Earl of Sandwich

Earl of Sandwich

Edward Montagu, 1st Earl

Heraldic achievement of the Earls of Sandwich

Portrait of the Earl of Sandwich by Thomas Gainsborough, 1783.

Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. He was made Baron Montagu of St Neots, of St Neots in the County of Huntingdon, and Viscount Hinchingbrooke, at the same time, also in the Peerage of England. The viscountcy is used as the courtesy title by the heir apparent to the earldom. A member of the prominent Montagu family, Lord Sandwich was the son of Sir Sidney Montagu, youngest brother of Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester (from whom the Dukes of Manchester descend), and Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton (from whom the Dukes of Montagu descended).

He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He briefly represented Dover in the House of Commons and served as Ambassador to Portugal and as Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire.

The second Earl's great-grandson was The 4th Earl of Sandwich, who was a prominent statesman and served as First Lord of the Admiralty and as Secretary of State for the Northern Department. Lord Sandwich is also remembered for sponsoring the voyages of discovery made by Captain James Cook, R.N., who named the Sandwich Islands in his honour, and as the namesake of the sandwich.

He was succeeded by his son, the fifth Earl. He sat as Member of Parliament for Brackley and Huntingdonshire and served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household and as Master of the Buckhounds. His son, the sixth Earl, also represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament.

He was succeeded by his son, the seventh Earl. He held office in the first two Conservative administrations of the Earl of Derby as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Master of the Buckhounds and was also Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire. His eldest son, the eighth Earl, represented Huntingdon in the House of Commons as a Conservative and served as Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire.

He was succeeded by his nephew, the ninth Earl. He was the son of Rear-Admiral the Hon. Victor Alexander Montagu, second son of the seventh Earl. Lord Sandwich was Member of Parliament for Huntingdon and Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire.

His son, the tenth Earl, represented South Dorset in Parliament as a Conservative from 1941 to 1962, when he succeeded his father in the earldom and had to resign his seat in the House of Commons and enter the House of Lords. He disclaimed his peerages in 1964 but never returned to the House of Commons.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, John Montagu, the 11th Earl of Sandwich, who succeeded him in 1995. John Montagu was one of the ninety elected hereditary peers that remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999, and sat as a cross-bencher.

The twelfth and current Earl succeeded his father in 2025. Lord Sandwich is known for his philanthropy, and was once Director at the MetFilm School.

Today the family seat is at Mapperton in Dorset. From the 17th century until the 1960s, the family also owned Hinchingbrooke House in Huntingdonshire, now a school, from which the title Viscount Hinchingbrooke was derived.

Some historical papers of the family and its Hinchingbrooke estate are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office in Huntingdon.

Earls of Sandwich (1660)

Earl of Sandwich

• Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich (1625–1672) • Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Sandwich (1644–1689) • Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich (1670–1729) • Edward Richard Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke (1692–1722) • John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718–1792) (inventor of the sandwich) • John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich (1744–1814) • George John Montagu, 6th Earl of Sandwich (1773–1818) • John William Montagu, 7th Earl of Sandwich (1811–1884) • Edward George Henry Montagu, 8th Earl of Sandwich (1839–1916) • The Honourable Victor Alexander Montagu (1841–1915) • George Charles Montagu, 9th Earl of Sandwich (1874–1962) • (Alexander) Victor Edward Paulet Montagu, 10th Earl of Sandwich (1906–1995) (disclaimed 1964) • John Edward Hollister Montagu, 11th Earl of Sandwich (1943–2025) • Luke Timothy Charles Montagu, 12th Earl of Sandwich (born 1969)

The heir apparent is the current Earl's eldest son, William James Hayman Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke (b. 2004).

Family tree

Earl of Sandwich

Montagu family tree— Manchester: Earls and Dukes, Montagu: and Earls and Dukes, and Monthermer: Viscounts and Marquesses
								Edward Montagu c. 1485–1557
								Edward Montagu c. 1530–1602
				Baron Montagu of Boughton, 1621						Viscount Mandeville and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton, of Kimbolton in the County of Huntingdon, 1620 Earl of Manchester, 1626
				Edward Montagu c. 1562–1644 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton						Henry Montagu c. 1563–1642 1st Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton														Sidney Montagu c. 1572–1644
																															Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, Baron Montagu of St Neots, of St Neots in the County of Huntingdon, 1660
				Edward Montagu 1616–1684 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton						Edward Montagu 1602–1671 2nd Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton						George Montagu 1622–1681						Edward Montagu 1625–1672 1st Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Baron Montagu of St Neots
					Earl of Montagu and Viscount Monthermer, 1689 Duke of Montagu and Marquess of Monthermer (1st creation), 1705																				Baron Halifax, 1700 Earl of Halifax (2nd creation) and Viscount Sunbury (2nd creation), 1714
Edward Montagu c. 1636–1665		Ralph Montagu 1638–1709 1st Duke of Montagu, Earl of Montagu, and Viscount Monthermer, 3rd Baron Montagu of Boughton						Robert Montagu 1634–1683 3rd Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton						Edward Montagu 1649–1690		Charles Montagu 1661–1715 1st Earl of Halifax and Viscount Sunbury, 1st Baron Halifax		Edward Montagu 1647/48–1688 2nd Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Baron Montagu of St Neots
																											Earldom of Halifax (2nd creation) and subsidiary titles extinct, 1715
													Duke of Manchester, 1719						Earl of Halifax (3rd creation) and subsidiary titles (3rd creation), 1714
				John Montagu 1690–1749 2nd Duke of Montagu, Earl of Montagu, and Viscount Monthermer, 4th Baron Montagu of Boughton						Charles Edward Montagu c. 1662–1722 1st Duke of Manchester, 4th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton						George Montagu 1685–1739 1st Earl of Halifax and Viscount Sunbury, 2nd Baron Halifax						Edward Montagu 1670–1729 3rd Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Baron Montagu of St Neots
				Dukedom of Montagu (1st creation) and subsidiary titles extinct, 1749
Duke of Montagu (2nd creation) and Marquess of Monthermer (2nd creation), 1766 Baron Montagu of Boughton (3rd creation), 1776
George Brudenell 1712–1790 Earl of Cardigan Duke of Montagu, Marquess of Monthermer, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton		Mary Montagu c. 1711–1775		Lady Isabella Montagu d. 1786		William Montagu 1700–1739 2nd Duke of Manchester, 5th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton		Robert Montagu c. 1710–1762 3rd Duke of Manchester, 6th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton		George Montagu-Dunk 1716–1771 2nd Earl of Halifax and Viscount Sunbury, 3rd Baron Halifax		Edward Montagu 1692–1722 styled Viscount Hinchingbrooke		John Montagu 1718–1792 4th Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Baron Montagu of St Neots
Dukedom of Montagu (2nd creation) and subsidiary titles extinct, 1790																					Earldom of Halifax (3rd creation) and subsidiary titles extinct, 1771
				Baron Montagu of Boughton (2nd creation), 1762
				John Montagu 1735–1770 Baron Montagu of Boughton, styled Marquess of Monthermer		Elizabeth Scott 1743–1827						George Montagu 1737–1788 4th Duke of Manchester, 7th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton		Lady Elizabeth Montague-Dunk d. 1768						John Montagu 1744–1814 5th Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Baron Montagu of St Neots
				Baron Montagu of Boughton (2nd creation) extinct, 1770
								Henry Montagu-Scott 1776–1845 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton		George Montagu 1763–1772 styled Viscount Mandeville		William Montagu 1771–1843 5th Duke of Manchester, 8th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton						John George Montagu 1767–1790 styled Viscount Hinchinbroke		George John Montagu 1773–1818 6th Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Baron Montagu of St Neots
								Baron Montagu of Boughton (3rd creation) extinct, 1845
																George Montagu 1799–1855 6th Duke of Manchester, 9th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton
												William Drogo Montagu 1823–1890 7th Duke of Manchester, 10th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton		Lord Robert Montagu 1825–1902										John William Montagu 1811–1884 7th Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Baron Montagu of St Neots
												George Victor Drogo Montagu 1853–1892 8th Duke of Manchester, 11th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton		Robert Acheson Cromie Montagu 1854–1931						Edward George Henry Montagu 1839–1916 8th Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Baron Montagu of St Neots		Victor Alexander Montagu 1841–1915
												William Angus Drogo Montagu 1877–1947 9th Duke of Manchester, 12th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton		John Michael Cromie Montagu 1881–1966										George Charles Montagu 1874–1962 9th Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Baron Montagu of St Neots
												Alexander George Francis Drogo Montagu 1902–1977 10th Duke of Manchester, 13th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton		Robert Alexander Montagu 1917–1996										Alexander Victor Edward Paulet Montagu 1906–1995 10th Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Baron Montagu of St Neots
								Sidney Arthur Robin George Drogo Montagu 1929–1985 11th Duke of Manchester, 14th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton		Angus Charles Drogo Montagu 1938–2002 12th Duke of Manchester, 15th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton															John Edward Hollister Montagu 1943–2025 11th Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Baron Montagu of St Neots
				Alexander Charles David Drogo Montagu b. 1962 13th Duke of Manchester, 16th Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton		Lord Kimble William Drogo Montagu b. 1964		Lady Emma Louise Eveleen Montagu Hodgkinson 1965–2014		Michael Anthony Montagu b. 1955										Luke Timothy Charles Montagu b. 1969 12th Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Baron Montagu of St Neots
								Heir presumptive to the dukedom of Manchester
																												William James Hayman Montagu b. 2004 styled Viscount Hinchingbrooke
																												Heir apparent to the earldom of Sandwich