Earl of Macclesfield

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The title Earl of Macclesfield has been created twice, first in the Peerage of England in 1679 (extinct 1702) and then in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1721.

The first Earls of Macclesfield, from the Gerard family, held the subsidiary titles Viscount Brandon, of Brandon in the County of Suffolk (1679), and Baron Gerard, of Brandon in the County of Suffolk (1645), both in the Peerage of England.

The present Earls, from the Parker family, hold the subsidiary titles Viscount Parker, of Ewelme in the County of Oxford (1721), and Lord Parker, Baron of Macclesfield in the County Palatine of Chester (1716), both in the Peerage of Great Britain. These titles were created with a special remainder, failing heirs male, to his daughter.

The family seat is Shirburn Castle, near Oxford, but the castle and estate is held by the Beechwood Estates Company, the Macclesfield family estate management company. Following a long-running and acrimonious court battle, the 9th Earl was evicted from the family seat at the end of 2004.

Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles, first husband of the Duchess of Cornwall, is descended in the male line from the 6th Earl, and so is in distant remainder to the Earldom.