George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield


George Henry Lee I, 2nd Earl of Lichfield was the fourth son of Edward Henry Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield and his wife Charlotte Fitzroy, an illegitimate daughter of Charles II by his mistress, the celebrated courtesan Barbara Villiers. On 14 July 1716 George Henry Lee succeeded his father as the 2nd Earl of Lichfield.

Birth and origins

George was born on 12 March 1690 in St. James Park, London. He was one of the ten children and the fourth of the sons of Edward Henry Lee and his wife Charlotte Fitzroy. His father was created Viscount Quarendon and Earl of Lichfield just before his marriage. George's mother was a natural daughter of Charles II and Barbara Villiers.


He appears below among his brothers as the fourth son:
  1. Edward Henry, became the colonel of the Royal Regiment of Guards and never married;
  2. James, became a captain in the Royal Navy and married Sarah, daughter of John Bagshaw, but the marriage stayed childless;
  3. Charles, never married;
  4. George Henry, the subject of this article;
  5. Fitzroy Henry Lee, became a Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy; and
  6. Robert Lee, became the 4th and last Earl.
His sisters were:
  1. Charlotte, married Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore;
  2. Anne, died young;
  3. Elizabeth, married first Colonel Lee and secondly the Reverend Dr. Edward Young; and
  4. Barbara, married Sir Charles, 2nd Baronet Browne of Kiddington.

    Early life

He became heir apparent when his eldest brother, Edward Henry, died in 1713 and was given the corresponding courtesy title of Viscount Quarendon. On 14 July 1716 his father died and he became the 2nd Earl of Lichfield.

Marriage and children

In about 1717 Lord Lichfield, as he was now, married Frances Hales, daughter of Sir John Hales, 4th Baronet of Hackington, of Woodchurch in Kent.
The marriage produced at least nine children:
  1. George Henry, his successor;
  2. Charles Henry
  3. Frances
  4. Edward Henry
  5. Frances, married Henry Hyde, 5th Baron Hyde;
  6. Charlotte, married Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon;
  7. Henrietta or Harriet, married John Bellew, 4th Baron Bellew of Duleek;
  8. Mary, married Cosmo Neville, Esq.; and
  9. Anne, married Hugh Edward Henry Clifford, 5th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh.

    Later life, death and succession

In 1719 Lord Lichfield was one of main subscribers in the Royal Academy of Music, a corporation that produced baroque opera on stage. In 1722 he built the Oxfordshire Stately home, Ditchley, designed by James Gibbs. Lichfield was educated at St John's College, Oxford and created a D.C.L. of Oxford on 19 August 1732. On 7 August 1739 he was made Custos Brevium in the Court of Common Pleas, as well as a governor of the Foundling Hospital.
Lichfield died on 15 February 1743 in Spelsbury. He was succeeded by his son and namesake, George Henry Lee II.