Earls of Richmond (early Lords of Richmond) of Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary held by the herald to
Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond •
Alan Rufus (–1093) – built
Richmond Castle, ally of
William the Conqueror •
Alan the Black () •
Stephen, Count of Tréguier (1058/1062–1136) – the younger brother of Alan Rufus
Earls of Richmond, 1st Creation (1136) •
Alan the Black, 1st Earl of Richmond () – third son of Stephen of Treguier; husband of
Bertha, Duchess of Brittany, daughter of
Conan III. Alan died before she became Duchess. •
Conan IV, Duke of Brittany () – son of Alan the Black and Bertha of Brittany; the first
Duke of Brittany to hold the title directly; the Earldom was seized in 1158 by
Henry II of England after Conan seized the County of Nantes and it was returned to Conan when the latter returned the County of Nantes to Henry II. The latter acted as a regent when Conan abdicated in favour of his daughter Constance of Brittany and would later confer the title on his son Geoffrey in connection with his marriage to Constance. •
Constance, Duchess of Brittany (1183–1201). •
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany – Earl of Richmond
jure uxoris (1183-1186). •
Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester – Earl of Richmond jure uxoris (1189–1198). •
Guy of Thouars – Earl of Richmond
jure uxoris (1199–1201). •
Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (1196–1203) – son of Geoffrey and Constance; succeeded his mother in her lifetime. Imprisoned by his uncle King John of England (
Jean sans Terres) since 1202, disappeared in 1203 and viewed as having died in 1208. The circumstances of Arthur's death were a factor in the rebellions that culminated in French royal intervention and King John's consequent loss of the continental empire that had been assiduously constructed by his father King Henry II. •
Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany – Titular Hereditary Countess of Richmond. She was Constance's daughter and Arthur's sister. She was considered by some to have succeeded to the Earldom as the 5th Countess of Richmond. Imprisoned initially by King John of England (
Jean sans Terres) and then his successor King
Henry III. John gave her no lands of the earldom. She died 1241 after a lifetime of imprisonment since 1202. During her life imprisonment, John I had offered the Earldom to
Peter Mauclerc, who declined the offer but was still recognized as Earl of Richmond in 1218 under William Marshal regent of Henry III, by which time Eleanor ceased to be styled as countess. Meanwhile, Henry III had a law passed in England that prevented Eleanor from any English inheritances to the crown. She never regained Richmond even after Peter later forfeited it in 1235. •
Alix, Duchess of Brittany (1203–1221) – daughter of Constance and Guy of Thouars. She succeeded her half-brother. Although her half-sister Eleanor used the title
Countess of Richmond in the same time, Alix made charters about this estate and used the title from 1203 to her death in 1221. •
Peter I, Duke of Brittany (1213–1218) – Earl of Richmond
jure uxoris. Alix was Countess of Richmond from 1203 to 1221.
Earls of Richmond, 2nd Creation (1218) •
Peter I of Brittany (1190–1250), forfeit 1235 – the husband of Alix of Thouars, the heiress of Constance of Brittany; Peter also ruled as Duke of Brittany
jure uxoris, and later as regent of Brittany. He was a member of the House of Dreux and was known at various times in his life as
Pierre de Dreux,
Pierre Mauclerc and
Pierre de Braine.
King John offered him the earldom in his own right, but Peter declined because of his links to the King of France. However, in 1218 he was still recognized as Earl of Richmond by
William Marshal regent of John I's son,
Henry III. He forfeited any rights to the Earldom during the reign of Henry III.
Earls of Richmond, 3rd Creation (1241) •
Peter II, Count of Savoy (1203–1268) – in 1240 was granted the
Honour of Richmond by
Henry III, but he never assumed the title of Earl; under his will, he left the Honour of Richmond to his niece the queen,
Eleanor of Provence, who transferred it to the crown.
Earls of Richmond, 2nd Creation (restored 1268) •
John I, Duke of Brittany (1217–1286), restored to the Earldom by
Henry III; resigned peerage in 1268 to his son,
John de Dreux, the future Duke John II, upon John's marriage to
Beatrice, Henry III's daughter •
John of Dreux, Earl of Richmond (1239–1305) – eventually, Duke John II of Brittany; married to
Henry III's daughter
Beatrice; this marriage was meant to bring the Earl of Richmond under the "shield of England" during the reign of Henry III when tensions rose with France; John de Dreux would become Duke of Brittany after Beatrice's death. Beatrice, therefore, never became Duchess of Brittany. •
John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond (1266–1334) – received his title from his father
John II, Duke of Brittany in 1306 and entered into
Edward I's service; lost his lands in 1325 for a time when he allied himself with Queen Isabella to force the abdication of her husband Edward II in favour of her son Edward III; his lands were restored by
Edward III. •
John III, Duke of Brittany (1286–1341) – received this title in 1334 upon John of Brittany's death after he had inherited the Duchy of Brittany in 1312 upon the death of
Arthur II, Duke of Brittany; he was John of Brittany's nephew and the eldest son of
Arthur II and a grandson of
John II.
Earls of Richmond, 4th Creation (1341) •
Robert of Artois (1287–1342), received the earldom as a reward for service and loyalty to
Edward III of England during the first four years of the
Hundred Years War. His claims was at the expense of
John of Montfort, the pro-English claimant to the duchy of Brittany. John was compensated with the
Honour of Richmond, the first time the title was separated from the land it represented. Robert only held the title for a year before dying in support of Montfort near
Vannes during the
Breton War of Succession.
Earls of Richmond, 5th Creation (1342) •
John of Gaunt, 1st Earl of Richmond (1340–1399), a son of
Edward III; surrendered earldom 1372 to
Edward III; other estates merged into the crown at his death under
Richard II Earls of Richmond, 2nd Creation (restored 1372) From 1341, the title and honour were separated permanently. Members of the Montfort family of Brittany regained the honour in 1372, lost and regained it in 1381, lost it again in 1384, regained it briefly in 1420, but lost it permanently in 1425 when Arthur, second son of John IV of Brittany, joined the French side and became
constable of France in the final phase of the Hundred Years War. The family continued to use the title until the merger of the line into the French royal family in 1547. •
John IV, Duke of Brittany (1372–1399), eldest son of John of Montfort •
Arthur, Earl of Richmond (1393–1425), second son of John IV
Titular Montfort earls: •
Arthur, Earl of Richmond (1425–1458), later Arthur III, Duke of Brittany •
Francis II, Duke of Brittany (1458–1488), nephew of Arthur III •
Anne, Duchess of Brittany (1488–1514), daughter of Francis II •
Claude, Duchess of Brittany (1514–1524), daughter of Anne •
Francis III, Duke of Brittany (1524–1536), eldest son of Claude •
Henry, Duke of Brittany (1536–1547), second son of Claude, became Henry II of France in 1547
Earls of Richmond, 6th Creation (1414) •
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford (1389–1435) – created earl by his brother
Henry V in 1414. John died without legitimate issue in 1435, and his title and honours as Earl of Richmond reverted to the crown during the reign of Henry VI.
Earls of Richmond, 7th Creation (1452) •
Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (1430–1456) – created earl by
Henry VI in 1452. •
Henry Tudor, 2nd Earl of Richmond (1456–1509) – posthumous son of Edmund Tudor; the title was deemed forfeit in 1461 by the Yorkists, but claimed by Henry nonetheless;
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, was then given the title, 1st Earl of Richmond, by King
Edward IV, the title passed on to Richard Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester (
Richard III) after Clarence's execution; despite the Yorkists, Henry was recognised as indisputable heir by
Francis II, Duke of Brittany, who surrendered his rights to him and aided his side in the
Battle of Bosworth Field, after which Henry became King
Henry VII of England. The
Honour of Richmond became a personal fief of the
Tudor dynasty. The title was merged into the crown. ==See also==