Earl of Grantham

## TheEarldom of Grantham

The arms of The Earl and Countess of Grantham.

**The Earl of Grantham** is a fictional title in the peerage of Great Britain. The peerage was created on the 3 July, 1772, and is held by the aristocratic Crawley Family. As of 1932, the current holder of the title is Alexander Crawley.

The Earl is addressed as **Lord Grantham** and the Countess as **Lady Grantham**. The seat of the Earls of Grantham is Downton Abbey in Downton, Yorkshire. Their London residence in St. James's Square is Grantham House. Since the marriage of the eldest son of the Third Earl, the Earls of Grantham have owned Downton Place on the border with Durham in Eryholme, which came with his wife.

The courtesy title of the heir apparent is **Viscount Downton** (addressed as **Lord Downton**).

Alex's grandfather Patrick Crawley established an entail after his son Robert married wealthy American heiress Cora Levinson, which determined that the title, estate, and Cora's fortune would all be tied together and inherited by either the current Earl's **heir apparent** (which would be his eldest living son), or **heir presumptive** (the eldest live male descendant who is the most senior among the children of previous earls).

## History

Before Alex's birth, his paternal second cousin, **James**, stood to inherit, followed by his only son, **Patrick**. When they both died on the **RMS *Titanic***, the heir presumptive became Robert's third cousin once removed, Matthew Crawley, who is descended from the third Earl of Grantham. Later, Cora became pregnant, and gave birth to the Viscount Downton in 1914, surpassing Matthew and is now heir apparent to the Earldom.

Matthew married Robert and Cora's eldest daughter, Lady Mary, with whom he had a son, George Crawley. George became the second in line to the Earldom (after his uncle) only hours after his birth, when his father was killed in a car accident. He was then pushed back down as his uncle had four sons—all surpassing him. He is currently fifth in line to the Earldom.

As Alex married Miss Josephine Lewis in 1934, the current Earl and Countess had four sons: Arthur, Benedict, Christopher, and Edmund. Their eldest son Arthur is now the heir apparent to the land and titles.

## List of The Earls of Grantham

* **Arthur Henry Crawley, 1st Earl of Grantham** - original holder of the title.
* **Charles Arthur Crawley, 2nd Earl of Grantham** - son of the 1st Earl.
* **Edward James Crawley, 3rd Earl of Grantham** - eldest grandson of the 2nd Earl.
	+ The eldest son of the 3rd Earl is Alex's ancestor and his wife is the woman who owned Downton Place, while the second son of the 3rd Earl is Matthew's great-great-grandfather.
* **James Victor Crawley, 4th Earl of Grantham** - Alex's great-great grandfather.
* **George William Crawley, 5th Earl of Grantham** - Alex's great grandfather.
* Patrick George Crawley**, 6th Earl of Grantham** - eldest son of the 5th Earl. Alex's grandfather.
* Robert Patrick Crawley**, 7th Earl of Grantham** - only son of the 6th Earl, Alex's father.
* Alexander Isidore Crawley, **8th Earl of Grantham** - current holder of the title, only son of the 7th Earl.

## List of the Earl's wives styled as the 'Countess of Grantham'

* Violet Crawley - Alex's grandmother. She was known as Countess of Grantham until her husband died in 1900. As the Earldom was passed on to her only son, she now holds the title Dowager Countess of Grantham, as her daughter-in-law Cora is the new Countess upon her husband's ascension.
* Cora Crawley - Alex's mother. She did not get to hold the Dowager Countess title, as she died alongside her husband—therefore did not witness the ascension of her only son to the Earldom.
* Josephine Crawley - current Countess of Grantham.

## Current Line of Succession

* Patrick Crawley, 6th Earl of Grantham (1860s-1900) †
	+ Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham (1900-1932) †
		- Alexander Crawley, 8th Earl of Grantham (1932-)
			* (1) Arthur Crawley, Viscount Downton (b. 1935)
			* (2) Lord Benedict Crawley (b. 1936)
			* (3) Lord Christopher Crawley (b. 1938)
			* (4) Lord Edmund Crawley (b. 1940)
		- Mr. Matthew Crawley (b. 1885-d. 1921) †
			* (5) Mr.George Crawley (b. 1921)