The Capell (or Capel) family descends from Sir Arthur Capell of Raines Hall in
Essex and of Hadham in
Hertfordshire. His grandson
Arthur Capell represented
Hertfordshire in both the
Short and
Long Parliaments. In 1641 he was raised to the
Peerage of England as
Baron Capell of Hadham, in the County of Hertford. Capell later fought as a Royalist in the
Civil War. He was tried and condemned to death by the Parliamentarians and beheaded in May 1649. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. In 1661 he was created
Viscount Malden, in the County of Essex, and
Earl of Essex, with remainder, failing heirs male of his own, to, firstly, his brother Henry Capell (later Baron Capell of Tewkesbury; see below), failing which to, secondly, his brother Edward Capell. These titles are also in the Peerage of England. Lord Essex later served as
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and as
First Lord of the Treasury. On his death, the titles passed to his son, the second Earl. He was a
lieutenant-general in the army and served as
Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire. He was succeeded by his son, the third Earl. He served as
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard from 1739 to 1743 and was also Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire. When he died the titles passed to his son, the fourth Earl. He also served as Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire. He was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage, the fifth Earl. He sat in the
House of Commons for many years and was Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire from 1801 to 1817. Lord Essex assumed the surname of Coningsby. In 1839, at the age of seventy-six, he married the vocalist and actress
Catherine Stephens. He was succeeded by his nephew, the sixth Earl. He was the son of the Hon. John Thomas Capell, second son of the fourth Earl from his second marriage to Harriet Bladen. On his death, the titles passed to his grandson, the seventh Earl. He was the eldest son of Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur de Vere Capell, Viscount Malden, eldest son of the sixth Earl. The line of the sixth Earl failed on the death of the seventh Earl's grandson, the ninth Earl, in 1981. The succession was unclear and it was not until 1989 that the late Earl's third cousin once removed, Robert Edward de Vere Capell, managed to prove his claim, and became the tenth Earl. He was the great-grandson of the Hon. Algernon Henry Champagné Capell (younger brother of the sixth Earl), son of the aforementioned the Hon. John Thomas Capell (half-brother of the fifth Earl), son of the second marriage of the fourth Earl. the titles are held by his only son, the eleventh Earl, who succeeded in 2005. Two other members of the Capell family have also gained distinction. The Hon.
Henry Capell, second son of the first Baron, was a politician and was created
Baron Capell of Tewkesbury in 1692. The Hon. Sir Thomas Bladen Capell (1776–1853), youngest son of the second marriage of the fourth Earl, was an
admiral in the
Royal Navy. ==List of Earls of Essex==