Earl of Darlington

Earl of Darlington is a title that has been created twice, each time in the Peerage of Great Britain. Baroness von Kielmansegg, half-sister of King George I, was made countess of Darlington in 1722. This creation was for life only, and so the title expired on her death in 1725.

The second creation came in 1754 in favour of Henry Vane, 3rd Baron Barnard, who became the first Earl of Darlington.

• Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington (c. 1705–1758)
• Henry Vane, 2nd Earl of Darlington (1726–1792)
• William Harry Vane, 3rd Earl of Darlington (1766–1842)

In 1827 Lord Darlington was created Marquess of Cleveland and in 1833 Duke of Cleveland.

• William Harry Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland (1766–1842)
• Henry Vane, 2nd Duke of Cleveland (1788–1864)
• William John Frederick Vane, 3rd Duke of Cleveland (1792–1864)
• Harry George Powlett, 4th Duke of Cleveland (1803–1891)

Family tree

Family trees of the: Dukes of Cleveland, Dukes of Southampton, and Earls of Darlington, Barons Barnard, and subsidiary titles

Duke of Cleveland (1st creation), Earl of Southampton, Baron of Nonsuch, 1670 Baron Barnard, of Barnard Castle in the Bishopric of Durham Barbara Palmer 1640–1709 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Southampton, and Baroness Nonsuch King Charles II 1630–1685 Christopher Vane 1653–1723 1st Baron Barnard Ernest Augustus 1629–1698 Elector of Hanover Duke of Southampton, Earl of Chichester (2nd creation), and Baron Newbury, 1675 Earl of Darlington (1st creation) and Viscount Barnard, 1722 Charles FitzRoy 1662–1730 2nd Duke of Cleveland, Earl of Southampton, and Baron Nonsuch, 1st Duke of Southampton, Earl of Chichester, and Baron Newbury Henry Vane 1676–1676 Gilbert Vane 1678–1753 2nd Baron Barnard King George I 1660–1727 Sophia von Kielmansegg 1675–1725 Countess of Darlington, Countess of Leinster Earldom of Darlington (1st creation) extinct, 1725 Earl of Darlington (2nd creation), 1754 William FitzRoy 1698–1774 3rd Duke of Cleveland, Earl of Southampton, and Baron Nonsuch, 2nd Duke of Southampton, Earl of Chichester, and Baron Newbury Grace Fitzroy 1697–1763 Henry Vane c. 1705–1758 1st Earl of Darlington 3rd Baron Barnard Morgan Vane 1706–1779 Dukedoms of Cleveland (1st creation) and Southampton, and Marquess of Cleveland extinct, 1774 Henry Vane 1726–1792 2nd Earl of Darlington 4th Baron Barnard Frederick Vane 1732–1801 Raby Vane 1736–1769 Morgan Vane 1737–1789 Marquess of Cleveland, 1827 Duke of Cleveland (2nd creation) and Baron Raby of Raby Castle in the County of Durham, 1833 William Harry Vane 1766–1842 1st Duke of Cleveland and Marquess of Cleveland, 3rd Earl of Darlington 5th Baron Barnard John Vane 1788–1849 Henry Vane 1788–1864 2nd Duke of Cleveland and Marquess of Cleveland, 4th Earl of Darlington 6th Baron Barnard William John Frederick Vane 1792–1864 3rd Duke of Cleveland and Marquess of Cleveland, 5th Earl of Darlington 7th Baron Barnard Harry George Powlett 1803–1891 4th Duke of Cleveland and Marquess of Cleveland, 6th Earl of Darlington 8th Baron Barnard Henry Vane 1808–1886 Dukedom of Cleveland (2nd creation), marquessate of Cleveland, and earldom of Darlington (2nd creation) declared extinct, 1891 Henry Vane 1854–1918 9th Baron Barnard Henry Vane 1882–1917 Christopher Vane 1888–1964 10th Baron Barnard Christopher Vane 1923–2016 11th Baron Barnard Henry Vane b. 1959 12th Baron Barnard Henry Vane b. 1990

In fiction

The Earl of Darlington was a character in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel The Remains of the Day. He was the lord of Darlington Hall. Among his employees were the butler Stevens, his father and the housekeeper Miss Kenton. During the 1930s, the Earl hosted numerous conferences and secret meetings between Germany, the United Kingdom, and other European powers in Darlington Hall. The Germans manipulated the Earl so that he persuaded the British government to negotiate the appeasement peace treaty in its favour, which eventually resulted in the outbreak of the Second World War. The Earl died in the early 1950s. Afterwards, his heirs auctioned off Darlington Hall and all of its belongings in order to raise money to pay for death duties and other taxes.

The novel was adapted into a 1993 film by Merchant Ivory Productions starring Anthony Hopkins as Stevens and Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton. Lord Darlington was played by James Fox.