| Earldom of Shaftesbury | |
|---|---|
  Quarterly: 1st and 4th: Argent, three bulls passant sable, armed and unguled Or (Ashley); 2nd and 3rd: Gules, a bend engrailed between six lions rampant or (Cooper) | |
| Creation date | 23 April 1672 |
| Created by | Charles II of England |
| Peerage | Peerage of England |
| First holder | Anthony Ashley-Cooper |
| Present holder | Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, 12th Earl of Shaftesbury |
| Heir apparent | Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley |
| Remainder to | Heirs male of the body of the 1st earl |
| Subsidiary titles | Baron Ashley Baron Cooper |
| Status | Extant |
| Seat(s) | St Giles House |
| Motto | LOVE, SERVE |
Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. He had already succeeded his father as second Baronet of Rockbourne in 1631 and been created Baron Ashley, of Wimborne St Giles in the County of Dorset, in 1661, and he was made Baron Cooper, of Paulett in the County of Somerset, at the same time he was given the earldom.
These titles are also in the Peerage of England. Baron Ashley is used as a courtesy title by the Earl's eldest son and heir apparent. The Cooper baronetcy, of Rockbourne in the County of Southampton, was created in the Baronetage of England in 1622 for the Earl's father, John Cooper. He sat as Member of Parliament for Poole.[1]
The current holder is Nicholas Ashley-Cooper (born 1979).
- ^ Doyle, James William Edmund. The Official Baronage of England: Pembroke-Zetland, London: Longman, Green, & Company, 1886, Vol. II, p. 300.