Victor Child Villiers, 7th Earl Of Jersey

Victor Albert George Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey, was born on 20 March 1845 at Berkeley Square in London. He was the eldest son of George Child Villiers, 6th Earl of Jersey, and Julia Peel, the daughter of Sir Robert Peel, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He was educated at Eton College and subsequently attended Balliol College, Oxford.

In October 1859, at the age of 14, he succeeded to the earldom after the death of his father, who had held the title for only three weeks. As the head of the Villiers family, he became the principal proprietor of the banking firm Child & Co.

His political career included service as a Lord-in-waiting, a government whip in the House of Lords, from 1875 to 1877 under the Conservative administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. In 1889, Lord Jersey was appointed Paymaster General by Lord Salisbury, a position he held until 1890. That year, he was sworn into the Privy Council and was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG).

In August 1890, he was appointed Governor of New South Wales, a post he assumed in January 1891. During his tenure, no significant political disturbances were recorded. According to the Australian Dictionary of Biography, he was considered "amiable and well-intentioned" but primarily preoccupied with his family, with limited skills as a public speaker. He presided over the 1891 Australasian National Convention as the official host. By November 1892, he expressed a desire to resign due to pressing business commitments; however, this decision was not well received by the Colonial Office in London, which believed that he had realized the limited scope of his powers as governor. Jersey left Australia in March 1893.

He represented the United Kingdom at the 1894 Colonial Conference held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Later, between 1903 and 1905, he served as Agent-General for New South Wales in London, assisting with loan negotiations and maintaining financial ties with banking institutions. In 1905, he revisited Australia, and Prime Minister Alfred Deakin considered appointing him as Australia's first High Commissioner to London, though no appointment was made.

Lord Jersey's family connections included a godparent relationship with Queen Victoria, who accepted the role in recognition of her friendship with Robert Peel, his maternal grandfather.

He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 1st Glamorganshire Artillery Volunteers in 1875. Jersey held several local administrative and honorary positions, serving as Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire from 1877, Deputy Lieutenant of Warwickshire from 1885, and Justice of the Peace for both counties. In 1889, he became the inaugural chairman of Oxfordshire County Council.

He also served as Paymaster-General (1889–1890), Chairman of the Light Railway Commission (1896–1905), and was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in June 1900.

A Freemason from a young age, he was initiated in 1865 at the age of 20 and held various lodges and positions, including Senior Grand Warden of the United Grand Lodge of England and Provincial Grand Master of Oxfordshire. He became Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New South Wales in June 1891.

In terms of family, Lord Jersey married the Hon. Margaret Elizabeth Leigh, daughter of William Henry Leigh, 2nd Baron Leigh, on 19 September 1872. They had six children: George Henry Robert Child Villiers, who became the 8th Earl of Jersey; Lady Margaret Child Villiers (who died in infancy in 1874); Lady Margaret Child Villiers (1875–1959); Lady Mary Julia Child Villiers (1877–1933); Lady Beatrice Child Villiers (1880–1970); and Hon. Arthur George Child Villiers (1883–1969).

Victor Albert George Child Villiers died at Osterley Park, Middlesex, on 31 May 1915, aged 70, after suffering a stroke in 1909. His eldest son, George, succeeded him as the 8th Earl of Jersey. His wife, the Countess of Jersey, survived her husband until her death at Middleton Park, Oxfordshire, in May 1945, aged 95.