Henry Clifford, 5th Earl of Cumberland (28 February 1592 – 11 December 1643) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1622. He was created a baron in 1628 and succeeded to the title Earl of Cumberland in 1641.
Clifford was the son of Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland, and Grisold Hughes and a member of the Clifford family which held the seat of Skipton from 1310 to 1676.[1][2] He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford.[3] In 1607, he became joint Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland, Northumberland and Westmorland. He was elected Member of Parliament for Westmorland in 1614, and was returned in 1621.[4] In 1621, he became Custos Rotulorum of Westmorland. He was created Baron Clifford in 1628.
Clifford was a supporter of Charles I during the so-called Bishops' Wars in Scotland, and also during the Civil War until his death.[3] He succeeded to the title of Earl of Cumberland in 1641 and died two years later in 1643 at the age of 52; as he left no sons the earldom became extinct.[5]
Clifford married Lady Frances Cecil (1593 – 14 February 1644), daughter of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Elizabeth Brooke on 25 July, 1610, at St Mary Abbots Church, Kensington.[6] They had one child: Lady Elizabeth Clifford who married Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington.[1]
