Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, 12th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG (c. 149720 September 1543), of Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire (adjacent to the small county of Rutland), was created Earl of Rutland by King Henry VIII in 1525. Origins Thomas was the son of Sir George Manners, 11th Baron de Ros (c. 14701513) by his wife Anne St Leger (1476–1526). His maternal grandparents were Sir Thomas St Leger (c. 1440–1483) and Anne of York (1439–1476), a daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville. She was thus an elder sister of Kings Edward IV (1461–1483) and of his brother and eventual successor, Richard III (1483–1485). Her other brothers were Edmund, Earl of Rutland and George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence. Her sisters included Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk and Margaret of York. Anne St Leger's first cousin, Elizabeth of York, married Henry Tudor and was the mother of Henry VIII and grandmother of Elizabeth I. Thomas Manners was thus a second cousin to Henry VIII. Career On 22 June 1513, Thomas landed at Calais on the French expedition. In 1513 he became Baron Ros, probably aged 16 or 17, on his father's death and was summoned in 1515 to Parliament. He was at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 and at King Henry VIII's meeting with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor afterwards. In December 1521 he became cupbearer to the king. In January 1522 he was made steward of Pickering, Yorkshire, and from April to October of the same year he held the appointment of Lord Warden of the East Marches, in which he was succeeded by Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland. He received the wardenship of Sherwood Forest on 12 July 1524, an office which afterwards became practically hereditary in his family. He was appointed a Knight of the Garter on 24 April 1525 and on 18 June 1525 he was made Earl of Rutland, a title previously held by members of the house of York. He was a great favourite of King Henry VIII and received many grants, including the keepership of Enfield Chase on 12 July 1526, and Belvoir Castle, which remains the chief seat of his family. On 11 October 1532 he landed with the king in France. He was at the coronation of Queen Anne Boleyn in 1533 and later took part in her trial.