The Baronetcy, of Hothfield in the County of Kent, was created in the Baronetage of England in 1611 for his father, John Tufton.

Their son, the third Earl, successfully claimed the barony of de Clifford through his maternal grandmother Lady Anne (which had been in abeyance since the death of his great-grandfather George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland).

He also represented Appleby in Parliament and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Cumberland and Westmorland.

His three sons, the ninth, tenth and eleventh Earls, all succeeded in the titles.

The last Earl of Thanet devised his estates on his reputed natural son by a French woman, Richard Tufton, who was created a Baronet in 1851.