Earl of Coventry - Definition and Overview

The title Earl of Coventry was created in the Peerage of England in 1697 for Thomas Coventry, 5th Baron Coventry. The title was created with a special remainder which allowed the title, if the first Earl's own heirs-male were to die out, to pass to the heirs-male of Walter Coventry, younger brother of the first Baron Coventry. At the death of the fourth Earl of Coventry, the barony became extinct, while the earldom passed to the fourth Earl's cousin William.

The Earl of Coventry holds the subsidiary title of Viscount Deerhurst, created in the Peerage of England at the same time and under the same rules of descent as the Earldom. The title is used as the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir of the Earl.

Barons Coventry (1628)

• Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry (d. 1640)
• Thomas Coventry, 2nd Baron Coventry (1606-1661)
• George Coventry, 3rd Baron Coventry (d. 1680)
• John Coventry, 4th Baron Coventry (1654-1687)
• Thomas Coventry, 5th Baron Coventry (d. 1699) (became Earl of Coventry in 1697)

Earls of Coventry (1697)

• Thomas Coventry, 1st Earl of Coventry (d. 1699)
• Thomas Coventry, 2nd Earl of Coventry (d. 1711)
• Thomas Coventry, 3rd Earl of Coventry (1702-1712)
• Gilbert Coventry, 4th Earl of Coventry (d. 1719) (barony extinct 1719)
• William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry (d. 1751)
• George William Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry (1722-1809)
• George William Coventry, 7th Earl of Coventry (1758-1831)
• George William Coventry, 8th Earl of Coventry (1784-1843)
• George William Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry (1838-1930)
• George William Reginald Victor Coventry, 10th Earl of Coventry (1900-1940)
• George William Coventry, 11th Earl of Coventry (1934-2002)
• Francis Henry Coventry, 12th Earl of Coventry (1912-2004)
• Victor Gerald Coventry, 13th Earl of Coventry (b. 1917)