Earls and Duke of Warwick

The next holder of the title was John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, who was created earl of Warwick in 1546, by right of his descent from Richard de Beauchamp, the 13th earl. The title became extinct with the death of his eldest son, John Dudley, who died in 1554. In 1561 the title was revived and given as a reward to Ambrose Dudley, John’s brother, for bravery at the siege of Saint-Quentin in 1557. Ambrose Dudley died without legal heirs in 1590, and the earldom nominally became extinct. However, Ambrose’s nephew, Sir Robert Dudley, son of Robert Dudley, 1st earl of Leicester, assumed the titles of earl of Warwick and duke of Northumberland.

In 1618 the Warwick earldom was revived in favor of Robert Rich, who was succeeded by his eldest son, also named Robert. Robert Rich, 2nd earl of Warwick, lived from 1587 to 1658. He was one of the early founders of the American colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Warwick, Rhode Island, is named in his honor. The title remained with the Rich family until the death of Edward Rich in 1759, when it became extinct, to be revived in the same year in favor of Francis Greville, Baron Brooke of Beauchamps Court. The earldom has remained in the Greville family to the present day.