Baron Arlington is a title in the Peerage of England. In 1664, it was created for Sir Henry Bennet, with a special remainder allowing it to descend to male and female heirs, rather than only male heirs, as was customary with most peerages. In 1672, he was made Earl of Arlington and Viscount Thetford, and was regranted the title of Baron Arlington, with the same special remainder.
The first Earl died without male heirs, so the titles went to his daughter Isabella, Duchess of Grafton. At age four, Isabella was married off to the nine-year old Duke of Grafton, an illegitimate son of King Charles II. After the death of the couple, Charles Fitzroy, their son, came to hold both the Arlington and Grafton titles. The two sets of titles continued united until the death of the ninth Duke in a racecar accident in 1936. The dukedom passed to a cousin, while all of the Arlington titles fell into abeyance between his two sisters, neither of whom petitioned the Sovereign to terminate the abeyance. After the death of the elder sister, her elder daughter Jane did petition the Crown, and the abeyance of the barony of Arlington created in 1664 was terminated in her favour. The barony of Arlington created in 1672, however, remains abeyant, along with the earldom of Arlington and the viscountcy of Thetford. These titles offer the only example of a peerage other than a barony falling into abeyance.
In 1663 he obtained a peerage as Baron Arlington, or Harlington, in Middlesex, and in 1667 was appointed one of the postmasters-general.
Another object of jealousy to Arlington was Sir William Temple, who achieved a great popular success in 1668 by the conclusion of the Triple Alliance; Arlington endeavoured to procure his removal to Madrid, and entered with alacrity into Charles's plans for destroying the whole policy embodied in the treaty, and for making terms with France.
But Arlington's support of the court policy was entirely subordinate to personal interests; and after the appointment of Clifford in November 1672 to the treasurership, his jealousy and mortification, together with his alarm at the violent opposition aroused in parliament, caused him to veer over to the other side.
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