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
James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon Margaret, daughter of Edmund Prideaux, on 15 April 1698 at Stanwell. They had no children; Abingdon died at Westminster on 22 May 1699, and was succeeded in the Earldom by his eldest son Montagu. He was buried at Rycote on 29 May. His client, Robert Gould, wrote an eclogue lamenting his death, which he dedicated to the Duke of Leeds. James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon (16 June 1653 – 22 May 1699), styled Hon. James Bertie until 1657 and known as the 5th Baron Norreys from 1657 until 1682, was an English nobleman.