Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1656)
Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey (c. 1656 – 25 August 1711) was an English peer, courtier, and statesman of the Villiers family. He was created Baron Villiers and Viscount Villiers in 1691 and Earl of Jersey in 1697. A leading Tory politician opposed to the Whig Junto, he was made Southern Secretary in 1699.
He persuaded the young writer and diplomat Matthew Prior to abandon his former Whig allies and vote for the impeachment of his fellow Kit Cat Club member and patron Lord Halifax. Jersey replaced Halifax as Prior's patron.