Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester

Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1 December 1595 – 2 November 1677), was an English aristocrat and diplomat.

Life

He was the son of Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, and his first wife, Barbara Gamage. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford and entered parliament as member for Wilton in 1614.

He served in the army in the Netherlands during his father's governorship of Flushing, In 1616 he was given command of an English regiment in the Dutch service; he was called to the bar in 1618. He succeeded his father as Earl of Leicester in 1626 and was employed on diplomatic business in Denmark in 1632

In 1631, the earl began the construction of Leicester House, a huge mansion on the site of what is now Leicester Square in London. He undertook further diplomatic work in France from 1636 to 1641.

He was then appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in place of The Earl of Strafford. When the governorship of Dublin became vacant, Leicester appointed George Monck. Charles I, however, overruled the appointment in favour of Lord Lambart.

In 1643 he resigned without having set foot in Ireland.

Family

His wife, Dorothy Percy, was the daughter of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland. They had three notable sons Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, Philip Sidney, 3rd Earl of Leicester and Algernon Sydney. Philip and Algernon supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Further reading

• Michael G. Brennan (2005). The Sidneys of Penshurst and the monarchy, 1500-1700,Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 075465060X, 9780754650607. pp. 140-149