Earl of Sandwich is a 17th-century noble title in the
Peerage of England, nominally associated with
Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral
Sir Edward Montagu. He was made
Baron Montagu, of St Neots in the County of Huntingdon, and
Viscount Hinchingbrooke, at the same time, also in the Peerage of England. The viscountcy is used as the
courtesy title by the heir apparent to the earldom. A member of the prominent Montagu family, Lord Sandwich was the son of Sir Sidney Montagu, youngest brother of
Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester (from whom the
Dukes of Manchester descend) and Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton (from whom the
Dukes of Montagu descended).