William Villiers, 3rd Earl of Jersey

The Right Honourable The Earl of Jersey
Earl of Jersey
In office 1721–1769
Preceded by	William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey
Succeeded by	George Villiers
Viscount Grandison
In office 1766–1769
Preceded by	John Villiers (1st creation)
Succeeded by	George Villiers
Personal details
Born	William Villiers
Died	28 August 1769
Nationality	English
Spouse	Anne Russell, Dowager Duchess of Bedford
Children	Frederick William Villiers, Viscount Villiers George Bussy Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey
Parent	William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey (father)
Occupation	Politician

Coat of arms of the 3rd Earl of Jersey at Middleton Stoney church, impaled with the arms of Egerton, his in-laws

Portrait of Anne by Godfrey Kneller

William Villiers, 3rd Earl of Jersey, 6th Viscount Grandison, PC (died 28 August 1769) was an English peer and politician from the Villiers family.

Life

Middleton Park c. 1830

He was the son of William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey. Among other achievements, Villiers was a founding Governor of the Foundling Hospital, a charity which received its royal charter on 17 October 1739 to operate an orphanage for abandoned children in London.

On 23 June 1733, he married Anne Russell, Dowager Duchess of Bedford (c. 1704/1709 – 1762). She was the daughter of Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater, and widow of Wriothesley Russell, 3rd Duke of Bedford. They had two sons, but only one survived them:

• Frederick William Villiers, Viscount Villiers (25 March 1734 – before 11 October 1742)
• George Bussy Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey (1735–1805). Through George, they are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, and of her sons, Princes William, the Prince of Wales, and Harry, Duke of Sussex.

He commissioned the building of the previous Middleton Park, in Middleton Stoney, Oxfordshire.

References

• thepeerage.com. Retrieved 5 September 2009: William Villiers, 3rd Earl of the Island of Jersey