Earl of Richmond rather than the English crown. It was then held either by members of the English royal families of Plantagenet and Tudor, or English nobles closely associated with the English crown. It was eventually merged into the English crown during the reign of Henry VII and has been recreated as a Dukedom. The title Earl of Richmond is associated with the now extinct Earldom, the earlier Lords of Richmond who held the Honour of Richmond, one of the most important fiefs in England, and eventually the Dukes of Richmond. The title Earl evolved from the French-Breton-Norman title Count ("Comte") from the
Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby Alice Montagu, daughter and heiress of Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury. Eleanor died in 1472 and was buried in the Church of St James Garlickhythe in the City of London. By Eleanor he had eleven children, of whom three attained positions of great status: Secondly, shortly before 12 June 1472 he married Lady Margaret Beaufort, (1441/3-1509), daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (c.1403-1444), KG, a legitimised descendant of John of Gaunt (1340-1399) (third surviving son of King Edward III) by his mistress Katherine Swynford. Lady Margaret Beaufort was the widow successively of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond