Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland

The Right Honourable The Earl of Sunderland KG PC
Robert Spencer, Second Earl of Sunderland
Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire
In office 4 December 1687 – 20 June 1689
Lord President of the Council
In office 4 December 1685 – October 1688
Monarch	James II
Preceded by	Marquess of Halifax
Succeeded by	Marquess of Carmarthen
Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire
In office 12 December 1679 – 2 September 1681
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
In office 10 February 1679 – 26 April 1680
Monarch	Charles II
Preceded by	Sir Joseph Williamson
Succeeded by	Sir Leoline Jenkins
Personal details
Born	Robert Spencer (1641-09-05)5 September 1641 Paris, Kingdom of France
Died	28 September 1702(1702-09-28) (aged 61) Althorp, Northamptonshire
Resting place	Brington, Northamptonshire
Spouse	Anne Digby ​ (m. 1665)​
Parent(s)	Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland Dorothy Sidney
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford
Occupation	Politician

Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, KG, PC (5 September 1641 – 28 September 1702) was an English nobleman and politician of the Spencer family. An able and gifted statesman, his caustic temper and belief in absolute monarchy nevertheless made him numerous enemies. He was forced to flee England in 1688, but later established himself with the new regime after the Glorious Revolution of that year. Subsequently, he took on a more disinterested role as an adviser to the Crown, seeking neither office nor favour. He evinced no party loyalty, but was devoted to his country's interests, as he saw them. By the notoriously lax standards of the Restoration Court, his private life was remarkably free from scandal, which won him favour in the more sober post-Revolution state.^[1]