George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland
English noble (1558-1605)
George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, 13th Baron de Clifford, 13th Lord of Skipton (8 August 1558 – 30 October 1605), was an English peer, naval commander, and courtier of Queen Elizabeth I of England. He was notable at court for his jousting, at the Accession Day Tilts, which were highlights of the year at court. Two famous survivals, his portrait miniature by Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1590, now National Maritime Museum) and a garniture of Greenwich armour (now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art), reflect this important part of his life. In contrast, he neglected his estates in the far north of England and left a long succession dispute between his heirs.
Early life and wardship
George Clifford was born on 8 August 1558 at Brougham Castle in Westmorland, the son and heir of Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland (d. January 1570) by his second wife, Anne Dacre (c. 1538 – died c. July 1581), daughter of William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre.
The Barons de Clifford, a junior branch of the Clifford feudal barons of Clifford of Clifford Castle in Herefordshire, had established themselves in the late 13th century at Appleby Castle in Westmorland, in the north of England.
George succeeded as Earl of Cumberland and Baron de Clifford when his father died in 1570, leaving George a minor, aged 12.
“George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland” enters the record as english noble (1558-1605). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what George, Clifford and Earl can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q335537. VIAF identifies the subject as 824321. The Library of Congress control number is no90025146. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1558, 1605, 1590 and 1570.
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This entry incorporates text from “George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.