CUMBERLAND, DUKES AND EARLS OF. The earl dom of Cumberland was held by the family of Clifford (q.v.) from 1525 to 1643, when it became extinct by the death of Henry, the 5th earl. The 1st earl of Cumberland was Henry, r Ith Lord Clifford (1493-1542), a son of Henry, loth Lord Clifford (c. 15 23) . Created an earl by Henry VIII. in 1525, Henry remained loyal during the great rising in the north of England in 1536, and died on April 22, 1542. i;is son and successor, Henry, the 2nd earl (c. 1517-7o), married Eleanor (d. 1547), a daughter of Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, and Mary, daughter of King Henry VII. ; he had the tastes of a scholar rather than a soldier, and died early in 15 7o. By his first wife, Eleanor, he left an only daughter, Margaret (154o-96), who married Henry Stanley, 4th earl of Derby, and who in was regarded by many as the rightful heiress to the English throne. By his second wife he left two sons and a daughter; his elder son George succeeding to the earldom in 157o, and his younger son Francis succeeding his brother in 16o5. George, 3rd earl of Cumberland (1558-1605 ), was born on Aug. 8, 1558, and married Margaret (c. 1560-1616), daughter of his guardian, Francis, 2nd earl of Bedford. He com manded the "Bonaventure" against the Spanish Armada, and from this time until his death on Oct. 3o, 1605, was mainly engaged in fitting out and leading plundering expeditions, some of which, especially the one undertaken in 1589, gained a large amount of booty. The earl left no sons, and his barony was claimed by his only daughter Anne (159o-1676), the wife successively of Rich ard Sackville, 3rd earl of Dorset, and of Philip Herbert, 4th earl of Pembroke and Montgomery ; while his earldom was inherited by his brother Francis (15 59-1641) . A long law-suit between the new earl and the countess Anne over the possession of the family estates was settled in 1617. The 5th earl was Francis's only son Henry (1591-1643), who was born on Feb. 28, 1591, and was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He was a supporter of Charles I. during his two short wars with the Scots, and also during the Civil War until his death on Dec. 11, 1643. He left no sons; his earldom became extinct; his new barony of Clifford, created in 1628, passed to his daughter Elizabeth (1618-91), wife of Richard Boyle, earl of Cork and Burlington; and the Cumberland estates to his cousin Anne, countess of Dorset and Pembroke.
In 1644 the English title of duke of Cumberland was created in favour of Rupert, son of Frederick V., elector palatine of the Rhine, and nephew of Charles I. Having lapsed on Rupert's death without legitimate issue in 1682, it was created again in 1689 to give an English title to George, prince of Denmark, who had married the lady who afterwards became Queen Anne. It again became extinct when George died in 1708, but was revived in 1726 in favour of William Augustus (17 21-6 5) third son of George II. As this duke was never married the title lapsed on his death in 1765, but was revived in the following year in favour of Henry Frederick (1745-90), son of Frederick, prince of Wales, and brother of George III. Having again become extinct on Henry Frederick's death, the title of duke of Cumberland was created for the fifth time in favour of Ernest Augustus, who was made duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale in 1799. In 1837 Ernest became king of Hanover, and on his death in 1851 the title descended with the kingdom of Hanover to his son King George V., and on George's death in 1878 to his grandson, Ernest Augustus (b. 1845) . In 1866 Hanover was annexed by Prussia, but King George died without renouncing his rights. His son, Ernest (1845-1923), was known as the duke of Cumberland. He married Princess Thyra of Denmark, and inherited the duchy of Brunswick-Luneburg in 1884, but was prevented from becom ing reigning duke by a federal decision, inspired by Prussia in 1885, and repeated and strengthened in 1907, when it was decreed that no member of the house should assume the throne of Bruns wick-Luneburg. The duke never formally renounced the throne of Hanover, and the hostility between his family and the Hohen zollerns continued until reconciliation was accomplished by the marriage of his son, Ernest Augustus, to Princess Victoria Louisa of Prussia, daughter of the emperor William II. The old duke had resigned (1906) his rights in favour of his son. The son was permitted on his marriage to succeed to the duchy of Brunswick, but in 1918 was compelled, with other German princes, to abdicate.