Role English Politician | Name Robert 2nd | |
Term 13 July 1626 – 2 November 1677 Spouse Dorothy Sidney, Countess of Leicester (m. 1615) Children Algernon Sidney, Philip Sidney, 3rd Earl of Leicester Parents Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, Barbara Sidney, Countess of Leicester Similar People | ||
Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1 December 1595 – 2 November 1677) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1625 and then succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Leicester.
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Life
Sidney was born at Castle Barnard, County Durham, the son of Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, and his first wife, Barbara Gamage. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. In 1610 he was created Knight of the Bath when Prince Henry was created Prince of Wales. He was elected Member of Parliament for Wilton in 1614.
Sidney served in the army in the Netherlands during his father's governorship of Flushing, and was given command of an English regiment in the Dutch service in 1616. In 1618 he became a member of Gray's Inn. He was elected MP for Kent in 1621. In 1624 he was elected MP for Monmouthshire. He was re-elected MP for Monmouthshire in 1625. In 1626, he succeeded his father as Earl of Leicester in 1626. In 1631, he began the construction of Leicester House, a huge mansion on the site of what is now Leicester Square in London. He was employed on diplomatic business in Denmark in 1632 and undertook further diplomatic work in France from 1636 to 1641.
Lord Leicester 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.
Lord Leicester died at Penshurst at the age of nearly 81. He was "esteemed of great learning, observation and veracity".
Family
Sidney married Dorothy Percy, the daughter of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland. They had twelve children, including:
Philip and Algernon supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War.