Earl of Peterborough

Earl of Peterborough was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for John Mordaunt, 5th Baron Mordaunt (see Baron Mordaunt for earlier history of the family). He was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry, the second Earl. He was a soldier and courtier. Lord Peterborough had two daughters but no sons. He was succeeded in the barony of Mordaunt (which could be passed through female lines) by his daughter, Mary, 7th Baroness. The earldom was passed on to his nephew, Charles Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Monmouth (see below for earlier history of this branch of the family), who became the third Earl. He was a prominent soldier and politician. In 1705 he also succeeded his cousin Mary Mordaunt, 7th Baroness Mordaunt, in the barony of Mordaunt. His eldest son John Mordaunt, Viscount Mordaunt, predeceased him, and Lord Peterborough was consequently succeeded by his grandson, Charles, the fourth Earl (the eldest son of Viscount Mordaunt). The barony of Mordaunt (of the 1659 creation), the viscountcy of Mordaunt and the earldoms of Peterborough and Monmouth, became extinct on the death of the latter's son, the fifth Earl, in 1814. The barony of Mordaunt was passed on to his half-sister, Lady Mary Anastasia Grace Mordaunt (see Baron Mordaunt for further history of this title).