House of de Vere

The House of de Vere was an old and powerful English aristocratic family who derived their name from Ver (department Manche, canton Gavray), in Lower Normandy, France.

[2] The family's Norman founder in England, Aubrey (Albericus) de Vere, appears in Domesday Book (1086) as the holder of a large fief in Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Huntingdonshire.

His grandson Aubrey III became Earl of Oxford in the reign of King Stephen, but while his earldom had been granted by the Empress Matilda and eventually recognised by Stephen, it was not until January 1156 that it was formally recognised by Henry II and he began to receive the third penny of justice (one-third of the revenue of the shire court) from Oxfordshire.

When John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford died suddenly in 1562, the de Vere estates were encumbered with debts and the young heir entered into the feudal wardship system of the young Queen Elizabeth I,[5] placed under "protection and authority" of the Court of Wards and Liveries and was sent to live in the household of her principal advisor, Sir William Cecil.

[8] Twenty males headed the family as Earl of Oxford from 1141 to 1703: This summary genealogical tree shows how the house of de Vere is related:

de Vere family coat of arms with a mullet in the first quarter of the shield
Castle Hedingham – the de Vere family seat. The Norman keep is all that remains of the castle in Essex where most of the land was concentrated.
Susan de Vere , 4th Countess of Pembroke seated with her family, painted by Anthony van Dyck . [ 1 ]
Diana Cecil , 18th Countess of Oxford, painted by William Larkin .
Diana de Vere , 1st Duchess of St Albans , her husband was the son of King Charles II of England , painted by Godfrey Kneller .
Diana Kirke de Vere, 20th Countess of Oxford, painted by Peter Lely .
Robert de Vere, 3rd Earl of Oxford effigy, St Mary's Church, Hatfield Broad Oak