Earl of Oxford

Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141.

The de Veres were also hereditary holders of the office of Master Chamberlain of England from 1133 until the death of the 18th Earl in 1625.

Aubrey IV was supposedly an ally of King John, while his brother Robert, the 3rd Earl was one of the 25 barons of Magna Carta.

John the 13th Earl was a Lancastrian during the War of the Roses and Henry Tudor's commander at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.

The principal Oxford coat of arms or shield was quarterly gules and or (red and yellow) with an argent (white) five-pointed star called a mullet or molet in the first canton.

As an earldom was then traditional for former prime ministers, and Asquith had a number of connections with the city of Oxford, it seemed a logical choice and had the king's support.