Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester

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

Life

Sidney was the son of Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, and his first wife Barbara Gamage. He studied at Christ Church College at the University of Oxford. In 1614 he was elected for the district Wilton in the English Parliament.

During the tenure of his father in Dutch Vlissingen he served in the army in the Netherlands. In 1616 he was given command of an English regiment in Dutch service. In 1618 he was admitted as a lawyer in the higher courts. In 1626 he succeeded his father as Earl of Leicester to. Six years later he was entrusted with a diplomatic mission to Denmark.

In 1631 he began the construction of Leiceister House, a stately house on Leicester Square in London. From 1636 to 1641 was followed by other diplomatic missions to France.

Instead of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, Sidney in 1640 was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. As the governorship in Dublin was released, he called George Monck. Charles I annulled the decision in favor of Lord Lambart.

In 1643 he resigned from his post, without ever having set foot on Irish soil.

Family

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