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Kingston, of Rockingham in the County of Roscommon, a revival of the barony held by his kinsmen which had become extinct three years earlier. He was further honoured when he was made Viscount Kingston, of Kingsborough in the County of Sligo, in 1766, and Earl of Kingston in 1768, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He was succeeded by his son, Robert, the second Earl, who represented County Cork in the Irish House of Commons. He married his kinswoman, the heiress Caroline Fitzgerald, daughter of Richard FitzGerald by the Honourable Margaret King, daughter of James King, 4th Baron King. Some detail is known about the lives of the second Earl and his wife, as they hired the pioneer educator and proto-feminist Mary Wollstonecraft as governess to their daughters. Her books Thoughts on the Education of Daughters and Original Stories from Real Life draw on her experiences under their roof at Mitchelstown Castle. The daughter she influenced the most was Margaret King, who, as Lady Mount Cashell, undertook a Grand Tour on the Continent, accompanied by her friend Catherine Wilmot, whose diaries were eventually published as An Irish Peer on the Continent, 1801–03.
The second Earl was succeeded by his eldest son, George, the third Earl, who represented County Roscommon in the Irish Parliament and later sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish Representative peer. In 1821 he was created Baron Kingston, of Mitchelstown in the County of Cork, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him and his descendants an automatic seat in the House of Lords. His eldest son, Edward, Viscount Kingsborough, was an antiquarian and also represented County Cork in the British Parliament. Lord Kingsborough predeceased his father, unmarried, and the earldom devolved on his younger brother, Robert, the fourth Earl. Robert sat as Member of Parliament for County Cork but was later declared to be of an "unsound mind". He died unmarried and was succeeded by his younger brother, James, the fifth Earl, who died childless in 1869, when the barony of Kingston created in 1821 became extinct.

Family history, 1869–present

The fifth Earl was succeeded in the remaining titles by his first cousin, Robert King, 2nd Viscount Lorton, who became the sixth Earl. Robert was the son of General the Honourable Robert King, fourth son of the second Earl, who had been created Viscount Lorton in the Peerage of Ireland in 1806. Robert, the sixth Earl, had previously represented County Roscommon in Parliament. He died in October 1869, only a month after succeeded in the earldom, and was succeeded by his elder son, Robert, the seventh Earl, who died two years later at the age of forty, without any male issue. The seventh Earl was succeeded by his younger brother, Henry, the eighth Earl, who was Lord-Lieutenant of County Roscommon and sat in the House of Lords as an Irish Representative peer. Henry married Frances Margaret Christina King-Tenison, daughter of Edward King-Tenison, of Kilronan Castle, County Roscommon, and assumed in 1883 by Royal licence the additional surname of Tenison. He was succeeded by his second but only surviving son, Henry, the ninth Earl, who fought in both the Second Boer War and the First World War and sat in the House of Lords as an Irish Representative peer. As of 2012 the titles are held by the ninth Earl's great-grandson, Robert, the twelfth Earl, who succeeded in 2002, the titles having descended from father to son. As of 31 July 2012, the twelfth Earl has not successfully proven his succession to the baronetcy and is therefore not on the Official Roll of the Baronetage. The baronetcy is considered dormant.

Other family members

Several other members of the King family may also be mentioned. The Honourable Sir Henry King, fourth son of the second Earl, was a politician and soldier. The Honourable James William King, younger son of the second Earl, was a rear-admiral in the Royal Navy. George King, son of Reverend the Honourable Richard FitzGerald King, younger son of the second Earl, was a major-general in the British Army. The Honourable Laurence Harman King-Harman, younger son of the first Viscount Lorton, was the father of Edward King-Harman, a politician, and Sir Charles King-Harman, High Commissioner to Cyprus.

Seats

The former seat of the King family was Mitchelstown Castle in Mitchelstown, County Cork which was burned down by the IRA in 1922. It was home of 1st. Lord Kingston.
Mitchelstown Castle 4th Lord Kingston in 1750 had a grand house, which was probably not the original castle.
Mitchelstown Castle a Georgian house was built by 2nd Earl Kingston. Subsequently demolished in 1823.
Mitchelstown Castle was designed by James and George Richard Pain for 3rd. Earl of Kingston to be the largest house in Ireland. it was home for 4th and 5th Earls.
King House, Boyle Co. Roscommon, Built for Henry King 3rd. Bt. in 1739, possibly incorporating an earlier 17th c. house. Abandoned by the family in early 19th c.
Rockingham, Boyle, Co. Roscommon built in 1810 by John Nash for Robert King, younger son of 2nd. Earl Kingston. Burnt accidentally 1957.
Kilronan Castle, Keadue, north County Roscommon. Kilronan, reconstruction of Castle Tenison, in 1880s for 8th. Earl of Kingston. Also the home of 9th Earl of Kingston. Abandoned in 1940s following its acquisition by the Irish Land Commission.
Reconstructed in 2000s for use as a hotel.

King baronets, of Boyle Abbey (1682)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Charles Avery Edward King-Tenison, Viscount Kingsborough.