George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield
George Henry Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield (1690–1743), was the younger son of Edward Henry Lee, the 1st Earl of Lichfield, and Charlotte Fitzroy, an illegitimate daughter of Charles II and Barbara Villiers. He was born on 12 March 1690 in St. James’s Park, London, and was one of ten children. After his elder brother Edward Henry died in 1713, George became the heir and, when his father died, he became the 2nd Earl of Lichfield on 14 July 1716.
Around 1717 he married Frances Hales; they had three sons and five daughters. In 1719 he was a main subscriber to the Royal Academy of Music, which produced baroque opera. In 1722 he built the Oak House at Ditchley in Oxfordshire, designed by James Gibbs. He studied at St John's College, Oxford, and received a Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L.) from Oxford in 1732. On 7 August 1739 he was made Custos Brevium in the Court of Common Pleas and served as a governor of the Foundling Hospital. He died on 15 February 1743 and was buried at Spelsbury. He was succeeded by his son George Henry Lee II, the 3rd Earl of Lichfield.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:32 (CET).