The first creation came in 1789 when the prominent politician and financial expert William Eden[1] was made Baron Auckland in the Peerage of Ireland.
Eden notably served as Chief Secretary for Ireland, Ambassador to Spain, and President of the Board of Trade.
In 1839 he was created Baron Eden, of Norwood in the County of Surrey, and Earl of Auckland, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
Sir Ashley Eden, third son of the third Baron, was an official and diplomat in British India.
The heir presumptive is the present holder's first cousin, Henry Vane Eden (born 1958).